Stupid Never Dies, a new “Blazing Fast” action game from long-time Capcom programmer and producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, has dropped its first full trailer, showing off high-octane combo-busting combat and introducing prospective players to its storyline.
Davy, a freshly risen zombie, must dive deep into the dungeons of hell to gather enough Over-Technology to rescue both the human race and, more importantly, the love of his life – or rather death at this point.
It’s the first game from a new studio under NetEase Games, GPTRACK50, which is presided over by the aforementioned Kobayashi and filled with veteran game developers with experience on the likes of Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma.
The lineage from Devil May Cry is clear in the flashy combo grading system visible in the trailer, but also from the pumping hard rock soundtrack. However, rather than focusing on overtly technical combos and complicated inputs, Stupid Never Dies is apparently prioritising speed, accessibility and adaptability over pure challenge.
“There have been many ‘“’high-difficulty’”’ games in recent years,” Kobayashi told VG247.
“We wanted to differentiate ourselves from that trend. Rather than creating an action game where players overcome difficulty purely through technical skill, we felt it would be more accessible as a new title if players could tackle challenging situations through strategy and character progression.
“For that reason, we chose to design the game as an action RPG where difficulty is overcome through strategic play and growth, rather than through pure mechanical mastery.”
But there still are a lot of mechanics to master in Stupid Never Dies, with Davy able to warp his zombified body to equip giant weapons on both his arms, legs and head, as well as draw on 11 different combat styles which go bump in the night, clearly taking inspiration from classic Universal monsters melded with twisted machinery.
Some embody classic action archetypes like the tanky Golem or magic-wielding Lich, but there’s also a lot of DmC-style aerial combat coming from the flapping Harpy, ravaging Werewolf and world-bending Demon, the latter of which zones enemies with whips and gravity traps.
The full list is:
- Zombie
- Werewolf
- Harpy
- Golem
- Vampire
- Will o’ the Wisp
- Cyclops
- Snow Fairy
- Merfolk
- Lich
- Demon
GPTRACK50 says you will also be able to mash the monsters together (pun intended), swapping between styles to enable juggle combos where you launch enemies into the air as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, then drain their health as a Vampire before slamming them back down to the ground as a bone-crunching Skeleton.
“With the combination of ‘Styles’ and ‘Over-Technology equipment’ there is a wide variety of possible setups,” Kobayashi explained. “We designed the system so that players can discover combinations that best fit their own playstyle and approach to the game, which we believe will make the experience more enjoyable.
“This title is not a horror game in terms of genre. However, since the protagonist is a zombie, the story features a cast of unique companions, and the enemies are a newly designed army of monsters, there are some elements that could be perceived as ‘horror’.
“That said, it would be more accurate to describe the overall tone as ‘fun with a slightly spooky edge’.”
Davy doesn’t crawl through the dungeon so much as sprint. The core loop of Stupid Never Dies is similar to a roguelike, as you smash through floors as quickly as possible with a set time limit, upgrading your strength and health, gathering equipment and combat styles and generally getting stronger and stronger so that you can smash through more levels on your next run.
This is where GPTRACK50’s idea of “Blazing Fast Growth” comes from. That Davy can progressively grow more and more powerful until what used to take minutes flashes past in seconds.
“We chose to design the game as a time-limited action experience because players today often have busy schedules,” Kobayashi said.
“We wanted to create a format that can be enjoyed in short, well-defined play sessions. At the same time, we wanted players to experience the thrill and tension of enjoying action gameplay within a time limit — that sense of suspense and excitement.”
In terms of when and where you can actually play Stupid Never Dies, GPTRACK50 has said it’s applied the blazing fast ethos to game development as well, with the freshman studio aiming for a 2026 release.
Apparently due to development resources PlayStation and PC are the current target platforms (with Steam Deck compatibility being considered), with Xbox and Switch a possibility but not yet fully decided.
