Likened to the classic Nintendo adventure game franchise “Legend of Zelda,” “Death’s Door” is an indie action-adventure game developed by Acid Nerve and published by Devolver Digital. The game revolves around a Reaper Crow commissioned to harvest souls which refuse to cross to the afterlife.
Released last July 20 for PC and Xbox platforms, “Death’s Door” features a dark, melancholic, and twisted world with the main character being a Reaper Crow, a mysterious character working for the Reaping Commission, an organization of crows tasked to track and collect souls. The primary goal is to harvest souls from creatures past their death dates; failure to harvest a soul would result in the reaper’s loss of immortality.
The game’s plot centers around the Crow’s day job of harvesting souls. However, the Crow loses its immortality after a giant crow steals its bounty of souls. Players are then tasked to restore the stolen soul by defeating three giants and restoring the Crow’s power and solving the mystery of Death’s Door.
Familiars mechanics and unique takes
With the game focusing more on combat and exploration, controls feature a standard set of movements such as walk, attack, dodge, and interact. Despite having Crow as the main character, the game (ironically) does not have any jump or fly movement. Fighting enemies may be fluid, but it requires great caution and decision-making from the players as enemies do not slow down when hit. They can also attack the character from different angles.
At the beginning of the game, the main character is equipped with only a sword and bow, but as the story progresses, players can obtain four new weapons and receive three other abilities after completing Avarice–a series of enemy battles to prove oneself worthy. Abilities are useful for long-range combat and for solving different puzzles throughout the game while exploration also unlocks new possibilities in playing the game.
There are numerous waypoints that can lead to shortcuts, collectibles, new weapons, Seeds of Life or health recharges, and Soul Energy, similar to other games’ “coins” used for character upgrades.
To compensate for the game’s increasing difficulty, upgrades are available in the Soul Vault located in the headquarters. Soul Energy is used to purchase upgrades and is earned by defeating enemies and picking up masses of Soul Energy. Available upgrades are Strength for increased melee weapon damage, Dexterity for attack speed and precision, Haste for movement speed, and Magic for increased range and damage when using abilities.
Leveling health and ability capacity upgrades have a distinct approach by collecting four crystal shards, obtained through secret shrines scattered in different locations. Recharging health can also be challenging since it can only be done by planting the seed of health in designated pots or returning to the headquarters.
Aside from good mechanics, the game’s environment and character design are very detailed while still on the playful and cartoonish side. Furthermore, boss battles feature creative abilities which require memorizing attack patterns to take advantage. Friendly characters such as Pothead also lighten the mood after an intense battle. Accompanied by these are the 50 well-made soundtracks that can also be purchased separately for ₱300.
Minimum setbacks
The game’s very noticeable shortcoming is the lack of difficulty adjustment in the menu. Checkpoints are limited in different locations, hence dying to enemies can cause losses in progress. Lastly, the game lacks waypoints, maps, or hints which makes the game’s exploration confusing for players new to the genre.
Despite this, according to the developers, “Death’s Door” has gained more than 100,000 players in the first week of its release.
Overall, “Death’s Door” is good for players interested in role-playing games (RPG) or action-adventure games. Aside from its compelling story and gameplay, its careful attention to the game’s environment and character design, as well as the soundtrack, are the strongest assets of the game.
With fluid movement and borrowed mechanics from older games, playing it will bring a modern take along with a familiar feel for players who are long-time fans of the genre.
“Death’s Door” is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X&S, and on Steam and Epic Games for the PC for ₱499.95.
Rating: 4/5
