CHILDREN OF MORTA / DEVELOPER: DEAD MAGE / PUBLISHER: 11 BIT STUDIOS / PLATFORM: PC, SWITCH (REVIEWED) / RELEASE DATE: 20TH NOVEMBER
Story-driven hack n’ slash roguelite RPG Children of Morta centres its tale around the Bergson family, guardians of the ancient Mountain of Morta which has found itself under attack from an unspeakable corruption. Each family member has their own part to play in ridding the land of this hideous evil and, with your assistance, they might just be able to save the land from a terrifying end.
The six family members act like classes (all-rounder, mage, speed etc). They all feel very different to control, and you’re sure to find at least one preferred character that suits your playstyle. The game encourages you to vary your character choice by occasionally having characters fall ill after a while, limiting their maximum health for a certain amount of time.
The Bergsons’ family home acts as the game’s main hub – you return here after each run, and can spend the money you’ve earned in the dungeons on permanent stat increases and passive skills that are applied to all family members. Each character has their own individual skill tree that can be upgraded using skill points (awarded each time a character levels up), which eventually leads to further permanent boosts being applied to all characters.
In combat, the right thumbstick directs your attacks and the face buttons perform a variety of special moves that operate on a cooldown meter. Obelisks add temporary stat buffs, and relics can be picked up to add powerful abilities. Levels are procedurally generated so no two runs are quite the same – you never know which items, powers, collectables, NPCs or even hidden minigames you might come across…
CoM might be lacking slightly in the sound (there’s not a whole lot of music, and what there is doesn’t quite manage to be memorable) and enemy variety departments, and the tiny text can be incredibly difficult to read even when playing on the big screen, but the gameplay loop is incredibly addictive and the intricately-detailed pixel art is an absolute pleasure to look at. A very enjoyable addition to the Switch’s roguelite library.
