Off the AppStore: Pay Or Die… Kinda says it all, huh?

• You're dying, but Death is giving you a chance to play your way out
• It's all in the cards as you hope for good draws and attack your opponent
• You've gotta keep winning to earn your pay... or die

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, that while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." This quote is so overused, but don't worry, because here it is relevant. It would be interesting to see how Benjamin Franklin would react to the fact that this quote is in the top five things people remember him for, but that's a musing for another time. Yes, the end eventually comes for us all, so we have to do as much as we can using whatever amount of time we're given. However, if you're at all familiar with lore surrounding death, you'll have heard of the idea that you can bargain for another chance at life. Sangheli Games has presented such a scenario in Pay Or Die, so it's time to game on!

You've died and, man, does that suck. It would've been nice if it were quick and painless, but that's not the case. You have been caught in nuclear fire, which is just as bad (likely worse) than it sounds. While you're experiencing a combination of burning and radiation exposure, it's a slow death, and the Grim Reaper himself appears in the throes of your suffering to offer you a deal: Beat him in a card game and you can keep your life. But it's not that easy, since you've got to win enough games to earn enough coins to pay the Reaper for a solid revival.

The card game is relatively simple. Both sides are dealt five cards, and the cards can be one of several types: Attack, Recovery, and Junk. Attack cards are used to deal damage to health points, Recovery cards are used to regain health points, and Junk cards just take up space. Each side has 100 health points, and the first one to drop to zero loses the game. You can play one card per turn, or instead choose to burn a card to remove it, or you can spend some health points to skip your turn. Once all the cards have been played from both hands, a new set of five cards each will be dealt.

Pay Or Die is a fast-paced 2D card-battle where you're playing against the Grim Reaper to earn coins and pay for your life. The cards have a solid pixel style, and you can play through multiple matches over the course of an hour. The tension remains high as you need luck to be on your side to get the cards you need to make strides toward victory. The haunting ticking in the background will constantly remind you while you're there, and that death won't wait forever.

Pay or Die is available to download and play from its itch.io page!