Sometimes when the gameplay is tight and effective, simplicity can really work wonders even compared to deeper efforts. There may often then be limits to just how far a given project can fly when it doesn’t have a great deal of depth, but if you’re looking at a decent game with a budget price that delivers some fun, it may be a good deal. While at a glance Death Elevator may give off some Superhot vibes, it won’t take very long to be disabused of that notion… but that isn’t to say that it doesn’t have any merits of its own.

What this amounts to is a down-and-dirty high-intensity first-person shooter where you’ll need to move carefully, grab better guns, blast anyone who gets in your way, and work to stay alive mostly by dashing to avoid incoming fire. This can be a challenge at times, since the areas you’re working in tend to be pretty wide open spaces, yet typically have some obstacles like cars and other elements to keep it from working to your advantage too much. Just to up the stakes you won’t just be dealing with people shooting at you from afar, you’ll also have folks coming in from all sides who’ll attack you melee style, so it’s important you stay mobile and pay attention if you want to last.

The thing is, it absolutely lacks polish, and that’s something I stumbled into accidentally on my first run. Opting to see what would happen if I went past the elevator and decided to take the stairs, about 20 levels in with no exit doors or apparent end in sight I gave up… leaving it feeling like a sloppy oversight they should have either not made available or done something with. It doesn’t stop with that though, just in general the aiming feels a little on the sensitive side and that can make hitting enemies at range a challenge. In general there also doesn’t seem to be much in the way of planning when it comes to stage design either, with levels consisting mostly of pretty open areas with little to set them apart, feeling like a missed opportunity and somewhat sloppy overall design. All that said, if you’re looking for quick bursts of action, a variety of weapons, and aren’t really concerned with bells and whistles it can still make for a fair challenge.