Death's Door

 Switch
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 117 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 117
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 117
  3. Negative: 6 out of 117

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  1. bhappenstance
    Aug 17, 2022
    5
    It's good. Not great.
    - The art design and music are both fantastic. It's a nice game to look at and listen to.
    - The combat is simplistic but frustrating. The mechanics aren't nearly as polished as they should be. Hit box detection is all over the place, and can be hard to tell why certain swings land and others don't. - There's a powerful dash-attack move that is difficult to time and    It's good. Not great.
    - The art design and music are both fantastic. It's a nice game to look at and listen to.
    - The combat is simplistic but frustrating. The mechanics aren't nearly as polished as they should be. Hit box detection is all over the place, and can be hard to tell why certain swings land and others don't.
    - There's a powerful dash-attack move that is difficult to time and gauge for distance. As such, this attack *looks* cool, but isn't super useful. Similarly, the regular attack edges the character forward, which makes battles near to water hazards tricky.
    - Certain sections lack guardrails, and falling into the water counts as a hit. This can be infuriating during intense moments of combat; i.e., when you're dodging multiple enemies, only to roll off the platform. (The roll/dodge attack doesn't work very well either -- you will sometimes roll in a random direction.)
    - The camera can be erratic, sometimes obscuring enemies at the worst possible times.
    - Desperately, desperately needs a map. Why no map? Why no waypoints? Dumb dumb dumb.
    - There are preposterous spikes in difficulty / enemy spamming.
    - The level design gets very convoluted, especially the dungeons. Map would've helped...    … Expand
  2. sundaysbest
    Jan 24, 2022
    7
    A fun 8-hour ride that keeps you engaged until the very end. The puzzles aren't too difficult and the combat is satisfying but not too complace where you're juggling different attacks and skills.
  3. pundy14
    May 26, 2022
    6
    I loved the world this game built, I loved the characters, and the gameplay was ok. The checkpoint system killed me. How hard it was to increase much needed health, killed me. In the end I was too frustrated to finish and deleted before doing so. If you can stick with it, I’m sure it’s a good game. Would avoid if you have a short temper though.
  4. AnnaLynxy33
    Jul 10, 2022
    7
    It's a nice game, not the greatest but nice.

    Cons: 1. No map. At all. Locations look the same and remembering a place where you were a couple of hours ago is impossible. (Sometimes you need to go back to a place that was unreachable earlier because of the lack of skill and this "returning" is a pain). 2. There is no exploring feeling. At the very begging, you know that you'll have 4    It's a nice game, not the greatest but nice.

    Cons:
    1. No map. At all. Locations look the same and remembering a place where you were a couple of hours ago is impossible. (Sometimes you need to go back to a place that was unreachable earlier because of the lack of skill and this "returning" is a pain).
    2. There is no exploring feeling. At the very begging, you know that you'll have 4 types of weapons, 4 types of magic attacks, and so on because you see their empty spots in the menu.
    3. Upgrading works soooo slow. I started seeing a slight difference only after upgrading the same skill 3 times (of 5).
    4. The world looks empty, there is nothing to explore. Everything you see is enemies, healing spots, and other things related to the gameplay itself. Of course, there is a couple of villages, but you need them by the main story, the other world looks not interesting at all.

