Children of Morta

 Switch
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 88
  3. Negative: 9 out of 88
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  1. nusco
    Jun 27, 2020
    7
    As the narrator of Children of Morta would say: "A couple of runs was all it took, to spark my love for this game. But the human heart is finicky, and the honeymoon didn't last. Midway through the journey, what was once love had turned sour, regret taking its place. Then, as the end approached, that regret too gave way to serene acceptance."

    Sorry, I couldn't resist. Children of    As the narrator of Children of Morta would say: "A couple of runs was all it took, to spark my love for this game. But the human heart is finicky, and the honeymoon didn't last. Midway through the journey, what was once love had turned sour, regret taking its place. Then, as the end approached, that regret too gave way to serene acceptance."

    Sorry, I couldn't resist.

    Children of Morta is a hard game to review, because it swings wildly between high and low points. The story is good: an epic fable that's laser-focused on the theme of family bonds, narrated in voiceover by a strong actor. Yeah, it's a bit overwritten, but it tackles ponderous subjects such as grief and the responsibilities of parenthood. So there is that.

    In the “good but…” department, you can file the "hi-pixel" graphics. They're hit-and-miss, but when they's good, they're really good, with beautiful vistas and intricate detail. The main gameplay loop is also OK, if unoriginal: Children of Morta is another take on the fashionable roguelike template, with the addition of multiple characters with separate (but somewhat interacting) skill trees. It's addictive, no question about that.

    All of the above would make Children of Morta a must-play, if it were not for its glaring downsides. The game's implementation is glitchy, especially in the graphics department. The frame rate can drop to single digits in some extreme cases. More importantly, the game isn't very well designed in general. Difficulty is all over the place, and it feels like the designers had more ideas than they could balance and tune.

    Here is a concrete example of that half-done design job: for a few levels, I did what the game seemed to ask me: I switched from one character to another. The game even has a few mechanics that encourage you to do that. At some point, however, I realized that it's more productive to ignore those mechanics and play with one or two overpowered characters all the time. Some characters are so much more powerful than the others, that mechanics be damned, you don't want to play a loser.

    Another example: for a while, I tackled combat and exploration in a slow and methodical way. Then I understood that I was wasting my time. The game becomes much easier if you just rush from one treasure chamber to the next, assembling a tail of hapless pursuing enemies. Treasures chambers are mostly safe, and you can shoot through their doors, while the enemies can't–so they become sitting ducks ready for you to kill and farm some XP. You can cheese your way through most of the game like that, and that also makes all the enemies feel exactly the same as one another. This kind of glaring gameplay issue should have been caught immediately during beta testing.

    Still another example of shaky design: the mini-games that litter the dungeons feel like the designer was asked to come up with ideas in a few minutes. One is a very out-of-place game of pong. Another one requires you to step over four buttons in order–but you can only find the right order through trial and error. One wrong try, and you have to wipe out a room full of enemies before you try again. Do a little math, and you'll see that even if you never forget the sequence, you might have to clean up that room a maximum of 24 times if you're unlucky. I had to do it 12 times once, and then I stopped caring about this kind of room when I encountered it. This pointless "challenge" should never have been included in the game.

    I could talk more about a few bullet sponge bosses, unbalanced recovery times, and the like–but you got the idea: Children of Morta has great potential, but it should have gone through a few more passes of design review. As it is, this game is an incomplete curio. It's still worth playing, and at times it feels uniquely its own–but at the same time, it feels like a missed opportunity for a minor classic.    … Expand
  2. MisterMacys
    Feb 16, 2021
    5
    The stress mechanic is an unnecessary restriction on character choice, individual character progression is needlessly stretched out to increase replayability metrics, bizarre controller input lag in the home area, **** enemy spawns if you don't play fast enough for the devs. The entire mechanical design of the progression is the developers telling you how THEY want the game to be played.The stress mechanic is an unnecessary restriction on character choice, individual character progression is needlessly stretched out to increase replayability metrics, bizarre controller input lag in the home area, **** enemy spawns if you don't play fast enough for the devs. The entire mechanical design of the progression is the developers telling you how THEY want the game to be played. You WILL level up everyone at the same, ungodly slow rate, and Heaven forbid you like any one character more than the others.… Expand
  3. Meeleepit
    Jan 14, 2020
    7
    One of the most stunning looking pix-elated games i have ever played.

    The story line is great and written to perfection . The random instances in dungeons where you meet travelers add to the exploration of dungeons. But at the end it all feels repetitive . You are forced to play with every character, for me this is a now go. I generally tend to stay with one char, this is not a    One of the most stunning looking pix-elated games i have ever played.

    The story line is great and written to perfection . The random instances in dungeons where you meet travelers add to the exploration of dungeons.

    But at the end it all feels repetitive .

    You are forced to play with every character, for me this is a now go. I generally tend to stay with one char, this is not a game breaker though.

    The fighting is fun and intense.
    Currently it has a bug on the switch when a lot of enemies is on the screen the sound will start lagging and after the level is complete the game will crash, loosing all progress.

    Fun Game, stunning pixels but repetitive.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best Switch Game of 2019
64
#64 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Switch Player
    Jul 24, 2020
    80
    Children of Morta demonstrates how to do a roguelike well: frequent upgrades smooth the difficulty curve, an engaging story keeps things fresh, and there’s plenty of depth in combat. It’s difficult and sometimes repetitive, but looks and feels the part.
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  2. FNintendo
    Dec 12, 2019
    80
    Children of Morta is a gem of a roguelike that often behaves like an action RPG and with its exquisite art style, simple but fun combat system and enormous variety of customization and character experimentation, it makes for a marvelous game that gets its job done in a very satisfying way. On top of that, it even features a wonderful co-op component.
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  3. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Dec 2, 2019
    85
    Since it’s polished in almost every regard with its gameplay and presentation, it’s possible Children of Morta would’ve benefited from a more focused design direction rather than a rogue-lite dungeon-crawling experience. Nevertheless, in a sea of games for the rogue-lite genre, it’s refreshing to see developers do something unique and tell a meaningful story. The emotional heights that the game reaches goes farther than many narrative-focused games. If you’re looking for a story-driven ARPG, then Children of Morta needs to be at the top of your list.
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