Death's Door developer walks us through the pitching process

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Acid Nerve explain what went into the pitch to Devolver

Death's Door
(Image credit: Devolver Digital)

Death's Door developer Acid Nerve has revealed new information to GamesRadar+ about their original pitch for the action game.

Just below, you can see the original Death's Door pitch video, which developer Acid Nerve showed to publisher Devolver Digital three years ago. Devolver repromoted the pitch video earlier today on August 19, showing off how far the game had come ever since the publisher first saw it in the very early stages of development at the Manchester-based studio in the UK.

"I think the pitch was mainly to say 'Look, we can make 3D action feel good in the same way that our pixel art games have,'" Death's Door sound designer and composer David Fenn explained in an email to GamesRadar+. "We also had a full gameplay demo that was around 10 minutes long, and established a lot of the core mood and feeling of journeying through the world that persists in the final game," the developer continued.

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The extended video was the culmination of everything Acid Nerve had produced for Death's Door over three months, Fenn explained. This video takes the player through the introductory Graveyard area "with a touch of atmosphere-building and exploration, a few battles with a couple of different enemy types in a Crypt interior," Fenn revealed.

Acid Nerve knew they wanted to show this pitch to Devolver straight away. Fenn explains that the studio wanted to work with the publisher again after collaborating on Titan Souls in 2015, and were deliberately seeking to developer a "bigger and more ambitious 3D game." The developer would get their wish, and Death's Door would be published by Devolver earlier this year in 2021.

If you haven't tried out Acid Nerve's game, we'd highly recommend it. Death's Door is available right now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, and brilliantly blends hectic and energetic combat with a sombre, moving storyline of life and death.

Alternatively, if you're looking ahead to the remainder of the year, head over to our full new games 2021 guide for more.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.