I should love this game, but it is decidedly middling in every aspect. The pixel art is well-done, but there is random stuttering and awkward transitions throughout. The skill trees include compelling inter-character buffs, but overall progress is very slow and most of the unlockable skills are boring percentage-point increases. Combat ranges from awkward to downright frustrating, and deaths often felt unavoidable. Three of the first four unlockable characters are cumbersome to control, and the one ranged character requires a pretty boring kiting playstyle. The writing is atrocious, and as a result the voice acting feels stilted. There's a little bit of excitement to be had in each of these areas, but overall it was a chore to play.

[66 horas e 20 minutos]
A narrativa deste jogo é envolvente, proporcionando uma experiência única na jornada dos grandiosos heróis da família Bergson. A trama é deliciosamente cativante, tornando a leitura dos manuscritos uma verdadeira satisfação. A conexão entre os personagens é profundamente comovente, criando um laço emocional forte que enriquece a experiência do jogador.

Raramente um jogo consegue me prender a ponto de me motivar a completá-lo em 100%, e embora ainda não tenha alcançado esse feito, tenho certeza de que o farei. A trama é incrivelmente persuasiva, mantendo-me intrigado e ansioso para desvendar cada aspecto da história. Além disso, as DLCs acrescentam ainda mais profundidade e vitalidade a este jogo já fantástico.

Estou ansioso para concluir a jornada e explorar todas as nuances deste universo envolvente, proporcionando uma experiência de jogo verdadeiramente impactante.

[NOTA APÓS ZERAR O JOGO]: Conquistei praticamente todos os troféus desta maravilha, alcançando a marca de 39 horas de gameplay quando compartilhei o texto anterior. Agora, com 66 horas e 20 minutos de jogo e após explorar completamente tudo o que o jogo tem a oferecer, posso afirmar que é verdadeiramente uma obra de arte. As DLCs enriquecem ainda mais a experiência, a arte visual e sonora é simplesmente fantástica, e mergulhei profundamente na narrativa através dos relatos do vovô e da vovó Bergson.

Os anciãos da casa transmitiram um vasto conhecimento e clareza, desempenhando um papel crucial para que a família superasse o mal que assolava a sua terra, estabelecendo assim um período de paz duradouro e agradando aos deuses. O resultado final é fenomenal, uma verdadeira obra-prima que me proporcionou momentos inesquecíveis durante essa jornada envolvente. Estou encantado com a riqueza deste universo e a profundidade que o jogo conseguiu alcançar.

Apesar da escrita consideravelmente desleixada - para não falar 'preguiçosa' - (principalmente durante a reta final), Children of Morta carrega alguns valores essenciais para uma narrativa que abrange uma temática familiar, tornando a experiência ainda mais interessante quando vista da perspectiva das personagens, que possuem cada um seu estilo de jogo & características únicas (mesmo que não exista interações diretas com elas). Ademais, o level design pode acabar sendo um pouco irritante pela repetição juntamente com os inimigos que carecem de variedade, o que se torna um problema visto que a dificuldade definitivamente não é o prato-chefe da casa, tendo uma gameplay fácil de se adaptar e difícil de falhar depois de algum tempo (Mesmo na dificuldade mais elevada).

Children of Morta beautifully intertwines the play, die, upgrade, play loop of a rougue-lite with some terrific storytelling in between. I found all the characters in the family and their dynamic compelling and I was as eager to have another run at a location as I was to see how the story progressed.

I prefer ranged characters - given the choice, I'm always the archer - so I was glad to see some ranged options with the family. But I really disliked the system that forced you to pivot away from your chosen character due to the infection system. Forcing me to play another character I did not enjoy as much got very frustrating. Eventually I would just start a few runs and quit them to get back to my main. Not a good system.

Otherwise, the game could have used some better bosses - the final one in particular - as well as some more variety. But otherwise, I found this game compelling and addictive and enjoyed my time with it.

