Curse of the Dead Gods is a popular indie video game developed by Passtech Games. Released in early 2021, it has gained considerable attention and praise from both players and critics alike. One way to gauge the game's critical reception is through the review aggregation website Metacritic. Metacritic, known for compiling reviews from various professional critics, assigns a weighted average score to each game. This score is based on the critic's overall impression and evaluation of the game. For Curse of the Dead Gods, the Metacritic score has been overall positive.
For Curse of the Dead Gods, the Metacritic score has been overall positive. On Metacritic, the game has received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of [date], it has a metascore of [score], which indicates positive reception.
Curse of the Dead Gods Review
I will admit that when I initially saw a top-down action roguelite called Curse of the Dead Gods, complete with swords, bows, environmental hazards, and semi-random rewards based on what room you choose to enter next, my first thought was “Hey, this seems a bit like a Hades knockoff.” It turns out, I was completely wrong. Despite featuring a smorgasbord of clear influences from other roguelites, Curse of the Dead Gods stands out in that increasingly crowded genre thanks to some cool new ideas of its own. Its curse and corruption mechanics add an extra strategic layer to its already excellent reflex-heavy hack-and-slash combat by forcing you to make tough and meaningful decisions at every step of every adventure it takes you on.
Curse of the Dead Gods doesn’t do much in the way of storytelling, opting instead to simply throw you into a cursed temple, get out of your way, and let you read up on unlockable codex entries if you’re truly interested in learning more about its lore. It’s a bit of a bummer to see it pushed to the side considering the way Hades has recently raised the bar for storytelling in roguelites (and its art style’s similarity to Darkest Dungeon makes me long for a creepy baritone narrator), but the moment-to-moment gameplay of Curse of the Dead Gods is its true focus – and it’s so good that a thin plot is easily forgivable.
Loading PlayCurse of the Dead Gods does a number of interesting things to break from [roguelite] tradition.
All of the familiar roguelite mechanics that come with the territory are here: you fight your way through increasingly tough procedurally generated levels, collect new weapons and upgrades along the way, and when you reach the end (or die trying) you start your next run from scratch – except for permanently unlocked upgrades that make your next attempt just a little bit easier. But Curse of the Dead Gods does a number of interesting things to break from tradition. For one, instead of stacking all of its levels together, they’re divided into three different temples for you to attempt to conquer in turn, each with their own set of devious traps, brutal bosses, and bloodthirsty enemies – from the godforsaken electric babies in the Eagle Temple to the plague-bearing monstrosities of the Serpent Catacombs.
Furthermore, instead of having you hopelessly attempt to beat a full temple right from the get-go, Curse of the Dead Gods eases you into its impressively challenging gauntlets by only giving you access to their first floors to start. Each floor is made up of just nine levels, including a boss battle at the end, and it’s only once you beat those first floors that you’re then able to challenge each temple’s second one – then the third after that, until finally you open up the true roguelite experience of trying to conquer the entirety of a temple in a single run. It’s a much more natural and forgiving difficulty curve that allows you to achieve small victories and have them mean something as opposed to just losing over and over again until you finally win.
Those victories also reward you with a large amount of Crystal Skulls and Jade Rings, two currencies that allow you to purchase permanent upgrades that aid in subsequent, more difficult runs, and there’s no shortage of choices to be made here. Blessings can be bought with Crystal Skulls and provide you with various powerful buffs, like the ability to deal 50% more damage for six seconds if you kill three enemies in quick succession, or one that causes bosses to drop five pieces of loot instead of just two. You can also spend your Crystal Skulls to improve weapon altars which determine your starting loadouts, or extra Divine Favors, which allow you to re-roll the gear at any mid-run shop. Jade Rings, on the other hand, can be used to unlock new weapons so that they are added to the pool of ones that are allowed to appear on subsequent runs.
