The title, published by SEGA, features a zombie protagonist named Davy who fights through subterranean dungeons to save a frozen girl, blending a pop-punk aesthetic with aggressive, transformation-based combat.
The game arrives as the debut project from GPTRACK50, a studio led by former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Kobayashi has assembled a team of veteran action developers to create what several outlets describe as a visually loud, irreverent experience. Originally revealed as an opening act during the December 2025 Game Awards, the title centers on Davy, a zombie who seeks to bring a girl back to life.
Davy Heals by Biting Enemy Cores During Combat
Combat in Stupid Never Dies is built on a philosophy of constant offense. Players utilize a Stupid Parry, an aggressive maneuver that allows Davy to take recoverable damage and quickly gain it back by using a bite attack. According to GamesRadar+, Davy dashes into the attack and is guaranteed to take damage, even if there is nothing to be parried. To heal, Davy must use a Bite to consume enemy cores, a mechanic that also serves as a way to steal their abilities or combat styles. This is essential as there is no pausing between fights to heal; recovery must happen during combat by staying on the offensive.
The full release includes 11 different enemy types whose Styles can be stolen. These transformations, which can be swapped at any time including mid-fight, provide unique Style Skills. For example, certain styles allow for claw strikes or backflipping off walls to reach high ledges.
Meta-Progression Multipliers Make Subsequent Dungeon Runs Easier
The game’s structure is a roguelite where Davy enters the dungeon by being flushed down a mall’s toilet into the dungeon layers. These environments feature various traits based on their themes, including lava pools within the Imperial Rome section (which is set during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii).
A defining feature of the experience is blazing fast growth. Through a meta-progression system, players build an experience multiplier that makes subsequent runs significantly easier. Whether Davy dies prematurely or successfully clears a series of floors, all experience earned from bosses, mini-bosses, and enemies is saved once he returns to the surface. One reviewer reported reaching a 4,600% XP multiplier, allowing them to power up to level 15 after beating a single mob. This scaling ensures that while early runs are a struggle—perhaps taking five kills to reach level 2—Davy will be racing toward level 100 long before reaching the bottom of the dungeon.
Mall Facilities Provide Permanent Buffs and Skill Rewards
Between runs, players return to the mall where he began his adventure, and players gain access to multiple facilities. While failed runs still increase the EXP multiplier and equipment drops are kept, a portion of the currency for unlocking and upgrading the “zombie receipt” level-up rewards are forfeited.
- Dr. Frank Steiner: A genius cyborg human who logs discovered enemies.
- Bessie: Runs Bessie’s Burgers, where players use OT Energy to purchase Level-Up Receipts for new skills.
- Julia: An ice cream shop provides ways to purchase permanent buffs.
To assist with movement, Davy can ride a little Roomba to ride around on, which helps avoid having to awkwardly shuffle from destination to destination.
Conflicting Critical Reception
Some laud the visuals, noting that the game’s style feels as though it was transported from the 2008-era Xbox Live Arcade via a time machine. DualShockers described the look as scene kid character action.
Performance on PC is reported as extremely smooth, defying the typical stuttering issues associated with Unreal Engine 5.
The game remains available on PlayStation 5 and PC.