Let It Die: Inferno oozes confidence, and I’m excited to play more

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Playing Let it Die: Inferno at Tokyo Game Show 2025 brought back memories of the original game from 2016. I tried the first one when it launched as a free-to-play title on PlayStation 4, and while I had fun, I didn’t play for very long. I’ve never been a big fan of free-to-play games – I find the way they make money often keeps me from enjoying them long-term. So, I was excited to hear that the sequel would be a full retail release.

It’s been a long time since I played the first *Let it Die*, but *Inferno* clearly builds on its foundation. It’s interesting that the developers are now calling this an “extraction” game. It actually makes a lot of sense – the genre didn’t really exist when the original came out, but looking back, *Let it Die* might have been one of the first games to play with these ideas. If you’re not sure what an “extraction” game is, let me explain.

In Let it Die: Inferno, you start by choosing a character “body” and equipping gear you’ve already collected before venturing into the Hell Gate. As you explore each floor, you’ll find new equipment to help you survive and items to restore health or boost your abilities. Each attempt feels like a roguelike game – the general layout and enemy types stay consistent, but each run offers a slightly different experience. Because your character has a limited carrying capacity and some gear requires higher skill levels to use, you’re not expected to complete a section of the Hell Gate on your first try.

In this game, death means losing all your progress, so it’s smart to be cautious and take things slow. You’ll explore using different “Bodies,” but remember that you’re essentially a core consciousness that transfers between them. When you die, your core will return to a space station above the game’s area, ready to start a new run. Because you *will* eventually fail, it’s a good idea to gather and save resources for your favorite weapons and abilities ahead of time.

Even though the demo only let me play for about an hour – and it reset every 20 minutes – I started to understand how the game works. I got a sense of which weapons would be best in different situations, and how choosing different characters (‘Bodies’) changes your abilities. I tried out a female character who could stun enemies with a dropkick, creating opportunities for more attacks, and a male character who could quickly regain health like something out of Dragon Ball Z. The health-boosting character seemed more powerful because you didn’t need to rely as much on finding health packs, but I’m sure there will be lots of other ways to play when the full game comes out.

I’m happy to see Let it Die: Inferno released as a full retail game, but I’m a little concerned about how the game is monetized. While the base game costs $25, some features, like “Room Matches,” are only available in the more expensive Deluxe or Ultimate editions. The game also includes a premium currency called Death Metal, which returns from the original game. It’s unclear yet how important this currency will be to the gameplay experience, or if the game is designed to encourage its use.

We’ll address those issues down the line. We can only really see how well the game plays and how balanced it is after it comes out on PlayStation 5 and PC on December 3rd. We’ll share more updates as we get closer to the release date.

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2025-10-07 05:26