Gods Will Fall
- January 29, 2021
- Clever Beans Ltd
An inventive Souls-meets-roguelike that frustrates and delights in equal measure.
In "Gods Will Fall," players lead a group of Celtic warriors, each with unique strengths, in a quest to defeat oppressive gods. Traverse through procedurally generated levels, engaging in brutal combat, and manage your clan's survival in this dark fantasy action-adventure game. Your decisions and the fates of your warriors are crucial in the battle against the cruel deities.
Reviews
- The art style is beautiful and the game is well-made, providing a visually appealing experience.
- The game features unique mechanics with randomized warriors and relationships, adding depth to each playthrough.
- Boss battles are well-designed and offer a satisfying challenge, with the potential for emergent storytelling.
- The controls are poorly optimized for keyboard and mouse, making the game frustrating to play without a controller.
- Combat feels clunky and lacks reliable attack patterns, leading to a chaotic and often unfair experience.
- The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful exploration, making it feel tedious over time.
- gameplay35 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of engaging mechanics and frustrating design choices. While the health recovery system and randomized character dynamics add depth, many players find the combat clunky and simplistic, with limited abilities and awkward controls, particularly on keyboard. Overall, the game offers a unique roguelike experience with potential, but suffers from execution issues that detract from its enjoyment.
“Behind the rough edges visually and in gameplay design is a charming roguelike with decently tight (controller) combat that feels fair and punishes button-mashing.”
“Gods Will Fall is a unique and challenging dungeon crawler that cleverly combines a handful of inventive gameplay mechanics, resulting in constantly tense and thrilling runs through some seriously tough death chambers and boss battles.”
“Successfully meshes a host of clever roguelike mechanics; crunchy soulslike combat is tough and satisfying, roguelike elements work well for the most part, dungeons are nicely varied, and the bloodlust mechanic adds a neat ebb and flow to combat.”
“I was plagued with having to play this game trying to give it a shot and just further cementing the sad truth that this game is the worst budget to gameplay ratio on Steam.”
“The gargling voice-over in the intro made me so uncomfortable I had to mute my volume, there is a vsync bug which doesn't like when you have that setting turned off and makes the game unplayable, and keyboard gameplay is awkward and clearly not the way this game was made to be played.”
“Combat is limited to a few styles of melee-only fighting styles and doesn't introduce any meaningful abilities or unique effects to spice up the gameplay.”
- story21 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a unique narration style but ultimately lacks depth and engagement, with minimal character development and a disappointing conclusion. While the randomized adventurers and emergent storytelling offer some variation, many players find the overall narrative unexciting and the gameplay too easy, leading to a lack of meaningful impact. Despite some positive elements like charming visuals and interesting premises, the story fails to elevate the gameplay experience significantly.
“The story is meaningful, the gameplay design of the action is simplified, and while it does have its pain points here and there, it delivers a fun and purposeful experience.”
“[charming painted graphics, fascinating story premise, organic narrative mechanics].”
“While not perfect, some things like the rather barren overworld as well as some bugs standing out, the character development, emergent storytelling and tight combat does more than enough to let this stand out.”
“I ended up giving this a negative because once you beat the game, there really isn't an end story.”
“I personally found the game to be rather easy once I got accustomed to it, so the main 'hook' of the game, the evolving storylines, had little ultimate impact on me.”
“Far too easy, coupled with simplistic combat, lack of rewarding exploration, bosses struggle to be compelling fights befitting of gods, largely non-existent story or lore to support gameplay.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their beautiful art style and charming painted visuals, which enhance the overall experience, particularly in the handcrafted levels and varied dungeon aesthetics. However, some elements, like the boss models during cutscenes, are criticized for their low-quality appearance reminiscent of PS1 graphics. While the visuals stand out as a highlight, the inconsistency in quality and issues with controls detract from the overall impression.
“I loved the visuals, the combat, and although some weapons with their own fighting styles are difficult, I loved them.”
“If you take it as what it is, an indie beat 'em up with a pretty great art style, I think you'll have a good time.”
“[charming painted graphics, fascinating story premise, organic narrative mechanics]”
“The nicest thing this game has going for it are the visuals, but everything else just fell short for me.”
