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"Steps were taken without regret, for it was never possible to change a destiny unknown."


Introduction

This review is based on playing on the Steam deck.
Children of Morta is an overhead story-driven action RPG following a family of heroes, The Bergsons. Blending RPG and Roguelite mechanics to create a fun and fluid but time-manageable experience that can still deliver a hearty plot is a formula that many try to overcome. But did the family stumble upon the perfect recipe, or did the calamity consume them?


🟩 Positives
🟥 Negatives


🟩 Each family member plays intrinsically differently from the others, and learning their strengths and weaknesses is a core part of the gameplay, as is improving their skills to match your playstyle.
🟩 The game is broken down into relatively short roguelite runs that can take around 20-30 minutes, depending on your level of thoroughness.
🟩 There are loads of items in the game for you to build your characters around and experiment with at your own pace. Dying is a part of the experience, so don't let that be a reason not to try something new.
🟩 The general aesthetic and art style are sublime and unique, creating this world of pure whimsy, even in the mundane.
🟥 RNG plays a big part in any run in these types of games. Being able to accept that can be tedious on occasion, especially when you've tried several runs and simply aren't getting cohesive items.



Story

You play as The Bergsons, a family of heroic warriors and mages who have stood watch over Mount Morta for generations. But now, following a long peace, a dark power has begun to spread across the once peaceful mountainside and is corrupting what was once serene and beautiful into a nightmarish hellscape that seeks to consume all in its wake.
Weak and unprepared from the years of tranquillity, The Bergsons scramble to understand the calamity they face, which now threatens to destroy the world as they know it.
I am very rarely emotionally moved by a video game. But having played through the story of Children of Morta, I can say that by the end of it all, as I sat staring at the scrolling credits, I felt a great pang of sadness that the journey was over and that I wouldn't get to experience this for the first time again. All the trials the family overcame, the moments of love, devotion and loyalty that riddled almost every moment of world-building are pieces of what makes this experience so extraordinary. In addition to the sensational writing and dedicated effort to build a cohesive and emotionally complex story, the world is brimming with symbolism and wisdom that spur you onward as any good motivational speech could.

Gameplay Analysis

A family of guardians.
You don't have many choices as to who you can play at the start, but as the story progresses and the world opens up to you, new family members will hear the call and begin to return home.
Each hero plays differently from the rest, coming with their own individual set of skills, talents and abilities that set them vastly apart from the rest and allow them to interact with the world in a unique way.
For example, the two starting heroes, John and Linda, require entirely different playstyles, as John is a standard warrior type with a sword and shield, while Linda is an archer and prefers to keep her enemies at a distance.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3247501087
Roguelite Loop.
The core gameplay loop consists of choosing one of the main maps and selecting the subarea you want to explore. Once inside, you will then have one life to explore as much of it as you can or complete it by killing the boss that awaits at the bottom. Either way, you are rewarded with experience points and knowledge of the area and items you found while exploring. This mechanic lets you level up your characters without completing the level and build your meta-game to make progression easier next time.
A build worthy of a hero.
Creating viable builds is always a struggle in this genre of games, as not all items work cohesively. It can be exceptionally tedious, especially when, over the course of an hour or two, you simply aren't getting the drops or item rolls you need to make serious progress.
Here is where experimentation comes into play, as you never know what might work with each hero. Remember that dying is a part of the experience, and don't let this deter you from trying again or choosing items you typically wouldn't.

Audio and Visual

Children of Morta is one of the most uniquely beautiful aesthetic games I've ever experienced. From the warm and comforting hues of the family home that greet you with calm upon your return to the dark and dank caves filled with monsters who seek to end your run of good luck, I was blown away by the attention to detail given to the world and its inhabitants.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3247501014
The audio lets the experience down for me. It's not bad, but by about the 10-hour mark, you've just about heard it all, and very little will captivate your ears from that point onward. What is here has been done well. But I would have liked slightly more dynamic audio or a varying atmosphere to keep things fresh. With that out of the way, the voice acting and script work are astounding successes.

Deck Performance and Specifications

With the game set to default, I had no issues running Children of Morta on the deck at a steady 60 FPS and was able to run the game for approximately 5 hours with a full charge.

Final Thoughts - Excellent

Review chart here.
Few games captivate me as intently as Children of Morta did. It is immaculately well-designed with a fun and dynamic gameplay loop that will keep you enthralled for the entirety of the campaign. The characters are likeable, the story is touching, and the overall experience is a must-play for fans of well-told stories.

With the calamity looming ahead, seek your refuge at Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, the only sanctuary against the unrelenting corruption.