Let's be honest. Grasshopper Manufacture is weird. If you’ve spent any time climbing the Tower of Barbs, you already know that Suda51 and his team don't do "normal" aesthetic choices. Let It Die was a fever dream of ultra-violence, arcade nostalgia, and skate-punk grimness that most games wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. But for the hardcore fans—the ones who actually survived the grind to Floor 40 and beyond—the holy grail isn't a legendary blueprint or a stack of Death Metals. It’s a physical object. Specifically, the Let It Die Deathfest artbook.
This thing is a ghost.
Try searching for it on eBay right now. Go ahead. You’ll likely find nothing, or perhaps a single listing priced high enough to make Uncle Death’s jaw drop. It wasn't something you could just walk into a GameStop and buy. It wasn't a pre-order bonus for a Deluxe Edition at a major retailer. It was a relic of a very specific moment in time—2019, to be exact—at an event that felt more like a secret society meeting than a corporate gaming convention.
The GungHo Secret: Where Did This Book Even Come From?
Most artbooks are marketing tools. They exist to generate hype before a launch or to pad out a Collector's Edition box. The Let It Die Deathfest artbook didn't follow that script. It surfaced during the GungHo "Deathfest" event, which was essentially a celebration of the game’s community and its transition into the wider GungHo ecosystem.
It's rare. Really rare.
We are talking about a limited print run that was primarily distributed to attendees and winners of specific contests. Because Let It Die is a free-to-play title, its physical footprint is naturally tiny. There is no disc for most people. There is no manual. For many, this artbook is the only tangible proof that the game exists in the physical world.
The book itself is a deep dive into the brain of Katsuhiko Maeda (known as Shin-kyu), the main character designer. If you’ve ever wondered why the Haters look so deranged or how they came up with the specific silhouette of the Jackals, this is where the answers live. It’s not just a collection of finished renders. It’s a messy, beautiful look at the "rough" side of development—the sketches, the discarded ideas, and the evolution of the iconic Uncle Death.
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The Art of the Tower: Inside the Pages
You’ve seen the Screamer designs. They’re basically corpses held together by scrap metal and spite. In the Let It Die Deathfest artbook, the level of detail on these low-level enemies is staggering. The artists didn't just draw "zombies." They drew specific types of urban decay.
The book is split into sections that cover:
- Character profiles for the main cast (Uncle Death, Kiwako Seto, Meijin).
- Detailed breakdowns of the 4-Four Forcemen (White Steel, Red Napalm, Black Thunder, Pale Wind).
- Environmental concept art that shows how the Tower of Barbs was supposed to feel like a vertical shanty town.
- Weapon blueprints that look like they were pulled from a deranged DIY magazine.
What’s fascinating about the character art is the fashion. Suda51 games always have a "look." In Let It Die, it’s a mix of 80s punk, modern streetwear, and protective sports gear. Seeing the high-resolution sketches of the DIY equipment sets—like the Ryback or the DIY Assault Gear—reminds you how much thought went into making the player look like a scavenger. It’s not "armor" in the traditional sense. It’s trash repurposed for survival.
The Jackals get a significant amount of love here, too. They are the "cleaners" of the tower, and their sleek, futuristic white suits stand in total contrast to the rusted, bloody mess of the rest of the game. The artbook highlights this contrast perfectly. You see the clean lines and the high-tech weaponry that makes them feel like they belong to a different world entirely.
Why You Can't Find It (And Why People Want It)
Supply and demand is a cruel mistress. Since the game has evolved over the years into Deathverse: Let It Die (and the subsequent drama surrounding that title's "re-development"), the original 2016-2019 era of the game has become nostalgic. People miss the purity of the first Tower of Barbs experience.
The Let It Die Deathfest artbook represents the peak of that era.
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It’s also about the "Suda51 factor." Collectors of Grasshopper Manufacture games—like Killer7, No More Heroes, and Lollipop Chainsaw—are notoriously completionist. They want every piece of media associated with the studio. Because this artbook was never given a wide retail release in the West, it has become a "whale" for collectors.
Honestly, the scarcity has created a bit of a mythos around it. On forums like Reddit’s r/LetItDie, you’ll occasionally see a post from someone who found a copy in a Japanese second-hand shop like Book-Off for a few thousand yen, and the comments are always filled with pure envy. It’s the kind of item that defines a "cult classic."
The Digital vs. Physical Struggle
There is a digital version floating around, mostly through fan-made scans and promotional PDFs that were occasionally shared by GungHo. But it’s not the same.
The physical Let It Die Deathfest artbook has a specific tactile quality. The paper stock, the color saturation of the gore, the way Uncle Death’s shades pop against the matte black of the cover—it matters. In an age where everything is a digital license that can be revoked at any time, owning a physical book of the game’s soul feels like a small act of rebellion against the "all-digital" future.
If you are looking for the lore, the artbook is one of the few places where you can see the world-building laid out clearly. The game tells its story through "Tales from the Barbs" comics and snippets of dialogue, but the artbook connects the dots visually. You see how the seismic event known as "Earth Rage" actually influenced the architecture of the floors.
How to Actually Get Your Hands on One
If you're serious about tracking down the Let It Die Deathfest artbook, you have to stop looking at standard American retailers. You need to go to the source.
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- Mercari Japan & Yahoo! Auctions Japan: Use a proxy service like Buyee or ZenMarket. Search for "レット・イット・ダイ アートブック" (Let It Die Artbook). This is your best bet.
- Japanese Book-Off Locations: If you happen to be in Tokyo or Osaka, check the gaming sections of used bookstores. It’s rare even there, but it happens.
- Convention Specialty Vendors: Occasionally, sellers who specialize in import gaming merchandise will have a copy at events like Anime Expo or MagFest. Be prepared to pay a premium.
Prices fluctuate wildly. One month it might be $80; the next, it might be $250. It all depends on who is looking and who is selling.
The Legacy of the Tower of Barbs
Let It Die is a weird survivor in the gaming world. It’s a game that should have died a dozen times over, yet it maintains a dedicated, almost religious player base. The Let It Die Deathfest artbook is the ultimate testament to that survival. It’s a document of a time when a mid-sized developer could take a huge swing on a bizarre, hyper-violent, free-to-play experiment and actually find an audience.
Even if you never play the game again, the art stands on its own. It’s a masterclass in "low-fi sci-fi" and "cyber-punk-trash" aesthetics. It’s gross, it’s stylish, and it’s unapologetically Japanese.
For those who want to appreciate the work without the hunt, many fans have uploaded high-quality galleries of the key pages. But for the true Senpai? Nothing beats holding the actual book. It’s a reminder of every time you died to a hater, every time you spent too much on a decal, and every time Uncle Death called you "Senpai" with that weirdly charming enthusiasm.
Actionable Next Steps for Collectors
- Set Up Alerts: Create a saved search on eBay and Mercari for "Let It Die Artbook" and "Deathfest GungHo." The good deals disappear in minutes.
- Verify the Version: Some smaller "pamphlet" style books exist from various trade shows. Ensure you are looking for the full Deathfest edition if you want the comprehensive collection.
- Check Proxy Services: Don't limit yourself to English sites. The Japanese market is where 90% of these books currently reside.
- Preserve Your Copy: If you do find one, keep it out of direct sunlight. The black ink used on the cover of many Grasshopper books is prone to fading if left on a shelf near a window.
- Digital Backup: If you just want the information, seek out the community-maintained Discord servers for Let It Die. They often have high-resolution scans pinned for lore hunters who can't afford the physical price tag.