Children of Morta

Development: Nowadays a lot of games that see any sign of light has some sort of public funding backing. Children of Morta is no exception. Raising around $100,000 (with a goal of $65,000) on Kickstarter, the game came out on Steam September 3, 2019 with its standard $5 up-charge platforming fee to $21.99. That isn't bad for the amount of content available. There are 8 levels with a tutorial and final boss. Each level can take you 30 minutes to complete. That's 16 hours right there if you play each level twice. There was word about a demo where you could play the first level but I think it is only available during certain times. You are capable of playing with 2 people with either keyboard or gamepad but I don't have that much information regarding its details. The only thing I know for sure is that the local co-op mode requires both people to share the screen and you can revive each other upon death. I highly suggest keeping the game up-to-date, latest patch being 1.0.18, as each patch does help fix a lot of problems. The only major problem I ran into is the fact that I had to run the game in administrative mode so it would write a save file. Something about it being read-only I assume.

The Story: There are a total of 6 different characters that you can slowly unlock as the story unfolds. I had issues trying to balance out the three melee classes as they are usually slow and require more meticulous positioning. On the other hand the two rangers and Kevin, the rogue class, seem to be the ones I played the most as I leveled up them up to 18 each. There isn't much when it comes to the main story. Something about an approaching evil that will cover all the land. There are journals you can collect and events that explore people traveling abroad but there really isn't that much substance that holds past that. Most of it is to briefly describe a situation that generates the setting and the various dungeons. I finished the game but the ending still doesn't make sense to me. Something about the power of love? Anyways, the plot gets pretty dark as tension builds among the family trying to figure out a way to stop the end of the world.

Gameplay: When I first started playing the game I thought it was going to be like FTL: Faster Than Light where if one member is defeated, they are gone for good. Except the game is only "rogue-lite" in the state that the level has to be started over once you are overcome. So don't let that Steam tag fool you. Each class plays beautifully and uniquely so much that you will want to try them all. The game dissuades you from using a class too much with "corruption" that lowers the maximum health so much percentage. Leveling up each character also unlocks "family" buffs where their special abilities will be randomly available through items or elsewhere for other people. Even at level 18, I was still discovering new techniques and new items. Never feel like you wasted your time in a dungeon when money, on top of experience, can unlock additional damage or better dodges. And you will need them too since each dungeon level gets progressively harder. That can be considered a problem as a skilled player like myself can suddenly see a series of cutscenes playout all at once after completing a level on the first attempt. Or worse, missing out on random dungeon events or finding the next level too frustrating to even begin. There are oodles of items to try that actively buff your character permanently or temporarily, instantly or on command, and might provide additional history or background information to what is happening.

Review: Looking past the crazy story or the terrible events that unfold, Chidlren of Morta does a wonderful job fleshing out the characters and introducing their contribution to fighting against the evil plague. Although one can adapt to the various enemy units, the AI is rather brilliant as battle will require precise positioning and careful skills when they actively try to surround you. There are plenty of items to keep things fresh even if levels appear too difficult. Depending on what you are looking for, I do suggest giving this game a shot.

 

11-3-2019