Developer: Acid Nerve
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Release Date: 23rd November 2021
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch & PC
Reviewed on: PS5
◽Code provided by the publisher◽
Every now and again a game comes out of nowhere and completely blows you away. That was my experience with Death’s Door – the exceptional new Indie title from developer Acid Nerve. A cross between Zelda and Dark Souls, complete with an isometric view, this beautifully designed action-adventure game gets its claws in early and doesn’t let up until the credits roll.
The story follows a young crow, who happens to be a reaper. Your job is to collect souls. You know, that old chestnut. You are employed by the Reaping Commission, whose HQ is your hub throughout the game. Chandler the Handler sends you off to take down a forest spirit, but just when the job looks finished, an unknown entity relieves you or your prize.
They escape through a forbidden area, which of course you give chase into. This leads you to Grey Crow, an old ex-reaper who was hoping that the soul he swiped from you would grant him entry through death’s door. He then tasks you with gathering enough souls to open the door, and from there your journey begins in earnest.
It’s hard to overstate how amazing the game looks. As I said above the game adopts an isometric viewpoint, which compliments the incredible art style and shows off the level of detail that has gone into the world. Admiring the game often made me think back to the outstanding 2018 Indie gem the Sexy Brutale. The stark contrast between the black and white noir feel of the Reaping Commission and the colour palette within the estate of the Urn Witch really shows off the visual range in the game.
Equally as polished and twice as quirky is the great cast of characters you meet throughout your journey. The Urn Witch looks like she was designed with a tea cosy in mind, while my personal favourite, Pothead is a young man with a cooking pot for a head. Adding to the humour he leaks soup out of his head whenever he bends over. The whole cast plays their part well though, and each comes with well-written, witty dialogue that genuinely had me laughing out loud.
Gameplay is easy to pick up, but hard to master. Importantly though, it always feels fair. I personally shy away from the tougher Souls style games as I just don’t have the patience, but in Death’s Door, every failure felt like it was a direct result of something I did wrong and could improve on. Going on the offensive is necessary, with a light and heavy attack at your disposal. There is also a ranged attack that allows you to fire bows, magic and more.
Rather than pick up ammo in the world, your ranged attack is replenished by using your melee weapon. This can be on enemies or inanimate objects around the world such as boxes and vases. Every successful swing of the sword regenerates one ranged ammo. You start with only four ammo slots, which can be upgraded to a maximum of six, meaning you have to vary your approach constantly.
The level design also deserves a special mention. Aside from being stunningly detailed, the Metroidvania layout is an absolute masterpiece. Abilities you gain later in your journey are used to gain access to previously locked off areas which often contain upgrades, collectables and even mini-bosses. Developer Acid Nerve also struck the perfect balance with the size of the world. There is so much to explore without it ever becoming overwhelming.
The trophy list is well designed. The bulk of the trophies will be gained on your way to getting 100% game completion. The most difficult obstacle en route to the platinum is the gold trophy for completing the game using only the umbrella. This weapon only does 0.5x damage, so it’s a tough ask. As things stand just now it is the only trophy standing between me and the platinum and I have vowed to see it through! It is also worth noting that there are two missable trophies related to performing certain combat moves on two of the bosses.
I must have died about two hundred times in my initial 23 hour playthrough to achieve 100% completion and even during my most frustrated moments I was completely addicted to the gameplay loop. This is not only the best Indie game of 2021 but one of the best games this year period. Anyone who is a fan of timing-based action games owes it to themselves to pick this one up. You won’t regret it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an umbrella run to complete!
-Craig 🧐