Game review 13 September 2019, 10:44

author: Michael Pajda

Children of Morta Review - A Gem Among Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers

When you beat the Children of Morta you will have the feeling that you are not only abandoning the great, dynamic hack'n'slash, but also that you are leaving the family home where you simply felt good and safe.

The review is based on the PC version.

The best recommendation for Children of Morta – the latest game by a previously unknown developer, Dead Mage, released by Polish 11 bit studios – should be the statement that the only drawback of this title is the unusual surname of main protagonists. Bergsons. It didn't seem to fit from the very beginning, but after a while this subjective flaw stopped bothering me, as I completely immersed myself in the fantastic universe of Children of Morta. I would underestimate and even humiliate the developers if I wrote that this might be the game of September 2019 – because it's probably one of the best games of the year!

Family is the most important thing

The story presented in Children of Morta may, at least initially, seem quite ordinary. The land of milk and honey is haunted by ancient evil, described in the game as Corruption. Evil as usually – prevails, deceives, spoils water in the well and disturbs, so it should be cleansed by all means. Sounds familiar? Similar motives can often be found in games that approach the plot in a conventional way – offering little more than a trivial story as a poor background for arcade entertainment. Luckily for us, game developers did not take the soft option. The outlined fate of land of Rea is only a starting point – instead of trivialities, we get a deep and moving story that complements the gameplay.

The protagonist is not a hero in form of the chosen one in shiny armor, but... The whole family of heroes – the aforementioned Bergsons, whose destiny lies in defending their land for generations. These characters do not say a single word – dialogues have been replaced by the narration (as phenomenal as it gets) of Ed Kelly, whose storytelling voice timbre enriches the fairytale character of the whole production. Family members, although they remain silent, are very characteristic, which is not only a result of fantastic animation, but also their interesting biography. Among them we can find, for example, a hot-tempered boy armed with daggers (Kevin), an old grandma devoting her life to science and research (Margaret), a young adept of the mysterious art of wielding fire and pencil (Lucy), or a wise and reasonable warrior with a warm heart, who smashes enemies with a powerful sword (John). I will not betray more, because it's a real pleasure to get to know the characters through their biographical notes. It's worth mentioning that there are many more characters in the whole story, although players can only take control over six of them.

Chop and slash

Gameplay in the Children of Morta is divided into two complementary segments. In the first one, the player lands in the Bergson residence – this house serves as a base, where you can prepare for further expeditions. This is where the protagonists can improve their statistics for the morva collected during the game (I'd swear it's gold, but it turns out that "not everything is gold that shines"), review notes found during adventures or watch the daily hustle and bustle around the house.

It quickly turns out that this is not the only important feature of this "safe house" (or maybe Full House), because this is where the game's narrative makes progress. After each death of the character (or less often – after completing several levels of a dungeon without death), you return home, and game rewards you with a cool cutscene. It is in the massive Bergsons' estate where you witness fantastic cutscenes – both that push the plot forward and those seemingly insignificant, which present the characters in situations from their everyday lives – painting pictures, arguing, having some romantic moments, doing sports like fencing or even having common dinners. Some cutscenes can be activated by pressing a special action button that appears in random moments of the game. It's worth launching them, because the plot becomes more complete and specific characters get a lot more expression!

The second segment of the game are dungeons, which resemble a classical hack'n'slash action. The Bergsons (single or as a team, because the game allows for cooperation) go down to the dungeon called Sanctuary (the association with the third installment of Fable is typical, but wasn't it called a "world" in Diablo?) to use magical portals that teleport them to locations which were attacked by evil corruption. The goal is to summon three Rei spirits that will help to open the doorway to the source of corruption. The fierce family traverses dungeons, unleashing biblical-sized havoc against hordes of monsters born in the darkness – sometimes skeletons, other times snakes or goblins. Like other hack'n'slashes, we will face stronger, elite mob varieties which have some special unique attacks. Also, you can expect some neat bosses at the end of every dungeon.

Combat itself is an extremely satisfying element of the game – each hero represents an archetype of well-known character classes. John is a warrior knight who can cover himself with a shield, Linda is a bow-equipped Amazon and Lucy will burn enemies with her fire magic – the difference, however, is not only about changing the weapon, but also the abilities of the character and it's playing style. The universal "energy" bar is responsible for another mechanics – for example, Lucy will consume this energy to create powerful tornadoes, and John's shield lasts as long as there is some energy left.

A gem you've been waiting for

Beware of your habits. The game effectively prevents you from playing it with only one character, introducing the mechanics of "Destruction by Corruption". If we particularly like a family member, his maximum living standard will eventually drop, forcing us to change character. In this way, the Children of Morta urges players to constantly juggle with family members and learn their different combat styles. Dodges and tactical use of hero abilities are also important – even a few thoughtless moves can result in the death of your hero.

I'm also glad to see the multitude of improvements, boosters and bonuses that can be found in dungeons – and I'll skip the fact that, like in any RPG, the characters gain experience levels (and thus, we unlock passive and active individual bonuses and perks that affect the whole family – such as increasing the movement speed of all Bergson family members). Heroes can gain special items and bonuses on a regular basis, which significantly modify their attacks (although, as in most roguelike games, they disappear after hero's death) – such as blessings (passive upgrades affecting the hero throughout his or her stay in the dungeon), God's relics (time boosters limited by a few dozen seconds' cooldown), obelisks (places that temporarily raise the protagonist's statistics), talismans (disposable buffs that disappear after activation) and runes.

So it's a lot of content, isn't it? Add randomly generated dungeons to explore, a large number of side quests, which you may come across after checking every underground corridor. Also, let's not forget about random encounters, which provide some fun while you repeat the same level. So one time you will liberate a merchant, save a wolf or collect some required raw materials. All this makes it possible to play Children of Morta for hours without feeling tired. The game skillfully introduces new mechanics, items or characters.

Spectacular pixel art

This title, or in fact a masterpiece, of Dead Mage studios should be praised not only for the way the game is played, but also for the insane audiovisual design. I can put this title among the most beautiful indie productions I have recently played (and I do it with a clear conscience). Pixel-art graphics style was made scrupulously and with fantasy. When I launched the game for the first time the effect was simply jaw-dropping – it's completely the same with the soundtrack which reminded me of the most beautiful fairy tales and legends!

I'm hardly an ardent fan of roguelike games – I love the formula of these titles, but the inevitable death and the typical high level of difficulty effectively discourage me from longer gameplay. It was different with Children of Morta. This piece is not overly complicated – although it cannot be said that you can complete this title without some hard effort. Despite that, each death is not the end of adventure, but an integral part of it. Deaths are necessary to know the history of the Bergson family, so when you fail – even during a duel with a boss, in which the victory could unlock new levels – it doesn't get frustrating. Because when you return home, you know that your family is waiting for you.

Even largest grumblers will have a hard time in finding any obvious defects in Children of Morta. Each of the above mentioned elements – story, audio-visual setting and gameplay, are all extremely strong features of this title. One can, of course, complain about typical features of this genre that will find both supporters and opponents: the need to grind the character not only for skills and experience, but also for collecting morva may not appeal to everyone. Same applies to biomes that players will have to visit, which could be a little more diverse and detailed – but it all seems like picking on the details. I don't have to, because objectively great game should be praised. I can even encourage all players to buy it, which I recommend without any hindrance.