The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

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The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai
Thedishwatercover.jpg
Developer(s) Ska Studios
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s) James Silva
Engine Microsoft XNA
Platform(s) Xbox 360 (XBLA)
ReleaseApril 1, 2009 [1]
Genre(s) Side-scroller, beat 'em up, hack and slash
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer [2]

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a beat 'em up game developed by independent software developer James Silva for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service. [3]

Contents

Gameplay

Gameplay revolves around an unnamed protagonist, ostensibly a dishwasher, as he fights through waves of increasingly stronger enemies until the boss fight and the end of the level. The player is given a basic starting weapon (meat cleavers) and can earn new weapons and upgrades by defeating bosses and collecting "spirals" from defeated enemies. Weapons include the cleavers, a katana, an Uzi/shotgun combo, chainsaw, and kama. Fighting is done through using either a basic attack, a strong attack, or a grab move, in combination or alone to string together chains of attacks for points. Enemies, once weakened, are susceptible to various "finishing moves" that yield even more points and health to the player. There is also a magic system, dubbed "Dish Magic", which can be bought at later levels. Also present is a guitar minigame, which can be played with the common guitar peripherals from the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series. [4]

Characters

Game modes

There are two different game modes besides the Story Mode. In Dish Challenge the player must survive wave after wave of enemy attacks while attempting to score combos for points. The second extra mode is Arcade, which are short, one room levels which sometimes have certain themes or types on their own. The player is locked in with two weapons and one magic ability, and must kill all enemies. In addition to the standard Story Mode, there is a ranked mode that is set at the hardest difficulty, and up to 3 extra players in co-op mode which can play through the whole story (non-ranked only). [2]

Development

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai gameplay screenshot Dishwashersamuraigameplay.jpg
The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai gameplay screenshot

Inspiration for The Dishwasher began in 2004 when James Silva was working as a dishwasher, and felt that the position earned too little respect. After pointing out to many people that Bruce Lee was a dishwasher, he began to envision a game about a dishwasher who "mercilessly slaughtered piles of extremely well trained evil minions". Several attempts were made on the game, with the first idea as a third-person shooter. This was later scrapped for a side-scrolling shooter, then a 3D side-scroller. Silva eventually settled on the current 2D design after working with XNA Game Studio Express. Work on the game proceeded for about four months before the eventual submission to Dream.Build.Play, and in the end had numerous levels, weapons, bosses, and thousands of frames of animation. [5]

The Dishwasher was the winner of Microsoft's initial Dream-Build-Play game development contest in 2007. Silva received US$10,000 and an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract. [6]

Reception

The Dishwasher received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [7]

Destructoid praised its art style, combat, character design, enemy variety, and amount of content while criticizing its dramatic writing and difficult learning curve. [8] Eurogamer heavily praised the game's visuals, writing, "Indeed, The Dishwasher is deceptively pretty - all sketchbook-and-crayons layered with smudgy atmosphere, caught in a deathly limbo somewhere between Ōkami , Castlevania , and Alien Hominid , while finding fault with overly precise controls and frustrating bosses." [10] GameSpot , GamesRadar+ , and IGN similarly commended the unique art design, challenging gameplay, and tight controls, while taking minor issue with the sometimes punishing difficulty and its inability to remain engaging until the end. [14] [15] [19] Official Xbox Magazine gave the game a favorable review, a few months before it was released worldwide. [16]

Sequel

A sequel, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile , was released in April 2011.

References

  1. James Silva (March 30, 2009). "April 1st is Dishwasher Day!". Ska Studios . Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. 1 2 James Silva (August 1, 2008). "Crazy Modes". Ska Studios. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  3. "GDC 2008 - The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". Xbox.com. Microsoft. February 20, 2008. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. James Silva (April 21, 2008). "Some Dishwasher History". Ska Studios. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  5. James Silva (December 5, 2007). "How I Became a Game Designer". Bit-Tech . The Media Team Ltd. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  6. Jason Dobson (August 13, 2007). "Microsoft Announces Dream-Build-Play Contest Winners". Game Developer . Informa . Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Conrad Zimmerman (April 22, 2009). "Review: The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". Destructoid . Gamurs . Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  9. Edge staff (June 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". Edge . No. 202. Future plc. p. 96.
  10. 1 2 Tom Bramwell (April 8, 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". Eurogamer . Gamer Network . Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  11. Sean Ely (April 8, 2009). "XBLA Review - The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". GamerPro Arcade . IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. Eduardo Reboucas (April 10, 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai Review". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  13. "Review: The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". GamesMaster . Future plc. July 2009. p. 82.
  14. 1 2 Kevin VanOrd (April 3, 2009). "The Dishwasher [Dead Samurai] Review". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Hilary Goldstein (March 31, 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai Review". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Francesca Reyes (February 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai". Official Xbox Magazine . Future US. p. 83. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  17. Dale Nardozzi (March 31, 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai Review (Xbox 360)". TeamXbox . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. David Jenkins (April 2009). "[The] Dishwasher: Dead Samurai (360)". Teletext GameCentral. Teletext Ltd. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  19. Michael Gapper (May 4, 2009). "The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai review". GamesRadar+ . Future plc. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.