In short
Brain Jar Games’ Dead As Disco expands in Early Access on Steam with an update dedicated to Dahlia the Panther: a new Idol boss fought in The Nightshade arena, accompanied by the Flamecho enemy, the Burn status and her Skill Tree with the Phantom Dance ability. The update also adds five music tracks, two new arenas, eight Challenges, new Dance Moves and cosmetics. The title, nominated as Best Early Access Game at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, boasts over half a million players and a 97% rating on Steam.
Dead as Disco, Brain Jar Games’ rhythm-based beat ’em up, continues to grow in Early Access. A substantial new update dedicated to Dahlia, the new Idol to defeat.
With over half a million players and a new expansion already ready to bring Dahlia to the stage, Dead As Disco looks intent on making the most of its Early Access period, continuing to expand its content and mechanics based on community feedback.
Available in Steam Early Access since May, the title has continued to grow through a series of major updates, also thanks to community feedback. The game can also boast a “97% – Overwhelmingly positive” rating on Steam, based on over 14,000 user reviews.
On top of that came a nomination at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, where Dead As Disco is a candidate in the “Best Early Access Game” category.
Dahlia, the Panther
The new update introduces Dahlia, a new boss Idol set to become one of the most dangerous opponents faced by Charlie Disco.
The fight takes place inside The Nightshade, a location halfway between a nightclub and a botanical garden. Dahlia, known as The Lady of Loss, is a former pianist and dancer of the band, and she will lead Charlie into a battle split across multiple phases.
The update also introduces a new enemy type, the Flamecho, capable of striking from a distance by raining fire down on the arena before closing in with an unblockable attack and a subsequent offensive that can be countered.
Along with these new opponents comes the Burn status, which deals damage following the rhythm of the music.
Defeating Dahlia will finally unlock her Skill Tree for Charlie, introducing new abilities including Phantom Dance. It is an enhanced dodge that leaves a Pyroette on the ground, dealing damage and capable of being detonated with a follow-up attack.
Not just Dahlia
Music naturally remains one of the central elements of Dead As Disco. Dahlia’s dedicated theme is “La Pantera”. It features a strong dominance of piano, with a sound and musical language inspired by Latin music.
The update adds five new tracks:
- La Pantera (Radio Edit)
- La Pantera (Boss Remix)
- Sugar and Spice
- Suavemente
- Kumbala
The new update further expands the content of Dead As Disco with:
- The Nightshade and Obsidian Overture, two new arenas.
- 8 new Challenges.
- New cosmetics and Dahlia-themed memorabilia for Charlie.
- New Dance Moves, including Salsa Fan, Honest Hips and Bad Boy Boogie.
- Flamecho, Smoking Stan and Dahlia as options for Infinite Disco encounters.
- New quests and dialogue dedicated to Dahlia inside The Encore.
- New triggers for arena swapping and further improvements to Infinite Disco.
The will to improve
Since its Early Access debut in May, Dead As Disco has received several major updates, introducing new systems, challenges and ways to play the game.
Among the most significant additions is automatic BPM detection inside Infinite Disco. The system makes it easier to use your own music, automatically detecting the track’s BPM and offset.
Achievements have also arrived on Steam and Epic Games Store, with the ability to take previous play sessions into account when unlocking objectives.
For those looking for an even tougher challenge, the Intense Mode has been introduced, available in all Story levels. This mode increases the damage dealt by enemies and narrows the windows for landing Perfects. It removes healing hearts and checkpoints, and adds further modifiers designed to make encounters more demanding.
Infinite Disco has also been expanded with new arenas, environment-change triggers, new enemies and tools for creating custom combat set to music.
Finally, Custom Challenges have received new leaderboards, modifiers, additional enemies and smoother playlists.
The team at Brain Jar Games has done what we hoped for in our Early Access article. They have continued to gather community feedback, introducing several improvements to the combat system, the interface and the overall quality of the experience, including the ability to remap controller buttons.
