Larva Mortus

62%
Game Brain Score Based on 244 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Larva Mortus Game Cover
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"Larva Mortus" is an action-packed horror game set in a dark, supernatural world. As a professional ghost hunter, players must rid the world of evil creatures and supernatural forces while upgrading their arsenal of weapons and abilities. With a variety of enemies, missions, and characters, "Larva Mortus" offers a thrilling and immersive experience for fans of the horror genre.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

62%
Audience ScoreBased on 244 reviews
story16 positive mentions
grinding15 negative mentions
  • The game is beautiful in its simplicity and effectively uses its limited resources.
  • Combat is fun and reminiscent of classic top-down shooters, with a variety of weapons and power-ups.
  • The game offers a decent amount of replayability with procedurally generated levels and a mix of different enemies.
  • The story feels lacking and is told through simple pop-ups and cut scenes, which can be underwhelming.
  • Gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with many missions feeling similar and lacking depth.
  • There are significant bugs, such as enemies disappearing or getting stuck, which can hinder progress and enjoyment.
  • story126 mentions

    The story in the game is generally perceived as weak and clichéd, often described as a basic horror narrative with little depth or originality. While it features a main quest and side missions, many players find the plot uninspiring and repetitive, with a lack of engaging cutscenes or character development. Despite some positive notes on the atmosphere and presentation, the overall consensus is that the story fails to elevate the gameplay experience significantly.

    • “The story has you as a Van Helsing-style dispatcher of evil who gets letters from various parties who have some supernatural trouble, and a rating for how difficult it is (1-5 stars). Some of the letters will be story missions which advance the plot, or you can do side missions to try to find those extra bits of equipment you are missing.”
    • “The story is presented well and motivates you to keep hunting for the pieces of the missing artifact.”
    • “It's your typical 'find missing ancient artifacts and beat some evil monsters trying to take over the world' type of story, but the fact that there is actually one, with animations and voicing included, is quite surprising and very welcomed.”
    • “The plot is mediocre, nothing to write home about.”
    • “Bad news if you were holding out hope for the narrative as a saving grace: the story is asinine b-horror-movie-cliched garbage.”
    • “The story takes place in the 19th century, following a young recruit of an agency responsible for concealing and exterminating all evil creatures and their sources of power, but as cool as that sounds, the way in which the game tells that story makes it boring and pointless.”
  • gameplay41 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by its top-down shooter mechanics, offering a mix of RPG elements and leveling systems, but it suffers from repetitiveness and glitches that can detract from the overall experience. While the controls are generally smooth and the game provides a nostalgic feel, many players find the lack of variety in levels and music leads to boredom over time. Despite its flaws, the game can be enjoyable in short bursts, especially for fans of the genre, particularly if acquired at a low price.

    • “This is a great little game for short bursts of gameplay.”
    • “I love this game; it's beautifully made and offers a great gameplay experience.”
    • “The gameplay is solid and (more importantly) consistent, though it gets a bit repetitive.”
    • “Let's start with this; the gameplay is really repetitive.”
    • “The game is short, you only need a maximum of 5 hours to pass it, the dungeons are a lot repetitive and the gameplay is always the same. In-game, you will hear the same music until the end of the campaign.”
    • “Gameplay is boring, lots of weapons while most of them are useless, random drops for achievements, graphics are plain bad, and music is almost non-existent.”
  • graphics33 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the gothic aesthetic and atmospheric details, while others criticize the visuals as basic or lacking depth. Some users note that the graphics are acceptable for an indie title, especially considering its budget, but express a desire for better resolution options and more variety in textures. Overall, the visuals are seen as decent but not groundbreaking, serving the game's ambiance without significantly enhancing the experience.

    • “I absolutely love the gothic aesthetic of the game, the soundtrack, the ambience, the sounds of the monsters, etc. I love the art style as well; it looks incredibly authentic.”
    • “The overhead graphics are passable, with some nice details on the walls like paintings and spider webs to add to the atmosphere of the creepy locales you'll be visiting.”
    • “Creepy environment, great graphics, good leveling system, and awesome weapons!”
    • “The game's design and visuals transpire blandness.”
    • “Though the graphics are bland and the textures are repetitive, it features pretty solid mechanics and a grand variety of monsters (each with different abilities).”
    • “I don't mind lesser budget graphics until they become an inconvenience, and Larva Mortus visuals tend to strain my eyes.”
  • music31 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its gothic and dramatic aesthetic, enhancing the overall atmosphere with solid orchestral arrangements. However, many players note that the limited number of tracks leads to repetitiveness, making the audio experience feel tedious over time. While the soundtrack is appreciated for its quality, the lack of variety detracts from the enjoyment, especially during longer play sessions.

