Bud Spencer Meets John Travolta: My New Secret Steam Gem Packs a Real Punch

Disco and a real punch: The best gaming combo in a long time!

I’m usually not really a fan of pure beat ’em up games. I always enjoy a good brawl in an action or RPG, but classic beat ’em ups or anything like that aren’t really my thing.

That’s why I initially scrolled past Dead as Disco with boredom when I saw it in the new releases on Steam. A flashy beat ’em up without much of a story? Nah, thanks! Besides, I’ve got way too many games I’ve started anyway.

But then came my chili sin carne.

Dinner with a Catchy Tune

Or rather: my side gig as a cook. Because while I stood in the kitchen watching the potatoes, lentils, and the like simmer, I pulled out my phone and doomscrolled through TikTok. Alongside the usual recipes that are supposedly ready in 20 minutes but always take longer in reality, I also got flooded with clips from Dead as Disco.

And as I watched the handsome guy in the kitschy skull-print leather jacket doing theto the beat of The Emptiness Machine by Linkin Park, my foot inevitably tapped along to the rhythm.

Then another video. This time withLivin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin. Once again, I find myself glued to the screen until the very end. The song was still stuck in my head even after the aforementioned chili sin carne had long since landed in my stomach.

So after dinner, I scurried back to the PC and onto Steam. There, I finally checked out the Steam reviews so far and was quite amazed. Fabulous93% positive reviews! And there was a demo, too.

Well, and now here we are.

Bud Spencer Style on the Dance Floor

Dead as Disco is really as awesome as Steam and TikTok led me to believe. You play as Charlie Disco. A former music superstar whose bandmates cold-heartedly outmaneuvered (and presumably killed?) him, and now he’s out for revenge with a knuckle sandwich.

Using counters, evasive maneuvers, and punch combos, I prevail in various boss battles. Timing is everything here.

Instead of mindless button-mashing, every strike has to be carefully considered—especially on the higher levels—because even though I dish out blows like steam-hammer legend Bud Spencer himself, I unfortunately can’t take much of a beating.

But I move across the dance floor like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, so every K-pop star could learn a thing or two from me. This becomes especially atmospheric during the various scene changes that occur repeatedly throughout the level.

Just check it out for yourself:

By the way, please forgive me for playing on Easy here. Normal mode is already pretty tricky, so I didn’t want to embarrass myself too much in front of you!

Two Fists and a Few Upgrades for a Hallelujah

Since Dead as Disco is currently still in Early Access, you can only fight four bosses right now. But they’re so brilliantly staged that the brawl is worth it even multiple times in a row. Another highlight is the Custom mode, where you keep swinging your fists until the song ends. You can also do this with your own music, which you can load into the game from your hard drive.

Dead as Disco isn’t (currently) a game to fill a hundred hours, but it offers the most fun diversion I’ve played in a long time. On top of that, new features in the form of bosses, abilities, and more story content have already been announced. And if you’re not yet sure whether the disco fever will grab you, you can always try out the demo version first.

So if you’re in the mood for a little rhythmic fist-pumping, you’re in wonderful hands with Dead as Disco. And for those of you thinking, “I could use some chili right about now”: I’d be happy to share my recipe in the comments.