Title: 1000 Deaths
Developer: Pariah Interactive
Publisher: Pariah Interactive
Release Date: August 7th, 2025
Platforms: PC
Reviewed on: Steam
Price: $14.99 USD

Indie games are generally revered for their innovation and fresh ideas even in the most mundane and overused genres and tropes. Pariah Interactive’ project, 1000 Deaths, is a blinding, shining example of this. It is a 3D platformer at heart, while folding in trippy twists and bends, loud colors, and even choices that change the story of the main campaign. Oh, and it also has an arcade mode if speedrunning is more your…well, speed.

1000 Deaths has been in development since 2019, collecting various praise during its journey:

• Winner of the Media Highlight Award: Dengeki Online BitSummit 2024
• Winner of Best Platformer: Too Many Games 2025
• Official Selection in IGN Live, MIX Summer Game Showcase, Super MAGfest Indie Videogame Showcase, and Six One Indie Showcase for 2025; Game Devs of Color Expo 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024
• Nominee for Visual Excellence Award BitSummit 2024

Author’s Note: A review key for 1000 Deaths was provided to play and review to game in time for its launch.

Summary

1000 Deaths is broken up into two main parts, a story mode and arcade mode. In the story mode, there are several branching “episodes” where you play as one of many characters in a psychedelic world. You start off playing as Vayu who wonders if they made the right decision in life, wondering if it could’ve all been different. Enter the walking television, who explores Vayu’s Headspace. At head Headspace, you must complete 3D platforming challenging to unlock decisions.

In Vayu’s case, your first decision is whether or not to stay in boring Nowherestown or venture to Jollywood with best friend, Maxie. However, it’s never that easy. You get to make a few more decisions in a Headspace before you reach the end on an episode.

After the conclusion of Vayu’s journey, you start a new episode with a whole new character. However, you soon realize Vayu and Maxie are in this episode as well. This provides alternative perspectives within the same world. The decisions you make are thought provoking, and the types of platforming challenges also evolve, keeping the gameplay fun and exciting.

Analysis

Gameplay

As evidenced above, there is a variety of gameplay in 1000 Deaths. The first aspect involves exploration and progression of story. This occurs in every episode between Headspaces. You control a character in a 3D environment–running, jumping, exploring, and interacting with objects and other characters. Each area is relatively small in scale; however, there are several secrets to discover.

Other than that, your goal is to get from point A to point B. They tend to be quick and wicked, but the trippy environment and characters entice you to stick around for a while, and it’s a nice breather between the 3D platforming challenges.

Speaking of which, the meat of the game lies in the Headspace(s) of your characters. In the story, characters like Vayu, Maxie, Terry run into conflict that must be sorted out before making a decision. Do you stab your best friend in the back? Do you surrender your dreams to support your friends’ goals? The decision making is fun, and they don’t always result in a happy ending.

Headspaces are where you play several bite-sized platforming challenges. I was pleasantly surprised how it changed up each episode, keeping things fresh and fun. Some played more toward landing world-bending loops, others had you avoiding obstacles (my favorite was a play on Chess) or timing your jumps between purple bouncy squares and fragile red ones that would crack upon contact.

These 3D platforming sections are 1000 Death‘s bread and butter. The difficulty scale is vast, ranging from light and easy to teeth grindingly difficult. And of course, the death counter in the top corner reminds you of your attempts. Overall, these challenges are well designed and creative beyond belief. There were a few spots where I felt some of my deaths were a bit cheap if the camera was even remotely off or if I hit the combination of buttons incorrectly and used my jetpack to go up instead of forward. However, these were few and far in between, and I’m sure patience can minimize those experiences. There lies the balance to enjoying this game–patience versus speed, especially if you want to beat those preset times for each level.

Art Style and Music

When playing through 1000 Deaths, I’m reminded of the 90s. Everything is bright, and the characters are whacky. Whether a 90s vibe was the intent or not, the art style is indeed unique and colorful. Each playable character and NPC are unique, and the world they live in feels alive. Even the sky flickers like a tie-dye shirt in the breeze. Each Headspace feels like an acid trip that you can explore without the risk of taking drugs.

The soundtrack pairs well with the vibes portrayed in 1000 Deaths. It got me into a flow state, and it’s something that I truly appreciated. I can easily see myself listening to the OST even when not playing the game. All in all, both the art style and music are the glue that solidifies the whack and lighthearted nature of the story and challenging gameplay.

Final Score

1000 Deaths is a delightful and creative indie title that blends vibes, decision-making, and platforming well. The availability of a main, story-driven mode and arcade mode was a smart choice, allowing the game to cater to both the casual player and the speed running sickos. There’s truly nothing like 1000 Deaths, and I give credit to such creative characters and world. Despite the games’ whacky nature, the decisions characters face in their Headspace are ones we face with often in real life.

It is worth noting that the game is not for everyone (is any game really for everyone though?). The graphics and gravity-defying twist and turns, while unique and colorful, may give some with sensory sensitivity pause. Some may be turned off with some of the tougher challenges. Furthermore, some don’t go for arcade-style game play. I recommend 1000 Deaths to anyone that seeks games with unique art styles, appreciate a good 3D platformer but don’t mind a twist, and is patient enough to live through many lives to see the fruits of their labor. Because if you are, this game is very rewarding.

I also played 1000 Deaths while the developer continued to update the game to address bugs and polish content prior to release. While I kept this in mind with scoring, I did notice significant chugging from my gaming laptop while exploring the world in between Headspace levels. I wasn’t able to test this on my Steam Deck yet and hope to test out the differences when the full game releases. All that said, these are all nuances that either will be addressed at launch.

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Feature Image Source: Pariah Interactive