Deseaba que Children of Morta me encantara. Un roguelite con múltiples estilos de juego y un fuerte foco narrativo es un tipo de videojuego que tiende a cautivarme, especialmente considerando a Hades como un paradigma de ello. Sin embargo, lo que me terminé encontrando fue un videojuego que falla en lo mecánico debido a simplicidad y monotonía del combate, y que también falla en lo narrativo al presentar una historia que, si bien no está exenta de corazón, resulta sumamente precaria. Aprecio el concepto, pero intentar abarcarlo todo te deja con nada.

Highly recommended.

The visuals, the music, the narration, and the story are excellent. It was, in my opinion, the perfect length, too. It wasn't short, but it didn't drag on unnecessarily. Adding the little pieces of story between some of your runs is a great touch as it keeps you interested.

This is one of the few games that I'm sure I'll play again using the New Game+ as the combat is so satisfying.

Pixel artowy roguelike o rodzinie w świecie fantasy walczącej z "zepsuciem" opanowującym ich krainę. Brzmi nieciekawie, ale co wyróżnia tę opowieść to bardzo duży nacisk położony na pokazywanie relacji pomiędzy członkami tej rodziny, przed wyruszeniem do lochu możemy ich zobaczyć w wielkim domu jak młodzi się bawią, wujek pije, ktoś przygotowuje sprzęt do kolejnego runu, można przeczytać ich kilka przemyśleń, obaw itd. To wszystko zrobione jest subtelnie paroma linijkami tekstu czy animacjami, ale poprowadzone jest super, czuć w tym takie ciepło i że Bergsonowie to faktycznie kochająca się rodzina. W ważniejszych momentach kwestie czytane są przez narratora (jest ok), przeważnie mamy sam tekst. Gameplayowo w "daniu głównym" jest raczej rogalikowy standard, widok od góry, 3 światy do przejścia z których każdy się różni klimatem i wrogami, podczas ich przemierzania możemy trafić na różne zdarzenia losowe jak mieszkańców potrzebujących ochrony czy kogoś zlecającego nam znalezienie jakiegoś przedmiotu. Zdobywamy expa i walutę, za które można kupić ulepszenia na stałe, a dodatkowo podczas runu podnosimy przedmioty, które zapewniają nam moce tylko aż do śmierci. A po śmierci wracamy do domu gdzie niemal zawsze czeka nas cutscenka, coś nowego do odblokowania czy inne zmiany. Początkowo są 2 postacie do wyboru, łuczniczka i chopek z mieczem, wraz z postępem w fabule odblokowujemy ich dużo więcej. I generalnie o wiele lepiej grało mi się tutaj postaciami dystansowymi, a ci walczący wręcz niestety przeważają, ale i tak próbowałem nimi biegać dosyć często, bo gra fajnie do tego zachęca, ulepszając jedną na odpowiedni poziom dostajemy unikalnego boosta do wszystkich innych, także nawet jak ktoś się nie podoba to czas z nim nie idzie "na marne". Muzycznie i dźwiękowo jest ok, ale po paru godzinach uznałem, że to będzie dla mnie idealna gra pod podkasty (prawie zawsze mam rozgrzebaną jedną główną + jedną pod słuchanie), bo podczas samych runów wiele narrator do powiedzenia nie ma, tylko pauzowałem Spotifaja gdy działo się coś fabularnego. To jednak nie Hades, gdzie zagłuszając dźwięk traciłbym całą masę dialogów czy super ścieżkę dźwiękową.

Na Steam Decku gra działała prawie idealnie, jedynie średnio raz na godzinę miałem 1 sekundową ścinkę. Na tyle mały problem, że nawet nie chciało mi się szukać rozwiązania. ;)

O jogo é lindo, tem uma proposta interessante, um elenco de personagens que se destacam uns dos outros, uma árvore de habilidades bacana, uma gameplay relativamente agradável. O problema pra mim é em o quão extenso são as DGs nesse jogo, coisa de se passar 40-60min em um estágio. Fora isso, o jogo tem um RNG bem chato, são muitos personagens e o jogo te incentiva a jogar com todos ou pelo menos alguns para grindar e desbloquear habilidades q ajudam uns aos outros, porém aqui vai o próximo problema que é: simplesmente existem personagens mais fortes/fáceis q outros, o quanto a Lucy, a Linda e a outra maga são roubadas não tá escrito kk, enquanto a maioria dos meeles são bem sofridos. Dito isso, é um bom jogo, mas não é "a experiência".

