Mechanics

The primary focus of Die Young is to survive. You are not intended to engage enemies (beyond small animals). You are not intended to build a shelter. You are not intended to make weapons to defend yourself against unknown evils that roam the island. (There really aren't any.) You are intended to identify threats and avoid them. In a real life survival situation where you are not stranded on North Sentinelese Island, your priorities would be much different than those forced upon Daphne. Your priorities would to be make shelter on the beach, find food and water where possible, venture inland only if absolutely necessary and do your best to signal for help.

Die Young is not a normal survival situation. You have been attacked, kidnapped and dumped in a well. Your friends are missing. Your access to the beach is limited. You may even be hunted. There are no ropes and no guides. There is no one to rush you to the hospital. Remaining stationary could be suicide.

But you are young and fit. You have some basic survival knowledge. You can bandage a wound. More importantly, you can run. You can climb. Whoever kidnapped you left you what may be the key to getting home.

You just have to get there.

Movement
Daphne uses what is described as "parkour" to navigate the island. She lacks the ability to navigate vertical or sheer surfaces, as well as the opportunities to do so. She cannot make controlled falls and landings, which often results in severe injury or death. Thus her parkour ability is limited to jumps, some difficult climbs and vaults.

When running Daphne is able to perform a sliding maneuver which will enable her to pass through tighter passages. That maneuver will however interrupt her momentum.

Climbing
Daphne is limited to climbing designated surfaces. These are marked by white paint. This is not a new mechanic, having been utilized by AAA titles such as Farcry, Mad Max and Outlast. Though, in reality, she should be able to climb, scramble or crawl up or down many surfaces, allowing this would not only exponentially increase the development effort, but it is also used as a means by which to slow progress and prevent her from merely sliding to the objective.

Daphne does have the strength to "muscle up", which is an extremely difficult movement in even the most athletic persons. She can also perform free climbing jumps between hand-holds, which is also incredibly difficult. Note, however, that neither movement implies physical combat ability and cannot be cited to criticize the necessity for her to avoid conflict with dogs and executioners.

Stamina
Daphne has a finite amount of stamina. Once it is exhausted, she must rest. To keep things moving along, this is accomplished by stopping movement completely or slowing to a walk. Swinging a weapon will decrease her stamina, while executing a charged attack decreases it further. Running and climbing also decrease her stamina.

If Daphne is climbing when her stamina meter is depleted, she will lose her grip and fall.

Stamina is represented by a gray circle fill in the HUD in the lower left corner. It can be seen decreasing while Daphne is running or climbing.

Thirst
There is no hunger mechanic in the game, though eating food can restore "vitality". Thirst, however, is an ever-present threat. Daphne can hydrate herself using food, naturally occurring fruits and water collection points. Becoming completely dehydrated will result in her death.

This is represented by a blue circle in the HUD in the lower left corner.

Vitality
While it may actually represent Daphne's health, it can be restored by eating food or using healing items. It cannot be restored simply by drinking water. It does not drain automatically, so standing still and taking no active damage will not result in decreased vitality.

This is represented by a red circle in the HUD in the lower left corner.

Crafting
The crafting mechanics in Die Young are extremely basic. Daphne is capable of crafting items that she should not be able to create by hand. (Really just the wrench.) The bulk of her crafting knowledge is limited to crude knives and basic first aid. The crafting interface is virtually non-existent, ensuring that the focus cannot center around the crafting aspect of the game. If she possesses the materials necessary to create an item, and has learned the "recipe", a simple button press will create the item.

Status Effects
Daphne can be afflicted with a number of negative status effects or positive benefits. Dehydration, exhaustion (though very temporary) and snake bites can be obviously detrimental. The positive status effects are less obvious, resulting in unmeasured benefits to her ability to move about the island. Wearing shoes decreases her stamina loss while running, for obvious reasons. Wearing a hat partially shields her from the sun, lowering the rate of dehydration. Knee pads assist in her ability to land longer jumps and falls while taking minimal, if any, damage.

All status effects are indicted by an icon in the lower left corner of the screen. Some status effects alter the entire field of view. Some effects, such as venom, can be removed using special items. Others, such as dehydration, can be resolved by simply drinking water.

Combat
In Die Young, combat is discouraged. Nothing mentioned in Daphne's backstory indicates that she is a trained combatant or experienced fighter. The primary dangers on the island (in the current version), are gravity, massive axe-wielding brutes and feral dogs. Even with weapons, Daphne is ill-equipped to handle all but one of these. Though these enemies can be killed, the risk involved far outweighs the potential gain.

(There is no gain.)

= References =