It’s been four years since Ray’s the Dead was announced. That’s right, Ray’s the Dead was announced before the PlayStation 4 was even released. Alright, sure, it’s not nearly as long as some other games have taken to release, but it’s still quite a long time. So to see Ray’s the Dead rise from the darkness with the help of Adult Swim Games like Ray’s own hoard of undead beings was quite exciting. It’s fitting that this bizarre game lands under the umbrella of Adult Swim Games, a place of belonging for games without a place of belonging. The island of misfit games, if you will.
My biggest question about Ray’s the Dead has always been what type of game it would be. The animation style and reminds me a lot of of Zoink! games like Stick It to the Man and Zombie Vikings, but it’s a vastly different game than either of those. Zombies have power in numbers, so a zombie game should have a hoard. If Ray is going to be bringing the dead back to life, he ought to have an entire horde of his own to do a little damage with. The gameplay of Ray’s the Dead follows the style of Pikmin. If you haven’t played this Nintendo exclusive, it revolves around a leader character using hordes of small aliens for a variety of tasks. Similarly, Ray uses the odd device on his head to raise the dead around him. He can then use this horde of undead beings to attack gates, dig under fences, and defend Ray from the living that ...