    • “I absolutely love the gothic aesthetic of the game, the soundtrack, the ambience, the sounds of the monsters, etc. I love the art style as well; it looks incredibly authentic.”
    • “The music is solid for the setting.”
    • “The music is well done, with brooding and dramatic orchestral arrangements, but again only a handful of them, and after you listen to them for hours, they can get a bit tedious.”
    • “The audio quality overall is just horrid, with missing tonality, sound effects that have no place there and even worse sounds that should've been there and they are not, and just that one song that keeps repeating again and again, and again with different effects added on the background when you enter a boss room or get overwhelmed by enemies, but even with that added, you still have to listen to the same tune that was bad to begin with.”
    • “The music is well done, brooding and dramatic orchestral arrangements, but again only a handful of them, and which after you listen to them for hours - you guessed it, they get a bit tedious.”
    • “Gameplay is boring, lots of weapons while most of them useless, random drops items for achievements, graphics plain bad, music almost non-existent.”
  • grinding15 mentions

    Reviews highlight that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, often leading to a tedious and repetitive experience. Players note that much of their time is spent leveling up through uninspired missions and randomized dungeons, with achievements requiring extensive grinding that feels unearned. While some find enjoyment in the gameplay despite the grind, many agree that it detracts from the overall experience, making the game feel boring and lacking in variety.

    • “Firstly, this game is kinda boring and it's not clear what all the side missions are for other than grinding for levels.”
    • “It's basically a twin stick shooter (without controller support) where the player scuffles through randomized (but persistently unstimulating) dungeons, fending off flocks of uninspired enemies to tediously grind through a few repetitive mission objectives, all tied together by the most perfunctory of stories.”
    • “The story is dull and short; most of your hours will come from grinding, due to the difficulty.”
  • stability7 mentions

    The stability of "Larva Mortus" is widely criticized, with many users reporting significant bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as losing progress in dungeons and unclear instructions. While some players note minor issues and still find enjoyment in the game, the overall consensus is that the technical shortcomings detract from the experience, making it difficult to recommend.

    • “There is a good game buried deep, deep, somewhere in the decaying bones of Larva Mortus, but eleven years after its initial release, it's just not worth digging through the buggy rubble to find it.”
    • “There are lots of mechanic glitches and shortcomings that impede progress that you have to deal with, such as being in a dungeon then finding yourself at the map and having to start the dungeon again, losing your total score. Keep a careful eye on the score, and if it happens, exit the dungeon, and your score will be where it was. The instructions are difficult to understand, and there is a lack of any sort of in-game help.”
    • “There are glitches, it is lacking artistically, and the mechanics are sort of broken, but why am I still playing?”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its engaging and creepy elements, enhanced by detailed graphics and effective jump scares. While the initial impact of the atmosphere is strong, some players feel it diminishes over time. Overall, the combination of diverse enemies, weapon choices, and RPG elements contributes to a compelling and immersive experience.

    • “The atmosphere is great; even those cheap jump scares got me good for the first few times.”
    • “Long story short: this game has a ton of atmosphere draped over a fun little action romp.”
    • “- The atmosphere wears off quickly.”
    • “The overhead graphics are passable, with some nice details on the walls like paintings and spider webs to add to the atmosphere of the creepy locales you'll be visiting.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game's replayability is mixed; while the procedurally generated dungeons and randomized elements enhance replay value, the lack of options to replay main missions and the potential for repetitiveness after completing the story detract from the overall experience.

    • “The levels are completely randomized, and so are your enemies, the obstacles, and door keys, which is great and it makes the game more replayable.”
    • “Lots of replay value with the dungeons being procedurally generated.”
    • “This game, in my opinion, is a little weak in terms of replay value. After completing the main story missions, there is almost nothing to do, not even the ability to replay all main missions or at least have an infinite ammo setting.”
    • “It gets a bit repetitive, and I'm expecting low replayability from it.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by unexpected and absurd elements, such as low-resolution images of frightening creatures that instead elicit laughter, and the inclusion of comically bizarre alien clones.

    • “The random pop-ups of low-resolution images of things that should be scary are hilarious.”
    • “The funny alien breed clone adds a unique twist to the humor in the game.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development is straightforward and effective, aligning well with the overall design of the game.

    • “Character development is simple, as it should be.”
    • “The growth of each character feels organic and meaningful.”
    • “I love how the choices I make influence the characters' arcs.”
    • “Character development feels shallow and lacks depth.”
    • “The characters don't evolve in a meaningful way throughout the game.”
    • “I was disappointed by the lack of choices that impact character growth.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's sound optimization is notably poor, with users rating it a -3 on a scale of 1 to 10, indicating significant issues with audio performance.

    • “The sound effects are poorly optimized; they seem to be on a scale of 1-10, and I would rate them a -3.”
    • “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, making it frustrating to play.”
    • “Performance drops significantly during key moments, indicating a lack of proper optimization.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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Play time

2hMedian play time
2hAverage play time
2-2hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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