Dead East
What is Dead East?
Dead East is a browser game about a gravedigger clearing corpses and fighting undead while traveling east. Players explore squares, bury bodies for gold, manage ammo, and choose skill upgrades on the way to Haven's Reach.
Dead East follows a gravedigger in lands left with piles of corpses after the Settlers’ Rebellion. The task is to bury the fallen so they do not rise, survive undead encounters, and travel 384 miles east to Haven’s Reach. Players explore acres, read numbers that mark adjacent corpses, and dig graves for gold. Combat uses an old Colt or bare hands, and removing body parts affects how undead move or attack. Miles and souls grant experience; leveling offers 4 randomly selected skills from 10 to improve.
How to play Dead East
- Explore squares to find corpses; numbers mark corpses in adjacent squares, and squares above the detection level show a ?.
- Bury corpses by exploring all safe squares around them; each grave earns 1 gold.
- Use the Colt to shoot left or right, or fight barehanded; head and chest hits are more efficient, and 3 damage kills any zombie.
- Head east to increase miles and encounter more undead; reaching thresholds improves skills.
- On level up, choose one of 4 randomly selected skills from 10.
Dead East controls
The developer does not list specific controls on the game page. Click the play frame above and try the keyboard, mouse, or touch; most jam games show their controls on the first screen.
Tips for Dead East
- Explore safe squares around a corpse before burying it; each grave gives 1 gold.
- Improve Detect to reveal corpse counts that would otherwise show as ?.
- Aim for the head or chest, since vital spots damage undead more efficiently; 3 damage kills any zombie.
- Barehanded punches deal 1 damage and cannot sever body parts, so use them with care.
- Heading east raises miles and encounter difficulty; skill thresholds improve as miles increase.
Dead East FAQ
What is the goal in Dead East?
Bury the fallen so they do not rise and travel 384 miles east to Haven’s Reach.
How do you kill an undead?
Remove body parts with the Colt or fight barehanded; head or chest hits are more efficient, and 3 damage is enough to kill any zombie.
How do you earn gold?
Each grave dug earns 1 gold, and the Salary skill increases the payout.
What happens when exploring a square with a corpse?
The corpse wakes up.
How does leveling work?
Miles and souls grant experience; a level up randomly selects 4 of the 10 skills for improvement.
About this game
Read the full developer description
Hello, Gravedigger!
Thank you for coming to our humble lands. The Settlers’ Rebellion left us with piles of corpses, and the undead haven't let us have a full night's sleep since. Help us bury our fallen kin so they may never rise again.
These lands are dangerous, but if you make it to Haven’s Reach, you’ll finally be able to rest awhile. As a reward, the company will double your wages.
Good luck, and watch your step!
The Undead
The undead can be tough to put down, but with this old Colt, you should be able to weaken them enough to finish the job:
- Each removed part affects the way an undead moves or attacks.
- Vital spots like the head or the chest will damage them more efficiently.
- You can also fight barehanded, but your punches deal only 1 damage and won't sever any body parts.
- 3 damage is enough to kill any zombie.
Burial Instructions
- Bury as many dead as possible.
- Numbers mark the number of corpses in adjacent squares.
- Numbers above your detection's level are replaced with a "?"
- You need to explore all safe squares around a corpse to bury it.
- You earn 1 gold for every grave you dig. Improve your Salary skill to earn more.
- Take care: exploring a square with a corpse will wake it up!
Head East
- Here's a map to Haven's Reach. The town is 384 miles east from your position on the coast.
- Increase your mile counter by exploring east: Reaching specific thresholds will improve your skills.
- The farther east you travel, the more undead you will encounter.
Experience
- Increase your miles and souls to gain experience.
- Reach the next thresholds to level up.
- The level up sequence will randomly select 4 of the 10 skills.
- Improve one of these skills.
Skills
- Detect: Your ability to sense corpses. Each level lets you detect an additional corpse on a nearby square.
- Scavenging: Your ability to find leftover ammunition from the Settlers’ Rebellion. Each level grants +1 ammo per acre.
- Stock: Improve your endurance to carry more items and ammunition. Each level increases your maximum ammo and item capacity by 1 and refills your ammunition.
- Health: The Gravedigger’s ability to survive undead attacks. Each level grants +1 heart and fully restores your health.
- Speed: Improve your ability to outrun the undead. Each level unlocks a new effect.
- Brawl: Learn how to fight the undead and dodge their attacks. Each level unlocks a new effect.
- Salary: The company will pay 1 gold for each grave. Earn 1 additional gold for each level of salary.
- Exploration: The company wants you to head east but won’t fund the expedition. Each level gets you a better deal and earns you +1 gold for every mile traveled.
- Crafting: Improve your ability to find and craft useful items in the wilderness. Each level grants +1 item every 3 acres.
- Survival: Your knowledge of the desert and your ability to adapt to its dangers. Each level unlocks a new effect.
one acre = 16x16 zone = one screen
Items
- Colt: Spend 1x ammo to shot in front of you. You can only shoot left or right
- Manual:Instruct the Gravedigger so he can do the job properly : +1 skill point
- Ammo Box: Refill your ammo
- Dynamite: After a 3 turns countdown, detroy everything in a 3x3 zone.
- Spyglass: Reveal everything and bury corpses in a 3x3 zone
- Shovel: Dig a hole to trap an undead, or remove any obstacle.
- nitroglycerine: After a 3 turns countdown, detroy everything in a 5x5 zone.
- Bandages: Heal all your wounds
- Shotgun: Spend 1x ammo to deal damage in a 3x3 zone.
Description from Dead East on itch.io, by the developer.
Screenshots
Not listed by the developer: controls, developer, genre, mobile support. We left these out rather than guess.