Blimey, it’s not often that you get the opportunity to crowdfund mass genocide, is it? Remarkable that Ambient Studios have managed to convince all of you that Death Inc. is just a game and not a virtual death operating machine as it actually is. Yeah, that’s right – when you jump into Death Inc. you’ll be killing real people. That might not be true. Okay, it’s definitely not true. But it does turn spreading a deadly plague into a delightful indulgence in painting idyllic villages a soft pink. Is that glorifying death? Maybe someone will be inspired by this game and go and paint whole towns pink. The madness! We must shut it down now.

OR you could be generous and partake in the coin-throwing that it seems many others have today and chip in a few dollah towards the game’s development on Kickstarter. That would be lovely of you. And not condoning mass death realized in an almost cute form, honest. So this is an anti-god game. Which just means that you’re here to screw everybody over by bringing mass death via natural means…though that may be sped up the use of unnatural distribution methods, i.e. you use your mouse to swish virus around the screen and watch people drop like pink flies. Did I say this game was morbid? No. Well, it isn’t, and that’s because of its use of color. I’ll prove it.

JUST LOOK AT IT!

WAIT A MINUTE…

IS THAT…

THE POPE CRYING ON HORSEBACK!?

Smell The Decay

Death, unsurprisingly, is a very lucrative business. Who really wants to deal with death? Well, Grim T. Livingstone does, and he’ll exploit his love of the necro and his ability to bring whole towns down in a couple of swoops to ensure he has the biggest reaping enterprise the Nether has ever seen. Death Inc. is a strategy game of a few simple parts. Firstly, you have to attend to you business and ensuring that it continues to grow and grow. Your currency in your home, the Nether, is human souls, and so you’ll be able to spend your hard day’s reaping on upgrading your devilish abilities. We’re talking exploding livestock and rat plagues that will help to increase the amount of souls you collect when the stupid humans attempt to escape you.

The other part is your field work, and when you knock on random doors, no one is able to refuse your product – that being death. While you’re very capable of reaping yourself, you’ll begin to grow a horde to help you out and make your job more efficient. This is a strategy game that sticks out on presentation alone, but combined with the intuitive control system that presentation becomes artistic. Though deathly. You use mouse swishes to direct your horde of infected around towns and castles. Split them up; have them doing flanking maneuvers – all with simple swipes of the mouse. You’ll also notice how this gameplay would be perfect for a port to touch screens. Getting those power-ups becomes very important as you progress as the mortals get more resistant to your ways and attack back. Your horde can also be used as assistants to help grow the business side of things. I guess pink zombies(?) have a purpose after all. Buying new office furniture also gives you upgrades, but more importantly, makes Grim that little bit more snazzy – essential for a Reaper of his age.

“Guide Grim T. Livingstone, freelance Reaper, through 1660′s England as he spreads fear, loathing and most importantly, the bubonic plague.”

As said, Death Inc. is currently seeking funding over on Kickstarter. They’re looking for £300,000 and hope to deliver the game to those who back them in October of 2013. Seems that they don’t see the game taking too long to develop, as it’s still in the early stages even now. Backers can get pre-orders of the game, alpha access, their name as an important target to infect in the game and even visit their studio. There’s some gameplay that you can watch below. It doesn’t show you too much, but it’s a start.