It takes two to Slay: Infernax's New Update Introduces Co-Op Mode and More!"

Fans of Berzerk Studios’ violent, old-school adventure game, Infernax, will be delighted to
hear that a brand-new update to the game will add new content to the 8-bit slasher. This update includes an all-new character and an exciting co-op multiplayer mode.

Released just last year, Infernax tells the tale of Alcedor, a knight and hero who returns to his home after a long campaign far away, only to discover that an unholy magic has contaminated and destroyed it in his absence. Alcedor vows to cleanse the land, and with his shield and trusty mace, he goes to work. Along the way, he gains experience, skills, and upgrades that help him in his quest to restore order.

The new DLC, "Infernax: Deux or Die," will introduce the character of Cervul the Squire, a young, eager, up-and-coming knight who proves more than handy with his dual-headed axe, able to lay waste to the denizens of Hell at close range and at long distances. Cervul is also able to perform useful buffs on himself and his allies, tipping the scales of war a little further in the player’s favor. As a trade-off, the squire is not able to use any potions or magic.
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting the Infernax booth at PAX East for a demonstration of the new game mode. As soon as the game was started up, the familiar look, feel, and sound of Infernax were right there, as I knew it would be. But now, I was handed the second controller and put in control of the new squire, ready to aid my lord in his quest to vanquish evil that roams the lands. In the new DLC, you can play the new game mode in either co-op mode with a buddy or alone by tagging between the two characters with a flick of a button, and so we started our adventure.

Though the story and game layout have mostly remained the same, there have been tweaks and rebalancing to make sure the game works with the dual-player setup. Additionally, the artwork for the cutscenes has been reworked to represent the two heroes. There is also new dialog, including a cheeky Easter egg of Cervul's father, who still roams the village.
And before you ask, yes - this included the Infernax included secret Contra mode (gun mode).

The playstyle of Cervul definitely feels different, and even though he can hold his own, it feels more secure to provide support for the main hero instead of leading the charge. You start with an axe you can toss at an angle into enemies and easily take on those enemies out of reach. It's a nice way to clear platforms before moving on up. Later, you will be able to unlock other weapons and skills, such as a powerful crossbow that, after each shot, you reload using a cool reload animation, or a banner that will give players around it a powerful buff. Over time, those abilities and weapons upgrade and become more useful. The banner, for instance, initially is a bit of a hassle as you cannot do much while holding it. You can also plant it in the ground and change back to your axe, but in hectic moments, it is a bit of a hassle. However, after an upgrade, you can now also bash enemies in the head with it.

Money in the game is shared, but experience is unique for each character. It's important to communicate and allow both players their upgrades. The new abilities add a lot of fun to the gameplay, and playing the game with a friend makes it definitely worth revisiting the adventure when it is released.

The DLC will be entirely free for owners of the original game and it will be fun to dive back into the game and see the changes especially shared with a buddy. Unfortunately free also means no funding for hosting servers so the game will not have true online capbilities but instead offers couch co-op. But you can use Steam's wonderful Remote Play feature to play together via the internet. We had a lot of fun witht his update and as it is deck verified this is definitely an amazing game to play and runs amazing on the Steam Deck. The Deux or Die update will be available on April 5th.