It takes a lot for me to get into a rogue-like. There needs to be some sort of reason for me to keep playing other than simply getting better at a game –I have competitive shooters for things like that. There are only a few rogue-likes that have grabbed my attention over the years, most notably Hades, a game my sister turned me onto, and The Binding of Issac. The thing these two games share, aside from being fantastic, is a compelling story.
I love a great, or even a decent, narrative when paired with some fantastic gameplay. The Binding of Issac and Hades both do that really well which helps keep me playing and learning the mechanics of those games. This also helps me climb the difficulty wall and come to understand the appeal of what makes a rogue-like, well, a rogue-like. And taking into account everything I’ve said, Curse of the Dead Gods is really a fantastic game in many respects.
The graphics and visuals are really on point and mach the overall aesthetic. Everything has a sort of chunky look that while muted still manages to pop on the screen. The use of reds, purples, and greens really help the game have a unique look and feel and bring a lot of color to an otherwise very dark game, both literally and figuratively. I especially adore the Aztec/Mayan setting, something that hasn’t really been seen before on a large scale.
The weapons system employed by the game is a lot of fun and favors experimentation. If you like up close action, ranged combat, or a bit of both, there is something for everyone. Picking up new weapons is always a fun tossup during action. Do you try something new or stick to what you know. You never quite know what’s next and the right weapon layout can make all the difference. And the weapons, even those in the same class feel like their are all weighted in certain ways means you feel the action and that not every weapon in a class essentially functions the exact same just stronger or weaker like in many games.
Then there is the world that itself which often becomes a weapon and an obstacle in your path to victory. The darkness hides not only enemies but also traps and secrets. Do you risk danger and rush through an area blind or do you take it slow with your torch, lighting pillars to expose traps and possibly buff your abilities with scattered chests and goodies. Maybe there’s a secret room that the light exposes with new and interesting riches that could turn the tide of the current run you are on.
The world of Curse of the Dead Gods itself is broken up across separate paths across large stage in the same vein as StarFox (I’m outing my age with that reference). Do you choose a path to a room that holds gold for later upgrades, a health regeneration pool, ability upgrade area which you can trade in gold or blood in exchange for upgrades, or roll the dice with an unknown room to test your luck. Lots of options but the one constant is that your blood plays a very large part in how you will approach things.
A Corruption meter builds as you play and when it peaks you become cursed, placing a negative passive or active status against you. You can build the corruption meter five times and each time a new passive/active attaches to you adding a fun challenge. You can even use some of these to your advantage if you have the correct build and play smart. This means you are fighting not only baddies and bosses, but yourself as well. This sort of self-imposed negative buff adds to the fun and challenge in a unique way.
Curse of the Dead Gods has a lot to offer and that’s before we even get to the core combat. So many people that I’ve talked with have called it “chunky” but it beats me what that really means, especially someone not into these types of games. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but I don’t see it as anything uniquely special and find buzz words like “chunky” as a cop-out to not being able to explain something. What does make the combat special is the skill ceiling the game features. The difference between beginner and expert is pretty large. Perfecting the perfect parry and dodge is important to making progress deep into the game.
Early on it will feel like there is too much going and to remember, but a little practice will go a long way. This isn’t a game where you will be praying to the RNG gods as your earned and learned skill will always trump basic luck and button mashing. Create a build that you like and tweak it to suit your play-style and you’ll mostly do just fine. And in the combo system, which isn’t just an afterthought, which has you using action charges with your various equipped weapons to sting attacks for massive damage.
The more you become comfortable with the combat the better your strings will be. You can even add in a charged attack to blast things up a serious notch. Everything build really well off of the tutorial that you might be playing a few times through. You never feel overpowered either which keeps the challenge steady with each map leading to a massive boss battle which will test your skills. This will be where most of the action takes place as bosses require using your head as most of the time basic enemies end up just being fodder leading to the boss fight.
This is where things begin to get a little lacking for someone like myself. Every time you die, and you have to die in order to boost several of your skills and stats including blessings (passive buffs you can unlock and assign) for future playthroughs, you are dumped back to the beginning of the dungeon to run the same thing over again. Sure, you can take alternate paths and the sections of the map change, but it’s not quite enough to feel totally unique. This is the big rogue-like curse in my opinion. Stages may be random but what is random has familiar patterns.
Curse of the Dead Gods is pretty great but it can get old fairly quickly, especially if you aren’t into rogue-likes and have a hard time jumping over that initial learning wall. Combat might feel “chunky” if chunky means taking lots of breaks during action. The stamina system is cool in combos but means you’ll be backing away, or running away, while the meter recharges at points. This slows down the combat which is unfortunate as it really is a lot of fun to string combos and slice/blast enemies away. It’s the type of game where players who love and defend it will simply tell others to “git gud” to excuse any issues.
Still, those issues aren’t enough to turn lots of people away and I appreciate how weapons actually mean something and carry weight to them. I love trying to perfect my perfect build and not losing everything keeps me on my toes during a play-through. The game even tries to encourage you to come back with a trick from online games with daily and weekly events to tackle, something that really helps the longevity as they add a fun twist. But what really keeps me from coming back for more is what I addressed at the beginning of this review –the story. There is none and that’s a shame. There is nothing holding this experience together on a narrative level. Look, I’m not asking for some BAFTA award winning script here, but I need something to get me engaged in what’s happening.
Curse of the Dead Gods is a very good rogue-like and if you are a huge fan off the genre and the games I spoke of at the beginning of this review then you are probably going to love this game and have it on your wish-list. But if you are looking for a good narrative to hold everything together then you are going to be left wanting which is a shame. I loved the combat, the visual styling, the weapons, abilities and curse system so much that I wanted to learn more about the world it was all happening in. I want to know more about the three temple paths and the gods the represent. I need the why, even if it were stupid little notes scattered throughout the game feeding me more.
Curse of the Dead Gods is a very good game that really demands a story DLC or patch of some kind. I want to know more about the fantastic setting the developers built the game around and the gods that inhabit it. I want a reason for hunting treasure and killing monsters not because I need it but because the game is so good that it demands it. You’ve built this amazing world and it’s a bit of a shame to not dive into it. Still, if you care more about gameplay than story (a very fair point as it is a video game) you’ve come to the right place. I personally just want a little of both so for me it falls just a bit short from being the great game that many see it as and why Hades just barely edges it out in terms of complete package.
Pros:
+ Great styling
+ Solid Combat
+ Fun Weapons & Abilities
+ Unique Curse System
Cons:
– Possible Difficulty Wall
– No Story Hurts Overall World
– Repetition Might Keep Some Away
Final Score:
“If you need your rogue-like fix then Curse of the Dead Gods should not be missed.”
*Review Code Provided By The Publisher*
About Author
