Death's Gambit

 PlayStation 4
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
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  1. Rastus
    Aug 16, 2018
    8
    Death's Gambit is a game that takes a lot from the Souls formula, but manages to keep an identity despite borrowing a lot of mechanics. There's the difficult bosses, the invencibility frames, the stamina-based combat, and so on.

    The main problem of DG is how low on content it feels. There aren't so many bosses, and weapons have one or two varieties. Some of it is solved by being able to    Death's Gambit is a game that takes a lot from the Souls formula, but manages to keep an identity despite borrowing a lot of mechanics. There's the difficult bosses, the invencibility frames, the stamina-based combat, and so on.

    The main problem of DG is how low on content it feels. There aren't so many bosses, and weapons have one or two varieties. Some of it is solved by being able to fight a more difficult fight against already defeated bosses, but overall I'd say you can beat it fairly quickly.    … Expand
  2. Grahl
    Aug 31, 2018
    9
    Score: 8.5

    A wonderful souls-like. Had a lot of fun with this one. Pros: - great combat, great bosses. makes dark souls and hollow knight look easy! (without being cheap) - excellent, tasteful graphics and sound - good story, good characters Cons - above all: too short! for 20 bucks at least - could have a bit more lore and subjectivity (personal taste) - too souls-like in    Score: 8.5

    A wonderful souls-like. Had a lot of fun with this one.

    Pros:
    - great combat, great bosses. makes dark souls and hollow knight look easy! (without being cheap)
    - excellent, tasteful graphics and sound
    - good story, good characters

    Cons
    - above all: too short! for 20 bucks at least
    - could have a bit more lore and subjectivity (personal taste)
    - too souls-like in it's RPG mechanics (not the combat). Darkmaus is a good example of taking the Souls mechanics but still adding something else to it and not getting it exactly equal    … Expand
  3. Shavenwookiee
    Aug 15, 2018
    9
    Finished the game last night in one sitting, and found it very fun and satisfying. The game is mechanically similar to Dark Souls and Salt and Sanctuary with slow attack animations that rely on timing and thoughtful attacks. It has all of the Souls trappings of dying repeatedly until you learn how to beat a boss and can master your environment.

    One of the more interesting aspects in    Finished the game last night in one sitting, and found it very fun and satisfying. The game is mechanically similar to Dark Souls and Salt and Sanctuary with slow attack animations that rely on timing and thoughtful attacks. It has all of the Souls trappings of dying repeatedly until you learn how to beat a boss and can master your environment.

    One of the more interesting aspects in this game that separates it slightly from your basic souls game is that it uses deaths in the game to tell the story, with one later in the game that I found particularly impressive. These lead to trippy in game sequences and story moments that even reference other games.

    I have to give the very small development team a lot of credit for this game, the music is great. the boss design is varied and creative and it has interconnected level design reminds me of Dark Souls one. The game did crash twice on me while playing it for the course of ten to twelve hours but it wasn't really a big deal. there is also new game plus that adds additional enemies and content like removing save points and adding new enemies to areas. you can also refight bosses in epic more difficult battles for more exp. Deaths Gambit is a great game I would highly recommend. One caveat you might have some difficulty adjusting to the controls if you just finished Dead Cells, which encourages speed and you can through every area in the game in two minutes.    … Expand
  4. 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 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.
  5. Razor_M2
    Aug 20, 2018
    8
    Dark souls en 2D, con elementos metroidvianos. Buen pixel-art y jugabilidad bastante elaborada.
    Le hubiera faltado pulirlo un poco más de cara al rendimiento. Pero sin lugar a dudas en su geénero en version indie es el nuevo rey. Echaos para atrás los que no os guate repetir todo mil veces por su dificultad.
  6. Bjlvz
    Aug 15, 2018
    9
    really fun! i really want more variety of the "same" weapon, like special charge attack; also if you change the helmet, in the game change too! **** orange cape, never change T_T; soundtrack is awesome and where is the double jump!? all metroidvania have double jump! old school never dies ahhaahahah
  7. 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, kept me on my toes just the way I expected this game to be.

