This is one area where the screenshots don't do the game justice. I also found the melee combat to be more awkward and crowded, so it was less fun.įor me, the most appealing part of Children of Morta is the visuals. If you're going it alone, though, distance saves more lives than armor. It feels more natural when you're playing with a tank character in multiplayer, as it allows the ranged fighters (who get damage bonuses for attacking without moving) to ramp up their damage with less risk. At the end of the day, I would use the tanky Bergsons until they died before I inevitably cleared a dungeon with one of the ranged ones. I had the easiest time playing with Bergsons who fought from a distance by default, and I had the toughest time with melee fighters who were theoretically tanks. My biggest issue with the combat is largely that ranged capability seems to trump all else. Even characters whose play styles mesh poorly with your own can empower the character you do like. Since you're being rewarded with buffs and bonus abilities even on failed runs, it lacks the feel of 'I have to play the character I dislike' because you'll always have multiple Bergsons available. It strongly rewards players for swapping between different characters and trying out their play styles. Finally, characters who are overused will get corruption fatigue and have reduced maximum health until they get some time to rest. Since characters share all stat upgrades, this is also easier than it sounds. Taking a level 1 character into a later dungeon will get them to level 10 in a single run. Another is that leveling up under-leveled characters gets way faster as you progress. That means if you don't devote at least a little time to the other characters, you'll miss out on some cheap and easy buffs. As they level up, each Bergson unlocks passive buffs that apply to the entire family. These skills are very powerful and one of the things carried over between runs.įor a variety of reasons, it's not wise to pick a favorite Bergson and play nobody else.

Linda the archer gains the ability to deal more damage the more she attacks without moving, and she has a powerful AoE stun that lets her escape when surrounded. Characters also gain skill points as they level up, allowing access to special moves, 'rage' attacks, and powerful passive skills. The upgrades are mostly stat boosts, but some, like the passive chance to dodge enemy hits, pay off huge dividends pretty quickly. One is by upgrading at the house, and the upgrades carry over to all characters. On the other hand, he's far more fragile than John and more likely to die at the hand of snipers.Ĭharacters gain power in a few ways. Kevin the rogue, on the other hand, deals tons of damage and can buzz-saw through enemies and turn invisible. He's great at holding chokeholds but poor if he gets surrounded. John, the patriarch and the aforementioned tank, has a shield to block attacks and a long broadsword. The nice thing is that each one plays significantly different from the others. You have a long-distance archer, a peppy fire mage, a dashing monk, a stealthy rogue, and a shield-bearing tank.

The Bergsons are a busy family, and each member tends to fill a distinct niche. Death isn't always a bad thing sometimes, you need to die for the subplots to advance, unlocking new features or playable characters.

You return to the house with the gold you collected. Aside from that and having to restart the dungeon segment, there isn't a huge punishment for dying. Trinkets often offer nice bonuses, but they're randomized and far from necessary, so you're encouraged to not depend on them.

Dying (or finishing a segment of dungeon) causes you to lose any trinkets you collected. Morta is a roguelike, but it's not hugely punishing. One nice feature is that it offers local co-op, so you can bring multiple characters into the dungeons at one time. It will probably feel familiar to people who know the genre, but that's not a bad thing. Combat is largely twin-stick shooter/slasher style, with cooldown-based skills and a few character-specific tweaks. You enter a randomly generated dungeon and slay your way through hordes of enemies while collecting gold and trinkets and earning EXP. At its core, Children of Morta is a Diablo-style roguelike.

Children of morta kevin