Death's Door preview - Overarching, Somber Yet Wryly Humorous

Death’s Door is an interesting game – interesting the sense that it almost immediately reminded me of two very diverse forms of media: a point-and-click adventure game from 1998 (Grim Fandango by LucasArts) and a poem from 1821 (Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant).

The common thread between all three of these things is that they are all mediations on that inevitable dirt nap we all have to take – death. While Thanatopsis is deadly (no pun intended) serious and not all that interactive, both Grim Fandango and Death’s Door are, and also play fast and loose (while also adding a needed dollop of humor to the overall proceedings) with the familiar mythology surrounding death and dying. All that’s missing here is a Seventh Seal reference or two for the “Death Hat Trick” to be entirely complete.

Someone should tell Miyazaki about this kind of “borrowing”

This screen vexes me. I’m quite vexed.

Regardless, Death’s Door is coming from Devolver Digital and Acid House on July, 20th 2021, and once you get to play it, hopefully you’ll be able to make the same connections that I did. If not, it is my sincere hope that players will enjoy this experience based on its shadowy, Burton-esque aesthetics and gameplay merits alone because it is quite enjoyable.

From the press release: “Death’s Door thrusts players into a quirky and curious world where Crows are in charge of collecting the souls of the dead. Reaping souls and punching a clock might get monotonous but it’s honest work for a Crow. The job gets lively when your assigned soul is stolen and you must track down a desperate thief to a realm untouched by death – where creatures grow far past their expiry and overflow with greed and power.

Venturing forth from the Hall of Doors, explore a land full of twisted inhabitants and countless secrets, bringing hope to the weird and wonderful characters you’ll meet along the way. Wield and upgrade melee weapons, arrows and magic as you track down and defeat colossal tyrants with stories and motivations of their own.”

One of the bosses you fight is a castle… I have no idea why

As mentioned previously, the playable, beta version of Death’s Door that I had a crack at is rather polished and entertaining. It’s an isometric, puzzle platformer at its heart (it seems to me that waaaay too many indie games over the last decade or so fall into this genre, but I digress…) with a good amount of well-controlled combat and RPG elements thrown into the mix for good measure.

Your Reaper/Crow starts off with a sword and bow that can be upgraded by collecting soul fragments that are hidden away or from slaying enemies. These soul fragments can also be used to bolster the Reaper’s overall statistics (strength, speed, agility, etc.). And if all that sounds like pretty standard stuff, it is, but Death’s Door’s sharp graphics, design work, and overarching, somber yet wryly humorous, narrative save it from the true kiss of death….which, in my mind, is being a thoroughly “average” game.

Tell me this doesn’t give you Batman Returns vibes?

Ooooh, think I’m in trouble… RUN, LITTLE CROW, RUN!!

Since this is only a beta version, I did run a across a few annoying issues. I have deal with the game’s isometric viewpoint and how the currency/souls are collected. First, the way the levels are laid out and presented on-screen can hide doors and/or entranceways from time-to-time. This doesn’t occur all that often but when it does it is obviously frustrating. Secondly, the souls need to be easier to gather and/or there needs to be more, or they need to be reallocated differently as your Reaper/Crow seems woefully underpowered at times. That, coupled with the respawning enemy nonsense, sets up a “grinding to advance” dynamic that I’ve disliked since Phantasy Star II scarred me for life with that hot garbage back in the early 90’s.

At the end of the day, Death’s Door has the potential to be an excellent addition to the already overstuffed indie-puzzle-platformer genre... if, of course, the team at Acid House is taking the next few weeks to iron out the issues mentioned above before the July release date. Those concerns aren’t deal breakers in any way, but they are definitely noticeable dents in this Mercedes’ fender.

You just have to love a companion named “Pothead”