    Looking forward to future updates and hopefully a sequel.
  8. throokerz
    Aug 14, 2018
    9
    I went into this game expecting a fun, pretty generic fantasy 2d souls-like game. But after playing for 12 hours straight and beating the final boss for the first time I can safely say it is so much more. This game blew me away. It starts out slow with you learning the combat and at first it may feel clunky or slow, but as you grow accustomed to it rolling, dodging and counter attackingI went into this game expecting a fun, pretty generic fantasy 2d souls-like game. But after playing for 12 hours straight and beating the final boss for the first time I can safely say it is so much more. This game blew me away. It starts out slow with you learning the combat and at first it may feel clunky or slow, but as you grow accustomed to it rolling, dodging and counter attacking will become second nature, and they will need to be because this game is tough, and you will die, a lot. The enemy design is varied and unique, the world is well connected and has enough secrets to keep you searching everywhere, and the bosses are incredible. Seriously these bosses are just absolutely amazing, fun, varied, exciting and hard. Brutally hard. There are also a few curveballs and unique twists throughout that are best experienced blind. This game will not be for everyone however. Some people may not be a fan of the combat, some people may not like the design, but I think everyone should look into this game and if you are interested give it a go. I am 12 hours in, have beat the game once, and feel I have barely scratched the surface of what is in this game and the options I have to play it.… Expand
  9. mbestvina
    Sep 25, 2018
    8
    I think this 2D Souls-Like gotten unfair treatment from reviewers. It's a little rough around the edges but I deeply enjoyed and played it over 1 weekend.

    The standout for me is the game's presentation and its world. The pixel art is simply jaw-dropping, some of the best I've ever seen. It's a blend of Dark Souls (of course), Shadow of the Collosus, Anime, and it even has a level    I think this 2D Souls-Like gotten unfair treatment from reviewers. It's a little rough around the edges but I deeply enjoyed and played it over 1 weekend.

    The standout for me is the game's presentation and its world. The pixel art is simply jaw-dropping, some of the best I've ever seen. It's a blend of Dark Souls (of course), Shadow of the Collosus, Anime, and it even has a level towards the end that jumps genres. Its soundtrack is incredible as well and further pulls you into the world. I do recommend adjusting the equalizer though, I had to turn the game's sound-effects down to 30% to get the soundtrack where I wanted.

    Though its gameplay slavishly follows Dark Souls, its world is far more unique and engrossing than most 2D action-adventure games (and I played this right after Hollow Knight so you know it's good!). The wide variety of levels all snap together in a sensible way and I managed to never get lost, in spite of having no map. The game also has arguably the best fast travel system I've ever seen. There is one central path that runs a line through the entire game. All the other levels split off of this series of tunnels, either above them or below. Even better, you can call your horse in these tunnels making backtracking very enjoyable. You also unlock more and more of these tunnels as you progress through the game, opening one-way doors a la Dark Souls. I simply can't praise the world design enough, it's quite genius.

    On the gameplay side, you'll immediately feel at home if you've played a Souls or Souls-like game before, with leveling up, estus, shielding, the gear-system, and stamina. One odd omisison, however, is the lack of proper corpse running. Instead of dropping your experience when you die, you drop an estus flask which you'll have to retrieve and you don't need to fetch it if you die again. This greatly reduces the penalty for death and overall makes the game a lot more uplifting, for better or worse.

    As you get deeper into the game, the true depth of the combat will reveal itself in the form of your special abilities. These are powerful attacks you can do with your melee weapons that need to be charged and have a cooldown. Here is where you can really carve out your own playstyle and bring heavy damage. By the time I was halfway through the game, it felt far more frantic and twitchy than Dark Souls, and I mean that in a great way. The game also has an ability tree but I didn't get much use out of most of these. The air-dash is incredibly useful but was all the way at the end of a branch that I didn't like.

