Stupid Never Dies, from GPTrack50, a studio founded by Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry alumnus Hiroyuki Kobayashi, was one of the first games I demoed at Summer Game Fest 2026. By the time the weekend was over, I was still thinking about it.
The premise of Stupid Never Dies is wacky: Players control a zombie named Davy who’s trying to bring back to life a frozen girl he found and named Daisy. To be more specific, from the vibes I got in the video I was shown before my hands-on time began, Davy wants to thaw the girl, bring her back to life, and then take her on a date, because he fell in love with her. But, being a zombie, he may also want to eat her?
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The videos provided deliver mixed messages, but I think that’s the idea. Whatever the scenario is, a setup like that is the type of weird that’s right in my wheelhouse, and after going hands-on for a bit, the gameplay is my kind of action.
Stupid Never Dies is both a love story and a potential recipe for cannibalism.
As described in the game’s official documentation, Dave is the “weakest among zombies – the lowest-ranked creatures in the monster world” and also “a complete coward.” He gets no respect and is constantly ridiculed, but he’s undeterred in his mission to rescue his new snack (both definitions are applicable here).
So, how is Davy supposed to do this? It starts with Style Eat, or his ability to consume enemies after weakening them and stealing their abilities. Well, I say “steal,” but it’s more like he transforms into the enemy and can fight the same way they do.
There are 11 forms he can assume in Stupid Never Dies (his default Zombie form included), and each one has a different set of moves and styles. The Werewolf, for example, is a standard brawler with quick slashes and decent mobility, while the Golem moves like molasses but brandishes a big club. Only two of the styles can be equipped at a time, so experimenting with each one and finding your favorite will be a big part of the final experience.
Dave can take on one of 11 forms depending on which enemies he consumes.
Eventually, Davy will meet up with an eclectic cast of kooky characters, including Acelino and Bessie, who are the paragons of the game’s upgrade system. Bessie, a biker and fellow zombie, runs Bessie’s Burgers, which Davy can visit to purchase new Zombie Skills and upgrades to his existing skills.
Acelino, meanwhile, is not a werewolf; he is a “chihuahua man.” Do not call him a werewolf. The chihuahua man introduces one of my new favorite upgrade approaches: Davy’s Body Hack. Body Hack is how Davy purchases and equips modifications that buff his stats. However, because he’s a zombie, these purchases mod Davy’s actual body, instead of just giving him new clothes. An attack mod gives him a new arm, a movement mod replaces his leg, you get the idea.
I burst out laughing when I saw it, because it works so well. We see zombies getting hacked up in TV, movies, and games all the time, but as long as the brain survives, the zombie will “live.” Why shouldn’t that concept be applied to upgrading that zombie body to kick more butt? That comedic tone persisted throughout the rest of my time with the game.
The mixture of violence and comedy gives Stupid Never Dies a distinct tone.
Stupid Never Dies takes on a very punk rock tone; the music is rife with riffs from loud guitars, while the visuals echoes album covers and posters from punk’s history. Skull drawings, faces with scratched-out eyes, and other visual touches are sprinkled throughout the game.
Each boss intro screen, for example, will only show the boss by itself for a few seconds; before long, there’s a goofy smiley face on the fearsome boss, while stickers declaring how much the boss sucks float around the screen. Once the boss fight starts, it’s back to the same crisp cel-shaded style, but that brief moment of levity breaks the tension before the boss nicely
This is most apparent when Davy activates Funky Zombie Action, or Davy’s “Super Saiyan” form. After the brief animation shows Davy hulk up, we go back to the action, where small drawings will pop on each enemy on-screen, whether they’re wings, emoji faces, or other bits of silliness. As if I needed more of a reason to engage the ultimate form, Stupid Never Dies is enticing me to do so with goofy nonsense, and I approve.
Stupid Never Dies didn’t register at first, but after some brief time with the game, I now see the vision. This falls into that PS2-era button-mashing action, like Devil May Cry, and it’s doing it with the same “sometimes serious, sometimes silly” sense of humor. I want Davy to succeed, even though I’m not sure what he’ll do if he does win. Daisy had better watch herself.
Stupid Never Dies will release in Fall 2026 on PlayStation 5 and PC.
