Death's Gambit

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
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  1. Video Chums
    Aug 23, 2018
    87
    Death's Gambit has all the makings of a fantastic 2D Souls-like experience. Getting through the campaign right now requires a bit of patience due to glitches so hopefully, White Rabbit will refine the experience to ensure players can get the most out of it.
  2. Hobby Consolas
    Jul 12, 2019
    85
    It may be different to what was initially promised, but Death's Gambit is nevertheless a great game, especially if you are into Dark Souls, Castlevania and Shadow of the Colossus, all mixed and presented in a beautiful 2D art style.
  3. Worth Playing
    Jan 9, 2019
    85
    Death's Gambit saw the opportunity to take two genres and tweak them enough to make a new game out of it — and it worked. The core mechanics, while markedly unoriginal, are genuinely fun to play, and the stunning sound and visuals make it a treat to experience. This game is far from perfect, though, with a lacking story and unfortunately glitchy points, but is still worth the time and money to check out. While I wouldn't say that Death's Gambit is an improvement upon either Metroidvania or Souls-like games, it's a great addition to both genres.
  5. Gaming Age
    Aug 27, 2018
    83
    At the end of the day, if 2D Souls-inspired action platformers with Metroidvania elements are your thing, you absolutely need to play this game. Story aside, the gameplay is great and the difficulty hits that sweet spot between too hard and too easy. Once you grasp it, it is intuitive and pretty simple but until then you will die, die, die and die some more. With a modest $20 price tag, I recommend it.
  6. The Digital Fix
    Jun 27, 2019
    80
    Death's Gambit takes a slightly less punishing approach to progress than other games in it's sub-genre and is all the better for it. While the vast majority of world building and gameplay concepts are a loving pastiche of Dark Souls, Death's Gambit's balanced challenge, sense of humour and unique visuals allow it to stand on it's own feet and earn a rightful place in the game collections of those souls who are drawn to the fire of the first flame and others who simply enjoy a challenging adventure, laden with mystery.
  7. Gamers Heroes
    Aug 23, 2018
    80
    Death’s Gambit provides an interesting 2D challenge with its dark world filled with fierce enemies. While I can’t recommend it for everyone, anyone who likes challenging 2D action-adventure games will enjoy this title.
  8. PlayStation Universe
    Aug 23, 2018
    80
    Though it's not the best platformer, the story and environment alone make it a must play for Dark Souls fans and retro Metroidvania junkies alike. There's plenty here to enjoy, with plenty of replay value for those it hooks.
  9. The Games Machine
    Jun 28, 2019
    75
    White Rabbit has done an excellent job with Death's Gambit, managing to create a good balance between soulslike and pixel art. Even if we are not in front of a perfect product, Death's Gambit is strongly recommended to all lovers of this kind of game.
  10. Multiplayer.it
    Jun 26, 2019
    75
    Death's Gambit is a beautifully metroidvania game with some souls-like mechanics and a lot of things to do. The graphics consistently impress, and the soundtrack is wonderful.
  11. COGconnected
    Aug 21, 2018
    75
    While Death’s Gambit as a whole falls a bit short of expectations, the game itself is a solid action-RPG. The game looks great and runs well most of the time, with a solid challenge that is also unlikely to frustrate players too much. With multiple ways to experience the game, I can see myself returning to the game with a different playstyle. Overall, Death’s Gambit does justice to some of its lofty comparisons, though some more time in the oven would have helped polish the title.
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  1. The Jimquisition
    Aug 17, 2018
    A pretty decent, very well presented 2D action platformer, Death’s Gambit maybe could’ve done with aping Dark Souls a little bit less.

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 81 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 81
  3. Negative: 14 out of 81
  1. Trevor9000
    Aug 14, 2018
    10
    I had absolutley no problems with this game. As a long term fan of the genre, this game was an absolute pleasure to play. Very challenging,I had absolutley no problems with this game. As a long term fan of the genre, this game was an absolute pleasure to play. Very challenging, kept me on my toes just the way I expected this game to be.

    Looking forward to future updates and hopefully a sequel.    … Full Review »
  2. Steb
    Aug 14, 2018
    10
    The games amazing, its like a mix between hollow knight and dark souls, its only downside is that its a tad short, and skills for lots ofThe games amazing, its like a mix between hollow knight and dark souls, its only downside is that its a tad short, and skills for lots of weapons are limited. But it makes up for that with boatloads of customization options and replayability.

    The world, music, and atmosphere are amazing, please let there be a sequal.    … Full Review »
  3. Refridgerator
    Aug 14, 2018
    5
    The core of the game is fun, and captures the Souls-like feel well. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is a mess.

    Issues: The animations    The core of the game is fun, and captures the Souls-like feel well. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is a mess.

    Issues:
    The animations look incredibly wonky, and it's an issue right from the beginning as soon as you start running with the horse. Enemy and player attack animations look like stock joint movements instead of actual animated sprites, which really makes things look ugly as well.

    The UI is crazy. You often can't see the white text on the bright skill icons. The locks on the skill tree are often invisible against the dark icons. Selection order on the menus often doesn't make sense, and frequently the "confirm" button changes from Square to Cross for no reason. The starting menu item on the save/level up menu is not correct, and it's hard to tell how much experience you need to level up due to the strange menu design. The confirm button on this screen is also really misaligned.

    The game crashes a lot, and beating a certain boss causes your save file to be unplayable.

    The framerate is all over the place, and the running speed of the game is locked to the framerate, so the game actually moves at a variable pace. It also means someone with a 144hz monitor simply cannot play the game fullscreen currently, since it runs over twice as fast.

    Over all, this game feels rushed and could have used 6+ months of development.    … Full Review »
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