    Anyway, I had a really great experience with this game. It's reviewed fairly poorly and I'm scratching my head at that a little. There are some bugs and minor UX issues but nothing ever majorly deteriorated my experience. I played it over a weekend and couldn't put it down. The game is expertly paced and doesn't overstay its welcome, throwing a new area at you about once an hour for its 15 hour runtime. I felt I got my money's worth and would absolutely play some kind of successor/followup. If the 2D art appeals to you and you like Dark Souls, 2D action, or Metroidvania, it's absolutely worth a play. It's not a Metroidvania, but it's level design, world design, and brilliant presentation make this world more engrossing than most Metroidvanias'. That alone makes it worth it to me.    … Expand
  10. Dtorbor
    Aug 14, 2018
    10
    WEW where to begin... uhhhhh this game is going to change gaming hands down. The entire metroidvania genre is about to be shaken to its core with this release. uhhhh hidden gem of the summer hands down. Mechanics will have you feeling a breath of fresh air and you will have a smile by the time you put the controller down. I have never evurrr given a game this much praise but this gameWEW where to begin... uhhhhh this game is going to change gaming hands down. The entire metroidvania genre is about to be shaken to its core with this release. uhhhh hidden gem of the summer hands down. Mechanics will have you feeling a breath of fresh air and you will have a smile by the time you put the controller down. I have never evurrr given a game this much praise but this game totally deserves it. We not fixn slander this game. Dtor approved.… Expand
  11. deuxdoom
    Aug 14, 2018
    8
    What is immortal and death... it's so philosophical issue. and this game suggest to users thinking theme.
  12. tmillet2017
    Aug 29, 2018
    8
    Up to this point, I've put in around 30 hours between three different game files. I generally enjoy most of the installments in the challenging/Dark Souls-esque action RPG genre and Death's Gambit is no exception. For the most part I've had a great experience. I like the different abilities available for each weapon type, the unique skills associated with the starting classes, the clearUp to this point, I've put in around 30 hours between three different game files. I generally enjoy most of the installments in the challenging/Dark Souls-esque action RPG genre and Death's Gambit is no exception. For the most part I've had a great experience. I like the different abilities available for each weapon type, the unique skills associated with the starting classes, the clear upgrade system for your character and equipment, and the combat is mostly enjoyable.

    However, I do feel like I've had a lot more "cheap" deaths in this game than any souls type game (incl. Salt and Sanctuary, Nioh, etc.). I believe a lot of that has to do with intermittent lag times, not always responsive controls, and inconsistent hitboxes. Other critiques would be: (1) not enough weapon variety, (2) too short of areas between bosses, and (3) some of the talents in the skill tree felt useless.

    In the end though, I'd rate the game a 7.5. It's worth your time if your a fan of the genre, but I'd probably wait for a sale to come along to pick it up.    … Expand
  13. Avaresse
    Sep 14, 2019
    10
    I kind of feel bad for the mix reviews this game received from the moment it got released. After playing it I could tell the heart and passion that went into this. I'm not aware of the bugs or problems the game had at first but as of now from a story and gameplay perspective Death's gambit is beautiful from its music to story, simply outright fun, and challenging. In my eyes Death's GambitI kind of feel bad for the mix reviews this game received from the moment it got released. After playing it I could tell the heart and passion that went into this. I'm not aware of the bugs or problems the game had at first but as of now from a story and gameplay perspective Death's gambit is beautiful from its music to story, simply outright fun, and challenging. In my eyes Death's Gambit is perfect and has given me an amazing experience that I won't ever forget.… Expand
  14. oknsnl
    Apr 23, 2019
    8
    Gameplay : 7 (Good dark souls copy)
    Bosses : 8 (Nice dslike bosses)
    Story : 7 (Cool story)
  15. Seath
    Nov 9, 2018
    10
    This game is a gem! From the stunning pixel art style to the breathtaking soundtrack made by Kyle Hnedak (serious props for the soundtrack, it’s amazing) and of course the fluid challenging combat.

