If you adopt a more cautious playstyle, each one could take you well over half an hour, should you make it to the end (or close to it). You see, levels are sizeable, lengthy affairs with hundreds of enemies. If you have the patience to do so, that is. The upshot is that it’s still hard, but more accessible – if you’re struggling, you just have to grind it out until you unlock enough upgrades to make the game easier. This underlying progression puts Children of Morta very much on the rogue- lite end of the spectrum, if you care for the distinction (as does the fact that the game is split into several acts of a few levels each, rather than one continuous run).
#CHILDREN OF MORTA REVIEW UPGRADE#
Likewise, the workshop in your family home which lets you upgrade stats like max health, speed and critical hits, applies to every hero you play as. And while characters are levelled up independently, some runes unlocked on their skill trees buff every other character in the family. You’re forced to vary the characters you play as, with them succumbing to the Corruption after a level or two, which means they need rest else their maximum health is significantly reduced.
There are some smart design decisions around this, too. Each feels distinct, with their own level and skill tree to unlock. There’s a diverse range of playstyles between them, from the tanky John with his shield and ability to rain down swords to the fireball-hurling, tornado-spawning savant Lucy and the assassin-like Kevin who can turn invisible and throw knives. Thankfully, the Bergson family are a lot tougher than they sound. They sound more like the characters of a sitcom than the heroes of a faraway fantasy land. High stakes for sure, but what I couldn’t get past is their hilariously ordinary names. You play as the Bergson family – one of them at a time, anyway (or two in co-op) – as they fight off the Corruption, a malevolent force spreading across the world of Mount Morta. The ‘children’ in Children of Morta’s title is a clue. While Children of Morta does little to develop the genre or even differentiate itself within it, this dungeon-crawling adventure is a culmination of everything you’d expect from a rogue-lite, delivered to a highly-polished, well-oiled standard. These procedurally generated, tough-as-nails games continue to pick up steam and hybridise with other genres to create new experiences. All rights reserved.The indie fascination with roguelikes and rogue-lites shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Children of Morta, the Children of Morta logo, the 11 bit studios logo and the Dead Mage logo are trademarks of 11 bit studios S.A. Please check the game detail page on for membership requirements.
multiple dungeons set in different biomesĪ Nintendo Switch Online membership may be required for online play.
passive and active items modifying each run
emotional tale focused on a family of heroes It’s a story about a valiant family standing together while the world around them is being devoured by darkness. it's not a story about saving the universe. With the Corruption spreading through the land, guardians of the Mountain Morta have to stand up against the ancient evil. It is a story of simple emotions we all know so well and value more than sometimes we dare to admit: love and hope, longing and uncertainty, ultimately loss and sacrifice we are willing to make to save the ones we care the most for.Įmbark on the adventure of an extraordinary family of heroes. Children of Morta sets its story in a distant land but copes with themes closer to our daily lives that one would expect.