Death's Gambit -- Short Review

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Of all the 2D "Soul-like" games I have played, Death's Gambit freely borrows the most from From. It does not hide the fact that the game is largely inspired by Dark Souls, and in fact Demon's Souls and Bloodborne as well. While the game does have some different takes on what is now common mechanics - for example, when you die you lose something, the "something" in this case is one of your healing items - this is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, the problem with Death's Gambit (DG) is that in a world where there are numerous Soul-like and Metroidvania games, DG feels a bit hollow (pun 100% intentional)! There are some poor design choices that really hurt what should otherwise be an enjoyable and challenging game. Some issues -

1)NO warping/fast travel! The game map is not Skyrim, but it's large enough that you begin to ask yourself "Do I really have to go all the way back here? Isn't there a shortcut!" but there is NO shortcut. In truth, you do get the ability to warp, once you defeat the second-to-last boss... WHO in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Honestly, I feel that the game would be 25-50% shorter and less annoying if the developers had implemented what is now a common quality of life feature! I can not think of a single Metroidvania game I have played, apart from DG, that did not include this important feature.

2)Swing-n-Miss. You're right next to the enemy but somehow your greatsword misses? Yup. And of course the enemy will hit you. The hitbox for this game is just not great. This is not a deal-breaker, but it does add to the annoyance.

3)What exactly is Willpower? Willpower is a trait that is purposely left "mysterious" in the game. People have of course figured out what it does, and without spoiling anything let me say that unfortunately the developers have used Willpower in such a way that if you die too often - and it is a Souls-like game so you're expected to die a lot, you can lock yourself out of getting the "true ending". I always thought it was shitty when developers pull stunts like this.

4)Fairly bland overall. There is a high-tech "city" (or something like that), underground chamber, central focus with merchants... BUT, none of that looks particularly impressive. It all just looks, well, bland. Contrast this with a similar game such as Blasphemous which is stunning, and DG looks rushed. The music is also entirely forgettable. I do have to give credit that the voice acting, especially by Death, is wonderful. However, the volume in the game is strange - sometimes I hear characters just fine, and other times it's hard to actually hear them at all. This is just lack of polish.

Is DG a bad game? No, not at all. If you're a Souls-like fan, you will want to play this. The first few hours are very enjoyable, but the luster does wear off. By the end of the game you will be ready to be done with it. Had I played DG before I played other games such as Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, Salt & Sanctuary, I certainly would have thought more of it. However, all those games are just much better in basically every conceivable way.

Final Score: 70 out of 100. Recommended for Soul-like fanatics and people who are desperate to find a Metroidvania - but not strongly recommended otherwise.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

Even moreso than Salt & Sanctuary?  The DS "inspiration" there was so blatant it was practically identity theft 

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1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Even moreso than Salt & Sanctuary?  The DS "inspiration" there was so blatant it was practically identity theft 

More so. Salt was very heavily inspired by DS, but it surprised me at just how fun and how well it held its own. Also, the visuals and music are wonderful, and the game actually was relatively "easy" once you get the hang of it and got strong enough gear which you could upgrade. Death's Gambit - I feel it does not hold its own, and it takes so many ideas/concepts from the Souls franchise including having an NPC which will kill off other NPCs etc. Still, I think you should play it and make up your own mind since of course you may love it despite my criticisms.

Also, I have not played the sequel, Salt & Sacrifice, which looks beautiful, but has received some pointed criticisms. One of which, is no fast travel... why on Earth??

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By the way, the worst Souls-like game I played (my opinion of course) is Mortal Shell which is likely the most egregious game that is copying imitating From. Again, some people loved the game, although I personally fail to see why.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,561]

52 minutes ago, avatar! said:

By the way, the worst Souls-like game I played (my opinion of course) is Mortal Shell which is likely the most egregious game that is copying imitating From. Again, some people loved the game, although I personally fail to see why.

@Gloves did not like that game either.  Makes me very wary.

It's one that was on my radar, but again, until I play all of the actual Souls game, I'd have to ask myself why I'd be buying it.