    The combat system starts of simple: One preforms a attack-string by tapping the designated button and there is a jump and roll attack. One blocks, dodges and parries/counter attacks to avoid    This game is a gem! From the stunning pixel art style to the breathtaking soundtrack made by Kyle Hnedak (serious props for the soundtrack, it’s amazing) and of course the fluid challenging combat.

    The combat system starts of simple: One preforms a attack-string by tapping the designated button and there is a jump and roll attack. One blocks, dodges and parries/counter attacks to avoid damage and punish.Then there are weapon abilities which both boasts higher damage and secondary effects such as bleed/fire or an increased damage buff. Where the twist comes in is with the talent tree and weapons. Talents can give the player certain buffs when preforming a certain action, for example: Next Aerial Attack *4 damage after executing a full attack-string or blocking an attack reduces all ability cooldowns with 2 secs. Some weapons have similar effects, so combining weapons, abilities and talents can really dish out some damage if you play your cards right. There are also more mechanically adding talents such as an air dodge and perfect blocking.

    When it comes to builds then the game generally has 3: Strength, Finesse and a Intelligences builds. They can all be mix and matched, all sporting different weapons to choose from. There are also starting classes which determine how to obtain additional “mana” used for abilities, 2 class specific talents each and some other perks.

    But what good does a combat system do without opponents? Death’s Gambit presents a decent plethora of enemies and some incredible bosses with overall creative battle design to face of against. But the fight isn’t over when you defeat the boss. Heroic Rematches can be had with defeated bosses for rewards. The bosses obviously get stronger, but they also get a slew of new attacks! Some endgame heroic bosses will surely give seasoned players a challenge, but if that’s not enough then there’s always NG+ which the developers have fleshed out to a surprising degree. (since most games literally just tend to buff enemies and send you on your way)

    Then there’s the story, which touches upon themes like life and death (starring Death himself) with a very emotional undertone featuring very humane voice acting. I can’t say too much without spoiling, so all I can say is that I thoroughly liked it. This game even used dying as a story feature instead of just a gameplay mechanic.

    Where I feel the game falls short is the amount of content it presents. It’s certainly fits it’s price range, but I’m left wanting more. There was a lack of weapons (all existing weapons were unique though), some areas felt too short and I was left wanting more lore and story than what was presented. Some soundtracks like at least the majority of the “Gaianslayer” OST didn’t even get used, which is a shame since it’s truly EPIC. My playthroughs of the game took around 10 hours each to beat (minus some heroic bosses I’m stuck on...) across 4 save files with different builds. Luckily the developers are currently working on further content to the game beside patches and bug fixes.

    Hopefully this spoiler-free review was somewhat fulfilling and I certainly hope anyone who decides to pick this gem up end up enjoying it as much as I do.    … Expand
  16. Wweald
    Jun 26, 2020
    8
    Really great game, the story is super predictable but it's still solid. The gameplay is great imo, played through this game multiple times with multiple builds and had a ton of fun with each.

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. Cubed3
    Dec 16, 2019
    70
    Death's Gambit is a substantial entry into the souls-like genre, even if it is very derivative. Some of the ways it was "inspired" by Dark Souls feel a bit dangerously too close at times. It does enough to make itself unique, and it does bring some new ideas to the table that will absolutely tickle fans of this genre. Don't expect Hollow Knight levels of polish or content; this is more closer to Salt and Sanctuary in terms of quality, but with a more refined art style.
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  2. LaPS4
    Aug 13, 2019
    73
    Death´s Gambit fulfills what it intends, offering a challenging title, with new mechanics regarding its gender rivals. Its variety of builds and its intriguing argument make it a good alternative within Souls-Like.
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  3. SpazioGames
    Jul 26, 2019
    69
    Death’s Gambit is an average souls-like. He tries to be both original and traditionalist, by scenographic map design and a great attention into boss fights, sustained by a soft soundtrack and a deep character development (both on plot and gameplay). Its will to create a different mood from the normal “2010s dark fantasy” makes this game a good starting point for both developer and publisher, but they’ll have to deal with inevitable inexperience.
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