The best way I can think to describe Rage in Peace is odd and melancholy. The story, the gameplay, the writing – everything feels a little off, but not necessarily in a bad way. These aspects do not feel like oversights or missed attempts; the uneven footing seems intentional. It almost feels like making your way through a strange, sad dream. Unfortunately, one I couldn’t wait to wake up from.

You play as Timmy, a man who has little ambition and can find scant joy in life. He is just going through the motions until one day he is visited by Death, who informs Timmy that his time is up and he will meet his demise by beheading before the end of the day. This bothers Timmy, not because he is going to die but because his only dream in life is to die comfortably in bed without drama. Your goal is to allow him to fulfill this dream by getting him home safely.

You learn very early on that there is a mysterious “They”. This entity is unhappy that Death is giving you this chance. They turn the world into a weird nightmare of traps and obstacles all meant to behead you and stop you from making it home. The gameplay centers around you moving Timmy across the levels avoiding these traps and ultimately death.



Oh, Timmy, you’re gonna learn today.

Rage in Peace is best described as a platformer, but it does deviate significantly from a traditional platforming experience. You do move across the levels from left to right and avoid obstacles and enemies with only the power of jumps. However, the gameplay isn’t about mastering the controls or using quick reactions to make precise maneuvers. More than anything, it is a memorization game. The traps and obstacles are always in the same place and have the same triggers. One you die to a trap, you’ll have to remember where it was and avoid it. Once you know where everything is, you just need to accurately perform the steps to pass the level. If you really wanted to, you could learn the patterns enough to play with your eyes closed.

In concept, this is an interesting idea. Trying new things with an old genre is never a bad plan. However, the execution leaves something to be desired. Specifically, there is no way to anticipate the traps. In many cases, the game sets up a cue and then subverts it in the next area. For example, the first time you come across a puddle, spikes come out and kill you. Later, the spikes come out right after the puddle, tricking the player. With no cues or warnings, the only way to discover these traps is to die (an issue we’ve seen before in Toby: The Secret Mine).

I told ya, Timmy. Get used to that.

This means that there is little to no skill needed in this game. All you have to do is move forward, die, and remember to avoid that trap. Then, move forward some more, die again, and remember to avoid both traps. Repeat for the rest of the game. If you could somehow anticipate or foresee some of the traps, it might make the game more enjoyable to play. I understand the concept of learning through deaths in-game, but even a game like Dark Souls technically could be beaten in the first life. Because there are no rules to the traps, Rage in Peace forces you to die and becomes nothing more than trial-and-error and memorization; there is no planning or strategizing to be had.

There is even a compendium of the deaths, making them like collectibles. Again, a decent concept. However, if I’m forced to die constantly, can these really be considered “collectibles”? If the game had a way for me to avoid all the deaths, then going back to collect the deaths could be fun. There are other more traditional collectibles in the game as well, but to collect these all you need to do is memorize the level’s pattern in a slightly deviated way. These are items that exist in the world, which you need to touch (and then not die for a few seconds) in order to obtain them. Since everything is predetermined and the traps have no rules, all that is needed is a memorization of the area in order to collect these, which is no different than what is needed to simply pass the level.



There are boss battles to close out the worlds, which do add variety.

Along with the “collectibles”, there are other decisions that are confusing to me. Because Timmy is to die specifically by decapitation, it leaves the game open to questionable traps. Am I supposed to believe that spikes coming from the ground or a guy in an office chair will somehow take my head off? I understand that Timmy is now navigating a weird nightmare version of the world, but the laws of physics otherwise appear to be in place. The motivation for Timmy is strange as well. I understand that they wanted to convey his malaise, but is dying in bed really this man’s sole dream in life? If so, and I understand it might be macabre to point out, but couldn’t he have achieved that dream at any point, all by himself?

This poor sadboy’s only dream in life. Will he make it?

The narrative in Rage in Peace was something I could relate to. I enjoyed the odd, dreamlike details which captured the feelings of depression and disaffectedness. The artwork and music are great as well, creating a cohesive feeling throughout the experience. That grey, bummed-out slog that life can become sometimes is conveyed perfectly here. The writing also explores some interesting concepts like what it means to be “alive”. However, the gameplay was too frustrating for me to find any enjoyment in playing it. I wanted to experience the story and exist longer in this world, but getting through it was a chore. However, I can imagine that there are people who will enjoy the memorization-based gameplay. There is even a speed run mode for those who wish to truly memorize and master the levels. But, at the end of the day, it’s just not for me.

As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments! For other games dealing with dark concepts, check out our video review on SINNER and our review on Pinstripe. If you want to keep seeing ad-free content like this, please consider donating via Ko-Fi and Patreon. As volunteers, we appreciate all the support! Also, come find us on Discord, Twitter, and our subreddit!