Guardians of the Mountain – a review of the game “Children of Morta”

The curse of corruption 

From the top of Morta Mountain, a curse spills over the vast land, and the player’s task is to find out where it came from and stop it before it’s too late. This obligation falls on the shoulders of the Bergson family, who guard the mountain. The mission, initially carried out by the father of the family, soon becomes the responsibility of the other members.

A family saga

The game is a hack’n’slash  with rougelike elements . The story unfolds gradually. At the beginning, we step into the shoes of the Bergson father, John. We are thrown into the whirlwind of events and learn about the mechanics of the game. We have a sword and a shield at our disposal. Over time, we can also use various improvements to help us explore new locations. Naturally, as the character progresses, the character gains new levels that allow for its further development. A natural element of rougelike games follows over timewhich is death. However, the hero does not die permanently. After losing a fight, he returns to his family home to continue the fight the next day. We start the next approach with the same level as we obtained earlier. After a few tries, we can see the story unfold. A family council takes place, and each member has a life of their own. In the uncle’s workshop, we can buy upgrades, and grandma reads the runes, which give us the benefits of the goddess Rei-Dana. After each defeat, we watch a new fictional cut-scene. The history of the family is constantly developing and the number of playable heroes increases over time. Other household members enter the action, and each of them has their own primary weapon, additional attacks and a development tree, which is a great variety of fun. The variety of enemies we encounter also deserves praise. The randomly generated levels traversed by the heroes also offer varied gameplay. We will find a lot of items to help us on our way, traces and journals that further develop the plot, traps and other plot elements that make the game even more pleasant.

The best pixels

Children of Morta  offers pixel art in the best quality: rich and beautiful-looking backgrounds, detailed locations and objects in them. Compared to the surroundings, the character models seem to look much simpler, but it didn’t spoil my impression. The areas have their own soundtracks, giving them a unique atmosphere. Sometimes it is anxiety, other times we hear sounds that help to calm our emotions a bit.

Summary 

Children of Morta  provides many hours of gameplay, and its most important element is a gradually developing story that does not allow you to tear yourself away from it. It is also a great variety for the genre, and I have not experienced such an engaging story in any game of this type before. Each playable character is worth attention, and discovering the secrets of subsequent locations and the fight makes Children of Morta impossible to get bored. A beautiful graphic style and atmospheric music complete the picture of the game. It’s hard to find fault with anything.