14. Children of Morta. The best games of 2019 according to Gamepressure

Ancient evil took over Mount Morta, turning the creatures inhabiting it into terrible beasts. Now, the Bergson family, who have been guarding the safety of the mountain for generations, must find the seeds of life to restore the order. Sounds kinda cliché, right? You would be surprised, though, because this is an outline of an exceptionally deep and moving story that perfectly intertwines with gameplay in Children of Morta, a creative mix of narrative adventure game and roguelike developed by the team at Dead Mage.

In Children of Morta we choose one of the six members of the aforementioned Bergsons, and in their skin we traverse vast dungeons, chopping up legions of monsters. Each member of the family offers unique skills and specializations, allowing us to spread destruction in various ways, and the gameplay mechanics force us to constantly switch characters, keeping the fun fresh. We also have, of course, character progression and repeating deaths that require us to start the game seemingly from scratch, but with a few buffs, which is characteristic of the roguelike genre.

What distinguishes the Children of Morta and makes this title captivate one’s heart is what happens between the successive expeditions. That’s when we go to the Bergsons' house, where we not only prepare for subsequent missions, but above all we get to know the fate of the family. Fates written in such an extremely engaging, touching, simply human way that not much time will pass before we will have to fight the urge not to get killed on purpose on the mission and return home just to find out more about the characters.

1. More on Children of Morta
2. Children of Morta Review – A Gem Among Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers