There’s a very specific kind of game that doesn’t care if you’re comfortable. It doesn’t ease you in, it doesn’t hold your hand, and it absolutely will let you fall for minutes at a time because you mistimed a jump by half a second. DeadCore Redux is proudly one of those games, and that’s exactly why it works.
This is a modernised return of DeadCore, a cult-favourite first-person platformer that I heard about alot yet never gave it a go until now. Redux doesn’t reinvent the experience so much as simply makes it better, sharpening graphics, music and and giving it the slight performance boost you’d want when split second reactions matter.
Hidden gem back on the radar
DeadCore Redux drops you into the void with almost no context. In front of you looms the Tower — impossibly tall, abstract, and faintly hostile. Your goal is simple: climb. How you do that is where the game shines.
Movement is the star here. You’re jumping, dashing, shooting mid air, changing gravity and chaining momentum in a way that feels closer to a speedrunner’s dream than a traditional FPS. The game’s physics reward confidence and experimentation; hesitation is punished with gravity or lasers. Usually both.
Death is part of the rhythm. You learn routes by failing them. You internalise timing by missing it. You will get better. I wouldn’t say DeadCore is that punishing, yes it is difficult but checkpoints never feel too far away, they’re also not too generous but just perfect. Getting good at timing your dashes and hitting switches mid air already feels great but then you turn the corner and see a checkpoint right there? Perfection.
One simple tool for so many complex mechanics
Your primary tool is the SwitchGun, a weapon that, well, triggers switches in the environment. From turning platforms, switching off barriers, switching gravity. It’s deceptively simple, but the way levels are designed around it creates the need for players to have a symbiotic relationship between speed and control. Do you stop to toggle safely, or shoot mid-air and hope your timing is perfect?
DeadCore’s level design leans hard into this question. Many areas feel less like “platforming challenges” and more like movement puzzles, where the correct solution is often to be faster, not safer. The best runs feel like improvisational jazz: messy at first, then suddenly flawless.
One of DeadCore’s biggest strengths is how openly it embraces speedrunning, without demanding it. Rankings, timers, badges, hidden routes, and secret collectables all encourage mastery, but never shut players off from progress. If getting through the game with any means necessary is the goal, go for it. But if you want to shave milliseconds off every section and chase perfect flow, the game fully supports you. This duality is rare. Many games have speedrunning communities and devs that support said communities but DeadCore was made for it.
My Conclusion
DeadCore Redux doesn’t chase trends. It doesn’t bloat itself with systems or dilute its identity. Instead, it doubles down on what it does best: pure, demanding first-person platforming with a razor-sharp focus on movement. And all that in a very affordable package.
It’s a game about learning how to navigate it, and then how to navigate it faster. When everything finally clicks, when you clear a section flawlessly, it feels incredible. Highly recommended for players who love challenge, flow, and the quiet thrill of doing something difficult well.
