Curse of the Dead Gods (X1) Review
Release Date: February 23, 2021
Publisher/Developer: Focus Home Interactive/Passtech Games
Platform: Xbox One (Reviewed), Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC, Nintendo Switch
Price: $19.99
As someone who loves a progressive story and constant success in his video games, rougelikes and roguelites really aren’t my thing. I can, however, appreciate one when it is done right, returning gaming to it’s arcade style roots whilst offering randomization to keep things fresh and a little bit of progression as you continue unlocking more abilities or weapons to better future runs. Curse of the Dead Gods borrows some of the best ideas from my recent favorite rougelike Dead Cells, as well as a smidgen from Hades (which I personally haven’t played but have heard many reference it in discussing this title). Curse of the Dead Gods brings it’s own unique mechanics as well that definitely help it come into it’s own and provide an experience you won’t get anywhere else.
The game’s weakest point is it’s story, as simply playing the game you really aren’t given too much. You find your way into a temple, there are Dead Gods, and a Curse involved, leading to your neverending quest to defeat said gods. One cool bit is how you have choice of the three temples to start a run, allowing a little bit of freedom upon the start instead of being thrown down the same route constantly. The procedural generation of each level keeps things fresh, and after an area you are allowed to choose where to go next down a branching path, with promises of weapons, upgrades, and gold based on which route you take. As you progress, you become more corrupt, from simply finishing levels to offering blood sacrifices for more power. Enough corruption and you become cursed, randomized debuffs that can effect your character, environments, or enemies and make your run overall much harder. Depending on your corruption and what curses you have placed on your character, each run can have it’s own flavor and feel much more different the further you get.
Of course, one major part of a roguelike is unlocking new, permanent benefits that help you in future runs. You can add special effects, like dealing more damage if you can destroy a number of enemies in a certain set of time, to new weaponry that adds more stopping power and makes you a more efficient killing machine. In my time with the game, there isn’t a lot of variety to the weapons, with most unlocks being stronger versions of what you’ve already seen, but it doesn’t stop the combat from being exciting.
CotDG relies on it’s unique combat to stand out amongst the other roguelikes. For one, you deal more damage in light and take more damage in the dark. In certain levels you can light torches, others you may light cobwebs for a short but uncontrollable burst of light. Also, a stamina meter is in effect, with five notches available, and anything more than a basic attack may take a point of value, be it offense or defense. Players have to find a balance and determine if they can risk going all-out but not having a defense if someone ends up surviving. Successful risky moves (like perfect dodges or getting a hit in right before being hit yourself) would lead to a stamina recharge. I did appreciate the combo combat, allowing you to hack and slash, then finish off with a special gun attack.
Curse of the Dead Gods may take a bit to follow the story, finding and reading secret tomes, but it more than makes up for it in unique combat and gameplay mechanics. Combat is fluid, controls are tight, and the curse mechanic mixes up gameplay. Finishing off those first three temples really opens up the game, allowing for more of a traditional roguelike experience and also unlocking special challenges for previous areas with online daily challenges. Despite feeling at first as if Curse of the Dead Gods is an attempt to jump on the bandwagon with the popular genre of the moment, the game has plenty going for itself to overcome the curse of the rogue-alike and become an amazing title on it’s own.
Pros:
-Combat is fun with plenty of unique twists
-Curse and corruption mechanics add variety to the gameplay
Cons:
-Storyline is thin
Special thanks to Focus Home Interactive/Passtech Games for providing a code for review!