"Isometric Dungeon-Hack'n'Slay with RPG- and Rogue-Lite-elements in Pixel-graphics and slightly generic fantasy-setting." I didn't think, that i'd start this one as a, so to say, "cousin" of Diablo 4 (or 3, if you like) on my Steam Deck, prefering it to the genre-primus. But coming from "Moonlighter", which i really enjoyed, i opted for "CoM" instead of a comeback / try-again of Blizzards hellish saga. So...

First Impression:
- Technical and creative aspects: i sort of like them, but at the same time, can't get rid of the impression, that many things got mixed up a little. So i adore the pixel-art on the one side while it all shouts "fantasy clichees! generic!" the same time
- Gameplay: coming from "Moonlighter", i find its core-gameplay better so far. CoM has Skilltrees and the like of course, so... i guess it grows. But missing ML's need to adapt to every single enemy and its perks and movements from the very beginning. On the other side - rellay enjoy changing characters and the different playstyles that derive from that.
- Story telling: i like the interwoven narrative bits driving the story between the dungeon-runs! But again, at the same time... feels a little out of place flow-wise... can feel interrupt two dungeon runs, maybe because i haven't progressed in the story very far and most of the information is still sort of build-up.

Ongoing Play:
- Gameplay: CoM managed to really get me into this well-known gameplay-loop of "ok, just ONE more dungeon." Think, i am closer to the end actually then to the midgame (for when i wanted to refresh my review). So far having more fun with it than with "Diablo IV" even. I like the fact, that the game wants me to change characters and playstyle - and they really differ enough, to keep me challenged and learning alike.
- Story-telling: i didn't expect to come across such dark tones during the plot. In some ways generic in the beginning, i think the game strikes somber notes that really rings with me, by not making the (for mel, personally) mistake of being to overcharged with meaning and emotion (like "D4") - which, then, compromises my gameplay experience ("wait, what? did i get the story-bit right? who's this demon/angel/character? what does he/she want? feels important, but... did i miss something?!").
Besides that, gameplay feels fresh when onlocking skills in the family tree and getting those cross-upgrades. In lack of a better, recent twin, "D4" again: felt the same for me, through many hours, without changing in a significant way... (played Mage, Rogue and Druid).
On the downside, some dungeon-runs can actually feel a little "stuck", when you get a bad start upgrade-wise and stutter to venture further. Then you die. And being eager to try it again immediatly, a short story-bit slows you down... So that can interruped the otherwise really good flow.
Technical and creative aspects: I now like the assets more than in the beginning, coming from "a little generic" to appreciating the third worldstage, where they mixed fantasy- with techno-designs. Sometimes a little tricky to read the graphics in that particular environment (overlapping graphics not clearly showing, where to go or where's items or just interior design...). But overall a fine mixture of western and eastern fantasy elements, sprinkled with some steampunk and Lovercraft here and there. So... on to clearing the Techno-city and defeating the corrupted deity occupying Morta!

Cannot believe the average rating on this game tbh, this game is very underrated.

The game focuses on a fantastic story of a family coming together to save the world, growing up in an extremely hostile environment and learning to hone their skills to fight back against the growing evil. The characters were well developed, the graphics were lovingly made, and the gameplay was a lot of fun as you unlock characters with different abilities and level up through hack and slash dungeons. It's a roguelite, so you don't start from zero constantly, but there is the RNG element that can make some dungeons feel like a breeze and others like a slog. I am not a persistent gamer and will quit things anytime - I love to quit! But the gameplay loop and my emotional investment in the story kept me going through the end and even into a bit of the game+ mode. Also that narrator! Haven't felt that at home with a narrator since Winnie the Pooh.

It's definitely worth playing, and I would recommend giving it a try!