    Pros:
    1. Nice graphic and art style.
    2. Bosses were interesting. The combat itself feels nice. Not something unbeatable, but definitely not super easy.
    3. The game feels like something that developers worked really hard on.
    4. Even with all the cons points I mentioned - I always wanted to return to the game until I finished it.    … Expand
  5. robomartion
    Dec 21, 2021
    5
    Very dull gameplay, combat, environments, bosses. Meh game on all accounts. Yawn.
  6. Ewas228
    Dec 28, 2021
    5
    Interesting game if you don't play in any part of Zelda ever. Deaths door is generic adventure without new ideas, other Devolver Digital games much better than this.
  7. Bodipo86
    Feb 21, 2022
    6
    Un juego bueno sin más. En lo artístico muy bonito, con toques de humor que te esbozan una sonrisa de vez en cuando. Creo que su punto más fuerte son las mazmorras muy inspiradas en las clásicas mazmorras de los Zelda, y con un combate y una progresión de personaje un poco desaprovechada. Creo que el combate es su punto débil, juego realmente sencillo y bosses poco inspirados.
  8. LupinXXIII
    Dec 18, 2021
    6
    An okay “Zelda-like,” although the balance is weighted more towards combat than puzzle or exploration. It will tide you over if you are craving that sort of thing, but it’s not without its issues. I’m not a fan of the isometric perspective, especially when enemies or level geometry are between the reaper and the camera. Also makes falling off of narrow bridges a bit of a nuisance. Like aAn okay “Zelda-like,” although the balance is weighted more towards combat than puzzle or exploration. It will tide you over if you are craving that sort of thing, but it’s not without its issues. I’m not a fan of the isometric perspective, especially when enemies or level geometry are between the reaper and the camera. Also makes falling off of narrow bridges a bit of a nuisance. Like a lot of indie games, some elements feel like they are there because they are common genre tropes rather than because they are particularly functional or meaningful e.g. upgrades, different weapons, etc. Spells work like dungeon items in Zelda games, tools that open up new areas. Unlike Zelda games however, these tools aren’t very functionally distinct from each other and don’t add much variety to combat and puzzle-solving. The result is a pretty limited palette for the game to work with. Combat is shallow as there aren’t many ways to engage with enemies other than a few projectile attacks that can be knocked back. The game does a decent job of mixing and matching what enemies it does have in various combat scenarios though.… Expand
  9. vodkaffee
    Feb 24, 2022
    6
    very repetitive it reuses a lot of assets and music but not in a very interesting way
  10. PanfiloHerculan
    Jan 8, 2023
    5
    If you have the time and like the souls-like games, go for it. I do not have the time nor the patience for this, I play to entertain me and relax, this game does not do this.
  11. ReviewdaShopee
    Jan 22, 2023
    7
    "Death's Door" é um bom jogo que traz consigo algumas horas de diversão devido ao seu sistema de combate e história. Em alguns momentos diverto, em outros provocador, "Death's Door" é uma aventura em um mundo esvaziado que desestimula a exploração das regiões (Por que colocar caixas em todos os lugares se em 90% dos casos não há nada dentro delas???). A ausência de um mapa ou de alguma"Death's Door" é um bom jogo que traz consigo algumas horas de diversão devido ao seu sistema de combate e história. Em alguns momentos diverto, em outros provocador, "Death's Door" é uma aventura em um mundo esvaziado que desestimula a exploração das regiões (Por que colocar caixas em todos os lugares se em 90% dos casos não há nada dentro delas???). A ausência de um mapa ou de alguma ferramente que nos auxilie a acompanhar o progresso ao longo do jogo dificulta a vida do jogador que quer saber o que já foi explorado e o que não foi. É um bom jogo, mas existem outros indies de valor similar que vão garantir uma experiência mais significativa aos apaixonados pelo gênero.… Expand
  12. morterox2
    Jul 2, 2023
    6
    It works very bad on the switch, a lot of frame drops when there are a lot of lights or during boss fights. The game is obviously poorly compiled for the switch and this is a very light game so there is no excuse. Apart from that the game needs a compass or a map really hard, the world and weapon progression is OK but it has a lot of backtracking and vague clues on where to go. Finished itIt works very bad on the switch, a lot of frame drops when there are a lot of lights or during boss fights. The game is obviously poorly compiled for the switch and this is a very light game so there is no excuse. Apart from that the game needs a compass or a map really hard, the world and weapon progression is OK but it has a lot of backtracking and vague clues on where to go. Finished it in about 10 hours with some extra upgrades for weapons and life/magic… Expand
  13. Conrad2k
    Sep 3, 2023
    5
    While it's esthetically nice looking and sounding, it feels a bit empty and there's a lot of unnecessary running around.

    The emptiness becomes a problem when you start dying in some boss, and this can lead to incredible frustration pretty quickly. The combat system has very little interesting progress other than "git gud" with the mechanics. The controls feel a bit clunky and sloppy, and    While it's esthetically nice looking and sounding, it feels a bit empty and there's a lot of unnecessary running around.

    The emptiness becomes a problem when you start dying in some boss, and this can lead to incredible frustration pretty quickly. The combat system has very little interesting progress other than "git gud" with the mechanics. The controls feel a bit clunky and sloppy, and with bosses this becomes an issue because. They feel hit and miss, and you finish them not with feeling of mastering the controls but feeling lucky.

    The healing system seems pretty pointless, and it's tied to level design. First you're taught to plant the seeds to get healing flowers, but this is soon throw out of the window by most encounters not having the pots to plant the seeds on.

    In overall, I think the game is heavily overrated. Not sure if it's the Switch version only, but the game seems to be running sub 30 fps, and that might contribute to the feeling of sloppiness.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best Switch Game of 2021
24
#24 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 13, 2022
    90
    All in all, Death's Door is itself quite a Shiny Thing. [Issue #58 – March/April 2022, p. 19]
  2. Vooks
    Jan 10, 2022
    90
    Death's Door tightly packs a challenging action-adventure into some of the more enjoyable ten hours of 2021. It's a game deserving of the hype and spots on game of the year lists. Unfortunately, there aren't any difficulty options to help make the game more accessible. While it is a challenging game, it's a challenge that you feel you can overcome as you unravel what is going on in the department.
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  3. Switch Player
    Jan 3, 2022
    90
    Death’s Door feeds a nostalgia for Zelda-like adventures while sprucing up nearly every aspect. Graphics, sound, and—not least—combat mechanics are polished to near perfection. Despite some very minor flaws, the final experience is an extremely rewarding challenge.
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