“[jarringly incongruous art style; finicky controls]”
“[handcrafted levels that sidestep the shortcomings of procedural generation; emergent storytelling allows for contextual variation with each run; varied dungeon aesthetics]”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music and ambiance in the game are generally praised for their haunting quality and ability to enhance immersion, particularly in dungeon settings. However, some players find the repetitive, drone-like nature of the dungeon music can become monotonous over time, detracting from the overall experience.
“Music, ambiance, and narration are haunting and elevate the player's experience well.”
“I absolutely love the music and the way each dungeon delivers an ambiance that really immerses you into the level.”
“Music and ambiance create a captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall gameplay experience.”
“It doesn't help that the dungeon music is a drone-y loop that will put you in a trance (not in a good way) while you do the same thing over and over.”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking depth and interest, with some reviewers noting a barren narrative landscape. However, there are positive mentions of emergent storytelling and engaging combat that contribute to a more compelling experience, despite the overall shortcomings.
“While not perfect, some things like the rather barren overworld as well as some bugs standing out, the character development, emergent storytelling, and tight combat do more than enough to let this stand out.”
“Aside from that, there isn't really anything overly interesting going on in terms of story or character development.”
“While not perfect, the character development feels lacking, and the overworld is rather barren, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“The character development is minimal, leaving players wanting more depth and engagement with the characters.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with many players appreciating the immersive world it creates. Despite some criticism regarding controls and replayability, the overall aesthetic and ambiance contribute significantly to the enjoyment of the experience.
“The game is a little short, having completed my first run in 5 hours; however, I really enjoyed my time in this game. The atmosphere and world are excellent, and unlike some of the other reviews here, I actually found the controls to be just right once I got used to them.”
“Gods Will Fall is a good-looking and atmospheric roguelike, but its weak controls and repetitive nature make it hard to replay.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it highly replayable due to varied tactical combat and procedural elements that create unique experiences, others criticize it for a barren setting and lack of incentives to replay. Overall, the potential for emergent storytelling and diverse paths enhances replay value for those who enjoy a challenge.
“It's a highly replayable game, creating a challenge worth pursuing.”
“The strong, varied, tactical combat offers a challenge that never feels impossible. The use of procedural elements combined with maps that provide a variety of paths, depending on difficulty, gives it great replay value. This also allows for a strong level of emergent storytelling, where each playthrough tells a different tale.”
“The game maintains an attractive brushed-art visual style throughout the many diverse dungeons.”
“The game features a barren and repetitive setting that makes it hard to find any motivation to replay.”
“The hub world is disappointing and lacks the depth needed to encourage multiple playthroughs.”
“There are no replayability incentives, which makes the experience feel flat after the first run.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while combat may feel clunky at times, the smooth and natural movement of the warriors helps mitigate some of the bugs, resulting in a more enjoyable experience.
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, particularly due to the inability to exit dungeons once entered, leading to a relentless cycle of attempting to defeat powerful bosses or losing crew members permanently. This design forces players to either persistently grind through challenges or face significant setbacks, contributing to a sense of frustration and helplessness.
“Once you enter a dungeon, there's no backing out (from what I see) until your whole crew is dead. If you enter a dungeon with a boss that has a health bar that spans the screen two times over, you can't 'abandon dungeon', keep your warrior, and come back later without permanently losing crew members. You either walk away from it with fewer warriors or you keep grinding trying to get to the boss to revive your fallen members until you're out of warriors.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as delightfully irreverent, with a tone that suggests even divine beings would find it amusing. Players appreciate the cleverness and wit woven into the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
“Gods will fall down laughing at you.”
“The humor in this game is so clever, it had me chuckling at every turn.”
“I love how the game uses witty dialogue to keep the mood light and entertaining.”
Critic Reviews
Gods Will Fall review
An inventive Souls-meets-roguelike that frustrates and delights in equal measure.
84%Gods Will Fall
The more I played Gods Will Fall, the more I understand its intricate design. It’s a good game that at the very heart depends on dungeon design and bosses to make it fun. It exceeds in the latter and does a good job with the design. The story is meaningful, the gameplay design of the action is simplified, and while it does have its pain points here and there, it delivers a fun and purposeful experience.
80%Gods Will Fall Review – A Smorgasbord of Different Influences
Gods Will Fall's smattering of influences and banal title undersell some of its more brilliant design decisions, all of which work together to deliver one of the more imaginative and accomplished roguelikes in recent memory.
70%