More and more I find myself drawn to roguelikes of late. I’m not sure if that’s because, as a longtime gamer, I want more and more challenge, or if I just find the genre compelling. Either way, when you combine a roguelike dungeon crawler with delicious hand drawn pixel art, as well as a unique premise, I’m sold. Which is why I made my way during PAX West to play Children of Morta.
The unique thing about Children of Morta is that it’s a family affair. The Bergson family, longtime guardians of Mount Morta, discover something is wrong, and must investigate their mountain. Some malicious force is corrupting creatures in the mountain and surrounding areas, and making them vicious and dangerous. Even worse, the gods are being imprisoned by their own corrupted guardians, which may throw the whole realm into turmoil.
I had the fortune to talk with the head writer of all the dialogue and plot details in Children of Morta, and it sounds like quite a compelling quest. Each of the members of the Bergson family is distinct, both in personality and in play style. The male patriarch, John, is a guardian / paladin of sorts, who protects his family with a stout shield. But there are also characters like his fire conducting pyro of a daughter, Lucy, who is hot headed and capable of wielding tremendous magic, even at a young age. There’s a lot of variety here, so you’re sure to find a playstyle that fits you. Best of all, you can play with a friend, and both of you can pick different characters to investigate Mount Morta. If you prefer to play it solo, however, that’s also an option.
As you play, you will find temporary upgrades to your spells and attacks, which will only work on any given section of the dungeon. Once you return home, you’ll lose those powers, but you can still upgrade base functionality like in any good RPG, along with a skill tree complete with branching paths. Since this is a roguelike, the levels are always different, though the structure of the game is largely consistent. Fight through three sections of any given floor, then get to the boss floor and defeat it to save the captive god, rinse and repeat. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with such a structure, and I’m sure it will be very addictive.
While I didn’t get to see much of the plot in my playthrough, I can say that the art style is lush and utterly beautiful. This is a game bursting at the seams with life and creativity, and I can’t wait to see what the final version plays like. If this roguelike dungeon crawler sounds good to you, then you should know it will eventually be released for Steam, PS4 and XBox One. For now, only the backers are able to test it out, but stay tuned to oprainfall and we’ll update you as we find out more details about Children of Morta.
