Gods Will Fall Preview – Challenging Action and Tricky Decisions

Gods Will Fall Preview – Challenging Action and Tricky Decisions.

Gods Will Fall is the new game from Clever Beans for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and PC. Ten gods, eight warriors, action, dungeons, and ‘roguelite’ elements make for a truly engaging experience. We tell you what we think.

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to attend a virtual presentation of Gods Will Fall, the new game from Clever Beans, a Manchester-based studio to which we owe WipEout Omega Collection, When Vikings Attack! or Lost Projects. With their new work they stand out from all the previous ones to offer a really interesting proposal: a mix of action and ‘dungeon crawler’ with light ‘roguelite’ elements that, according to what they told us, fans of the Souls saga will like it and games like Spelunky.

Although the truth is that none of those words do justice to what this promising independent title actually proposes, so forget the qualifiers and the mentions of other games, and join us in this Gods Will Fall trailer to discover all its secrets (well, all all, no).

Deus est mortuus

The premise is relatively simple: humans have grown weary of the gods’ impassiveness in the face of their hardships. An expedition, made up of eight warriors, sets course for the island where the ten gods that make up the pantheon of Gods Will Fall to end its existence.

The eight warriors are – evidently – the characters that we control and the gods, the bosses that we must defeat. As soon as we get to the island, the first thing to do is choose the dungeon that we are going to explore first. The exterior of the island is not a stage as such, rather we could consider it a level selector, a kind of HUB where we control the group as if they were one and guide them to the entrance of a dungeon.

And this is where the ‘roguelike’ elements come into play: the enemies and the difficulty of each dungeon change in each game, so we will never know what awaits us inside. In fact, it may happen that as soon as we start we get into the most complicated dungeon of all … Or the easiest!

Once the dungeon is chosen, we must take the Gods Will Fall’s first major decision: which of the eight warriors is going to enter the dungeon. As those responsible for it pointed out to us during the session, despite being mainly an action game, decisions are one of the most important aspects of Gods Will Fall, as they can have effects on both the gameplay and the narrative (in a moment you will understand).

Each of the eight warriors is unique: they have names and are recognizable by their visual appearance, but they also use different weapons, have a unique ability and different statistics. Come on, each one offers a playable experience.

After choosing a hero or heroine, what we could consider the core of Gods Will Fall begins: inside the dungeon is where all the action takes place. An important note, yes: although we never know what awaits us inside, the dungeons do not have a procedural structure, as is usual in the ‘roguelike’ https://www.SamaGame.com/ “roguelite ‘. Instead, the level design is handmade, and all have a theme related to the god that inhabits them. The dungeon of the god Osseus, for example, is full of bones.

The gameplay is quite classic: from a third person aerial perspective (a la Diablo) we can perform fast attacks, strong attacks, dodges and jumps. Neither of these actions consume energy, so they can be used without fear. There are also advanced moves such as picking up weapons from enemies to use as throwing items and a useful ‘parry’ performed by dodging towards the enemy just as they attack. When exploring, we can find limited-use objects, such as bombs or shields, that facilitate progress through the dungeon (objects are kept from one dungeon to another, so sometimes it will be convenient to reserve them for later).

The most interesting mechanic of the combat system is the one that allows us to recover health: when hitting the enemies the life bar recharges, but this recharge is only effective when we make a battle cry, so we must carefully choose the right moment to use this skill.

If the warrior we control is defeated, he will be trapped in the dungeon (in most cases, there are certain types of attacks that result in permanent death for the character). And no, it is not possible to fly and run: once inside the dungeon, we only have two options: kill the boss or die.

Here the Gods Will Fall’s second major decision: If we consider that the dungeon is too complicated, we can go to another to level up … Even if that means abandoning the trapped warrior. Otherwise, we can try our luck again with another of the seven warriors (there are no ‘checkpoints’, so we must start from the beginning). If that second also falls, we will have two characters trapped in the same dungeon.

An interesting situation can occur, such as seven warriors being trapped in the same dungeon … And be the eighth who manages to defeat the god, thus freeing all his comrades. A full-blown comeback.

Progress through the dungeon is quite linear, and there are no puzzles or anything like that, but there are two important things to keep in mind: the first is that the more enemies we defeat, less health will the boss when we face him. That is to say, technically it is possible to go through the dungeon in ‘speedrun’ mode, without defeating anyone … But then the fight against the boss will be much more complicated.

The second thing to keep in mind is that each dungeon incorporates its own mechanics that we can take advantage of. For example, in one of the ones they showed us, along the way the character passed several forges. When used, his weapon could improve or deteriorate randomly, inviting us to choose between relying on our abilities or leaving it to fortune. Again, decisions.

As we said, decisions also have a narrative impact: some warriors can have a relationship both with one of their companions and with the gods. During the event we saw how a warrior recounted having had a nightmare about the god who was waiting inside a dungeon; When choosing him to face that same dungeon, some of his stats went down, while others went up.

Another very interesting example is found when a warrior falls: if it takes a long time before rescuing him, the morale of one of his companions could be affected … Or quite the opposite: after climbing several levels, a warrior could feel euphoric at the idea to be ready to rescue your friend. As you see, through these decisions a unique narrative is woven in each game and for each player.

We have saved the gods for last because they are the real protagonistsHuge creatures with eye-catching designs and a great assortment of attacks that we must learn if we are to have any chance of defeating them (this is undoubtedly the “inherited” side of the Souls saga). In the matches they showed us, it was clear that they will be a real challenge. The gods, in addition, will have their own history that we can discover throughout the dungeon … And sometimes, that background can give us a clue as to which is the best warrior to face them. So far we have only seen five gods, so there are still many surprises.

If with all this that we have counted we have achieved that Gods Will Fall looks as promising to you as we doSo remember that it is scheduled to be released for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and PC on January 29, 2021.