Death's Door
Released: July 20, 2021
Game Length: 10 Hours
Grade: B
What is Death's Door?
Preliminary: For the past couple weeks, this little game has been plastered everywhere I looked. Instead of ignoring the news like I usually do, I decided to devote a little bit of my attention in checking out what all the fuss was about. There was one giant problem - no one seemed to know the best way to describe it. From looking at the Reveal Trailer, you would probably assume (1) you were some sort of bounty hunter for a secret agency tasks to track down and slay paranormal beings. Every now and then, people will come out and compare it to Hollow Knight as its (2) aesthetic nature and style of gameplay heavily revolves around the concept of death. Some are quick to point out its Zelda adventure style where you (3) use various tools to solve puzzles, find secret areas, and create shortcuts as you progress through a level. Others like to compare it to Dark Souls when (4) you must engage and react appropriately to overwhelming odds by reading the movements of the enemy with limited room for error. Considering that it is a Devolver Digital game, many can tie its mechanics to Titan Souls (that one game that was included in the February 2016 Humble Bundle) and Enter the Gungeon with how (5) striking enemies briskly, evading their attacks with a dodge roll, occasionally attacking from a distance, and utilizing your surroundings are all part of its standard combat system. After playing the game, I realized the developers did indeed amalgamate bits and pieces of all those concepts into one game. The reason why it is so difficult to pinpoint the game's own identity is because of how it transmogrifies those ideas only part of the way.
Content
Story: What you see in the trailer is pretty much all you get in the game. This organization that sends you slaying isn't as vast as you think they are. In fact, your main mission gets sidelined very early in the game. You do track down bosses, but there are only a total of 8, all of which are required to beat the game (except one that technically happens after the credits roll). However, it is entirely possible to delay your fight with the three sub-section bosses since the tools required to advance into other areas are given out before the fight. The only benefit of defeating them early is to earn 500 soul power (compared to the 100 you get from hidden spheres). There are numerous occasions where you will experience goofy encounters from the many characters you encounter in the game, but these happen very quickly and intermittently. The vast majority of the story is merely hinted at from what you see in the background of the landscape and the "shiny objects" you collect (you are a raven after all). Even when you think the game is finished after defeating the main antagonist, there will be an entire new sub-set of things to do to unlock the true ending.
Combat: There is something fundamentally different about your arsenal that I'm not accustomed to. Using a standard sword, daggers for quick consecutive blows, an umbrella to challenge yourself, or a hammer for heavy hits is fine. Yet, there isn't a way to quickly swap between them. They give you the option to quickly swap between your bow, magic, bomb, and hook-shot abilities. They must be unlocked through progression of the game and can be upgraded through finding their appropriate challenge room. But instead of tying them to your standard "attack" button while holding the "aim" button or simply pressing your "magic" button, you must press two separate buttons. Instead of holding down the "attack" button to use a charged attack, that too is completely remapped to another button. The "charged attack" button must be pressed after rolling in order to follow-up with a moving strike. Although I do see some benefit when it comes to these choices for some people, I found myself constantly forgetting what button did what every time I took a break from the game. The controller settings wouldn't allow me the ability to map one button to multiple actions either.
To prevent forever kiting enemies with your ranged abilities, they give you a limited pool of uses that are only restored by hitting something with your primary weapon. For the sake of coding, you can't shoot up or down levels. There is no way to jump, run faster, or even fly. The only way to restore your health is by dying, finding seeds in the world and planting them in a pot, or returning to the main hub (and yes, it is possible to hurt yourself by falling off the edge in the "safe zone"). You will be stuck with 4 health bars and 4 magic bars for a good chunk of the game with the possibility of only upgrading them additional 2 points through the 16 shrines (4 are required before gaining one point).
Exploration: Now comes my number one complaint of the whole game. Considering that there is very little power in upgrading your equipment and the fact that defeating bosses aren't required to acquire tools for secret areas, they could have allowed an open-world where a person could visit or change between the regions whenever they got tired visiting one area. However, the developers chose a more linear experience to make it easier for them to code-in story elements and difficulty spikes. It becomes clear early on that many areas stay hidden until you earn a certain tool. The problem? There is no map! There isn't a single map in the whole game. I understand why there isn't a mini-map, but even Kirby and the Amazing Mirror or Hob had overhead maps. The doors in the primary hub will only indicate a hidden item by "shining red" after the credits roll. This becomes exhausting after you realize you need all 50 seeds planted in all 50 pots before you can get to the end. You could ask specific NPCs for information on where certain items are located in the vicinity, but it is unheard of to play a game without having something to refer to when you are lost.
Difficulty: For a skilled player, like myself, you might only die a few times. Most of these are centered around learning the boss mechanics or getting used to the control scheme. For someone who isn't quite experienced, like if it took you 50 tries to complete your first run of Hades, then you might find yourself having a bit of a challenge on your hands. You shouldn't be dying in landscape, but doing so will send you back to the main hub. There is no option to simply "Return to HQ" so using this method or exiting to title screen are perfect ways to quickly get back. Dying during the boss is to be expected and will respawn you right at the entrance of their lair. If you die during a challenge, it will conveniently ask you if you want to try again. You will not lose any progress. You will not lose any souls. Falling off the side of a cliff merely sets you back one health point and resets you back to where you fell. Keys are relatively close to the doors they open. The majority of the puzzles are not that difficult to figure out. One thing that did take me much longer to figure out is the ability to slide off the edge and press the attack button to ground smash through a manhole to traverse over into a secret area.
Summation
Minor Details: There are all these little touches that let's you know how much effort they put into polishing the game. My Xbox 360 Controller worked right away, contrary to the reports. I liked how each item you picked up had some relevance to the story with the added option to inspect them closely. You can slice through any of the signs and even read the bottom portion that remained. Hitting the bell tower after the credits rolled advances to evening time for additional fun activities. The music is pretty decent in all the areas, but tends to get repetitive if you are out of combat for an extended amount of time. I personally loved how the beat of Inner Furnace matched the beat of the moving platforms.
Minor Flaws: Most of these are mere nitpicks. I was ported to the nearest door instead of receiving a special item when I completed a challenge chest while holding a unique object. The lift took me back to where I came from before giving me a chance to get off first after moving around a couple seconds. There are some areas where locking the camera in place isn't helpful and actually downright hinders your gameplay experience when trying to advance into the next segment. The camera will still lock in place even after the area is cleared of enemies. The way a crate dissipated didn't quite match up with how it gets broken every time. Amusingly, this game is not available on the Switch despite the number of people who think every game should be made available for it.
Review: Death's Door is a spectacular game that includes a nice story, polished mechanics, and a smooth gameplay experience. It borrows many elements you might be familiar with in other games and develops an adventure worth exploring. The sad truth of the matter is it is much shorter than it should be. The abbreviated content really shows with limited maneuverability in weaponry and tactics, the absence of more in-depth details towards the story of what is happening around you, and not providing any maps to help you with your endeavors. Despite these failings, the balancing act of making it difficult enough for Dark Souls fans yet enjoyable enough for Zelda fans will make you continue playing until the very end. I do recommend this game if you have the money to spare.
8-6-2021