Curse of the Dead Gods' combat is mechanically simple, but impressively deep.This progression system borrows a lot from ideas that work brilliantly in Dead Cells, but there are a couple of factors working against it in the context of Curse of the Dead Gods. For one, Dead Cells’ system of adding new gear to the existing pool works great partly because there’s such a breadth of different types of weapons, items, and gadgets that can dramatically alter how you approach a run. In Curse of the Dead Gods, most of the weapons that you unlock are only slightly more interesting versions of the base weapons that may add elemental damage, critical hit chance, or damage scaling with a particular stat. There are definitely exceptions, mainly in the form of rare cursed weapons that typically throw in a disadvantage that you need to work around in order to make use of their powerful modifiers. But for the most part, I was never particularly excited about returning to the shop and adding new weapons to the pool because it felt like most of them didn’t matter.
That said, even though the unlockable weapons aren’t as exciting as they feel like they should be, the basic versions of the 10 different weapon classes are a ton of fun to use and have notable nuances that encourage different playstyles. Guns, for example, can interrupt enemies if you use their off-hand combo finisher in the middle of their attack; spears will always trigger critical hits if you land with just the tip of the weapon; claws can use their charged attack to dash behind an enemy and get out of the way of their attack; and shields can be used to bash enemies into spikes or other forms of environmental hazards.
The game has also received favorable user reviews, as players appreciate its unique blend of roguelike and action elements. Critics have praised the game's immersive atmosphere, challenging gameplay, and stunning visuals. The game's dark and occult-themed setting adds to its appeal, creating a mysterious and captivating experience for players. The combat system, which requires strategic decision-making and quick reflexes, has also been highlighted as a strong aspect of the game. Additionally, the game's roguelike elements, such as permanent death and procedural generation, have been well-received. These features provide a high level of replayability, as each run presents new challenges and opportunities for players to explore. While Curse of the Dead Gods has received positive reviews, some critics have pointed out minor flaws, such as occasional difficulty spikes and repetitive enemy encounters. However, these criticisms have not significantly affected the overall positive reception of the game. In conclusion, Curse of the Dead Gods has been well-received by critics, as evidenced by its positive metascore on Metacritic. The game's immersive atmosphere, challenging gameplay, and unique blend of roguelike and action elements have contributed to its positive reception. Despite minor flaws, it remains a highly regarded indie game in the gaming community..
Reviews for "Curse of the Dead Gods: Metacritic's Favorite Indie Darling"
1. John - 2/10 - "Curse of the Dead Gods fell flat for me. The visuals were not impressive and the gameplay felt repetitive and shallow. The combat lacked depth and strategy, making it feel like mindless button-mashing. The difficulty spikes were frustrating, making progress feel more like luck than skill. Overall, the game failed to deliver an engaging and enjoyable experience."
2. Sarah - 3/10 - "I was really disappointed with Curse of the Dead Gods. The controls were clunky and unresponsive, making it difficult to execute moves precisely. The levels felt repetitive and lacked variety, leading to a monotonous gameplay loop. The lack of a compelling story or character development left me feeling disengaged and uninterested. I was hoping for a captivating roguelike experience, but unfortunately, this game missed the mark for me."
3. Mark - 2/10 - "Curse of the Dead Gods was a huge disappointment. The graphics were outdated and unimpressive, failing to create an immersive atmosphere. The gameplay mechanics were confusing and poorly explained, leading to frustration and confusion. The difficulty curve was extremely punishing, making progress feel unattainable and discouraging. Overall, this game felt like a wasted opportunity and left me feeling unsatisfied."
4. Emily - 4/10 - "I had high hopes for Curse of the Dead Gods, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The combat mechanics were clunky and lacked fluidity, making it difficult to enjoy the action-packed moments. The repetitive nature of the levels and lack of unique enemies made the gameplay feel stale after a while. Additionally, the lack of a compelling storyline or character progression left me feeling disconnected from the game's world. Overall, it had potential but failed to deliver a satisfying experience."
5. Jacob - 3/10 - "Curse of the Dead Gods left me frustrated and unimpressed. The controls felt sluggish and unresponsive, leading to numerous unfair deaths. The artificial difficulty spikes made progress feel like a frustrating grind rather than a rewarding challenge. The lack of meaningful progression or upgrades left me feeling like my efforts were in vain. Overall, this game fell short in many aspects and failed to keep my interest."