Children of Morta

There's no doubt that this game is BEAUTIFULLY crafted, at least in the art department. The execution of pixel art is mesmerizing in SOME parts and I really want to remark that, but at the same time, there's a big difference between set stages and the procedurally generated ones which look incredibly repetitive and dull. Also, expect to get stuck and cornered onto the "details" of the walls at the worst times. My biggest issue is the heavy focus on storytelling this game has. I found it to be very cliché, cheesy and out of place, and the sleepy David Attenborough-like narrator amplifies those feelings to a whole new level. In my opinion, the intention from the devs to hit sentimental fibers with pace-breaking cutscenes and narrations about these characters you don't care was a huge miss. There are games like Darkest Dungeon and Bastion in which the narrator helps you get immersed, but this isn't one of them. The upgrading system: Every time you level up you get ONE skill point. Character Skill Trees have 2 initial skills, then 3 for the next tier and so on. Well, the third time you level up, you won't be able to afford anything (because the only two skills that you've unlocked now cost 2 skill points), also you can't afford any of the other skills because they're locked untill you level up further the two you already have. This is a thing you face in other RPGs once you're at the mid or late skills of the skill tree, not literally 1 hour in. The issue with this is that you'll have level ups where you don't actually get to upgrade anything at all so it's half an hour of grinding with the same stats before you get to change your skill damage from 120% to 125% which feels trivial once you do it, and the cycle resets. Performance: From terrible framepacing to audio glitching out, I don't understand why this game runs like it does when my PC runs RDR2 Ultra @4K at a solid 60FPS. Overall, it's a functional game with beautiful pixel art and a polished UI.

No, you read right. IMHO the game entalis: 1) game graphics and boss battle mechanics straight from several NES games; 2) Diablo series (D1-D3) - most heavily from D1; 3) John Wick atmosphere (currency system, vendors, some heavy guitar music). NES inspiration: boss battles easily remind some best NES titles like Bucky O'Hare or Batman Returns. Bosses & act bosses usually have some mechanics you need to learn to avoid or use against them. This becomes very evident in case of Terrelava bosses. They also have those long health bars just and attack animations reminiscent of NES games. Diablo portion: CoM is an aRPG. You crawl trough dungeons etc., kill mobs and baddies, level up your characters and empower them with new abilities and stats improvements (workshop & book of Rea). Family members have unique abilities but some are shared among all the family just like ability synergies in D2. Characters resemble Diablo classes from D-1-D3. Side quests, souvenirs, journals and story tidbits can be found in dungeons similar to D1. Oh yes and instead of Mt. Arreat we have Mt. Morta as the ultimate goal. Obelisks work just like D2 shrines. Runes work just like in D3. Terralava music in CoM relies heavily on guitars that reminds me of Tyler Bates' OST for John Wick. Also, aside from Morv (standard gold) there also Jewels that act as both keys to premium chests and trade tokens with the vendors (shopkeep, gambler, rune mender) You'll need those to trade divine rellic, blessings, talismans. L8r on some recued NPCs will offer a free item in a dungeon. Children of Morta also includes three minigames: pong, three cups and "press plates in the right order". if you win you get either a random item. The game has a linear but rich and compelling story that is told piece by piece. Some tidbits are told once you exit5 a dungeon. That way the game fakes convincingly to be a RPG instead of aRPG Overall, Children of Morta still has its own style despite borrowing from Diablo. Thumbs up!

I remember seeing a preview for this game a while back and wanting it when it finally came out. I was not disappointed. An actual story that is expanded upon after each death is enough to be interesting while not taking away from the monster killing fun. Each member of the family is a different classic ARPG class, like sword-and-board tank, ranged archer, nimble thief, mage, etc., so there is plenty of variety when choosing how you want to play. However, you also get bonuses for leveling up every family member, encouraging you to play using everyone. The random layouts of the levels is well done and finding new special abilities each run is fun and adds some diversity. Diablo-style obelisks are present to give short term bonuses, as well. The one boss I've faced so far is pretty tough...you need levels, skill and some luck to beat them, just like many other great games. The amount of challenge seems good so far, but I don't know how it ramps up over the course of the whole game yet. All in all, I've been VERY happy with the purchase and am looking forward to delving deeper and deeper into the game. The persistent unlocks are great motivation to keep on trying again and again to get a little stronger each time you play. Highly recommended to ARPG fans and fans of roguelikes.

I can't say enough good things about this game. The storyline is equal to anything I've ever seen in 30 years of gaming; the controls and gameplay are tight and well designed; the levels, enemies, encounters, and characters are all interesting and interact well together. The plot, especially, is notable for one simple fact: it is one of the very few family-oriented stories I've seen in gaming that was written by someone who actually "gets" what family means. I don't mean "family friendly" ... there are some very tragic events and the game does not shy away from violence or death; what I mean is that it's about an intact family - a rarity in gaming no matter the genre - and how they have to pull together in order to battle a perplexing evil that threatens the world. Beyond that, every single character moves, attacks, and even dodges differently. They all are devastating when used correctly, but switching from one to another can be disorienting (in a good way) because it very much feels like "switching bodies". The difficulty curve is pleasant. Not "3hard5u" try-hard difficult, but unless you're relatively skilled you'll die a lot until you gain some levels. It does have some beautifully nasty traps and enemy combinations - nothing truly unfair, but stuff that'll melt your health if you aren't quick on the uptake. The graphics are amazingly expressive and distinctive for the pixel style; animations are fluid and well designed; sound effects are good; the music is better. Just buy it.

I enjoyed this game, but it did have some shortcomings: There is a strange stutterung issue that happens which somewhat spoils the otherwise good graphics: https://steamcommunity.com/app/330020/discussions/0/2292842508227179463/ The combat is mostly fun, but there are some headscratchers. I don't want to get into details, but there where some moments where I thought "Really?, that's how the game goes?". Like going through the early levels with the archer being just a little too mindless or having to wait for your abilities to recharge, because there are just a few too many enemies on the screen. The combat was also a little sluggish for my taste, which I think had mostly to do with the dodge, which didn't feel 100% responsive. There's probably someone out there who will tell me "oh, you just weren't doing it right!", but I often found myself in the situation that I was sure i hit dodge in time for an enemy attack, only to find myself being hit anyway. As for the story: It's charming, if you're into that kind of thing but for me it's not compelling enough to carry the game on its own. Anyway, I still think the game is fun, but considering how competitive this genre is nowadays, I'd tell myself "wait until it drops in price or the stuttering is fixed" if i could make the purchase decision again.