Parents' Guide to

Drawn to Death

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Mature, violent, subpar hand-drawn shooter runs out of ink.

Game PlayStation 4 2017
Drawn to Death Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Drawn to Death Screen #1
  • Drawn to Death Screen #2
  • Drawn to Death Screen #3

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What’s It About?

DRAWN TO DEATH is a third-person shooter exclusively for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and is a free download for PlayStation Plus members. Played out on the lines of a teenager's notebook, this hand-drawn action game lets you choose which player to be -- each of whom has a unique look, weapon, and abilities -- as you set out to destroy menacing enemies and boss characters who stand in your way. You'll use guns, grenades and often weird weapons (like a creature you wear on your forearm) to kill various baddies -- whether they're A.I.-controlled or real humans playing the game online. Drawn To Death features multiple game modes. Players can level up by completing specific challenges, while tackling the solo missions, everyone-for-himself "deathmatch" modes or team play options. Online multiplayer requires a PlayStation Plus membership.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

While visually engaging, with a design that looks like a teenager's doodles in a notepad come alive, the gameplay falls flat. First, the game has many balancing, A.I. (artificial intelligence), and technical issues. Some enemies take very long to kill while others (even larger boss fighters) go down without much resistance. The enemies either stand there as you shoot at them or walk in a pattern so you can easily predict how to take them out (thankfully, multiplayer is better, as enemies are human-controlled). With graphical glitches. it's not unusual to lose a character in a wall, floor, or other object. Or you might walk over an object you need, but your character doesn't pick it up. What's more, your character feels like it weighs 5 pounds, and sometimes glides rather than walks or runs.

Aside from the clumsy controls and stubborn enemy A.I., the game tries hard to be funny and irreverent, but the "shtick" gets old fast. The announcer is annoying, too. There's some funny parts -- like when you're told to talk into your controller and then makes fun of you as that feature isn't supported in the game -- but most of the gags result in an eye-roll. If you couldn't tell, Drawn to Death -- despite having a great concept, unique artwork, and a big name in the video game industry attached to it -- isn't worth the $20 for non-PlayStation Plus members. If you love violent third-person shooters and can download this game for free, perhaps give it a shot, but no doubt you'll be uninstalling it to make room on your PS4 drive for worthier games.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in video games. Could this game have been handled without the levels of gore and blood? Would it even be the same game experience if the violence was toned down?

  • Is this shooter's primary appeal the hand-drawn graphics, the irreverence, or both? Do you think more games should aim for this kind of design?

Game Details

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