Pros:
- unique art style and great visual presentation
- character design is creative and animated expressions are charming
- overworld and dungeons are well-designed and hide secrets in plain sight
- puzzle writing is smart and effective
- bosses are fun and have secret weaknesses
- checkpoints are frequent and backtracking is generally fast
Cons:
- the difficulty is unforgiving and the death screen is aggravating
- health recovery system is unique to a fault and at odds with the exploratory design
- music is hit and miss, with most tracks getting grating quickly
- not all movement and attack options are explained in the tutorials
- hub area is confusing and has little bearing on the gameplay as a whole
- collectable weapons are interchangeable and barely affect combat
- combat is unfair: enemies don't get staggered, attacks are barely telegraphed
- movement speed is far too low and there is no practical dash or sprint move
- roll has practically no I-frames and is useless for avoiding damage
- upgrades are far too expensive and have no noticeable effect on gameplay
- final boss is a tedious trial-and-error challenge and a huge letdown compared to his peers
- collectathon requirements for the true ending are laughably high
- true ending is basically just more text and not worth the trouble
- the story is far too prominent for what it tries to achieve
Blahgic Moment: Dying to the final boss, only to repeat a prior platforming section again. And again. And Again.
Playtime: 10,5 Hours, with 89% completion.
Verdict:
Death's Door is the perfect example of a high-class dazzler: At first, the presentation, character design and promising overworld pull you in with their impeccable design; then, after a short while, the unfair combat system and unforgiving difficulty slap you in the face and dare you not to throw the controller against the nearest wall. The upgrade system and collectable weapons promise a variety in playstyles that never manifests, and the starting weapon emerges as a boring but workable choice for an entire playthrough. Even after a few expensive upgrades, enemies still take forever to kill, and bosses have tiny punishment windows that will aggravate you just like the annoying "wroom" sound and splash screen after each death. Because of this, exploration of the overworld and hunting for secrets becomes senseless, as the loot does not make the combat challenges any easier and is never actually worth the effort. The post-game makes this experience even worse, as it turns the game into a terrible collectathon for masochists who, after hours of tedium, are gifted quite probably the worst hidden ending in the recent past (that you can easily watch online of you actually care about it).
In conclusion, Death's Door is a huge disappointment that overpromises on its presentation and underdelivers in all of its most essential gameplay elements. Even if you like how it looks, you shouldn't play this and certainly shouldn't buy it - and don't go for all the endings or achievements under any circumstances.
- unique art style and great visual presentation
- character design is creative and animated expressions are charming
- overworld and dungeons are well-designed and hide secrets in plain sight
- puzzle writing is smart and effective
- bosses are fun and have secret weaknesses
- checkpoints are frequent and backtracking is generally fast
Cons:
- the difficulty is unforgiving and the death screen is aggravating
- health recovery system is unique to a fault and at odds with the exploratory design
- music is hit and miss, with most tracks getting grating quickly
- not all movement and attack options are explained in the tutorials
- hub area is confusing and has little bearing on the gameplay as a whole
- collectable weapons are interchangeable and barely affect combat
- combat is unfair: enemies don't get staggered, attacks are barely telegraphed
- movement speed is far too low and there is no practical dash or sprint move
- roll has practically no I-frames and is useless for avoiding damage
- upgrades are far too expensive and have no noticeable effect on gameplay
- final boss is a tedious trial-and-error challenge and a huge letdown compared to his peers
- collectathon requirements for the true ending are laughably high
- true ending is basically just more text and not worth the trouble
- the story is far too prominent for what it tries to achieve
Blahgic Moment: Dying to the final boss, only to repeat a prior platforming section again. And again. And Again.
Playtime: 10,5 Hours, with 89% completion.
Verdict:
Death's Door is the perfect example of a high-class dazzler: At first, the presentation, character design and promising overworld pull you in with their impeccable design; then, after a short while, the unfair combat system and unforgiving difficulty slap you in the face and dare you not to throw the controller against the nearest wall. The upgrade system and collectable weapons promise a variety in playstyles that never manifests, and the starting weapon emerges as a boring but workable choice for an entire playthrough. Even after a few expensive upgrades, enemies still take forever to kill, and bosses have tiny punishment windows that will aggravate you just like the annoying "wroom" sound and splash screen after each death. Because of this, exploration of the overworld and hunting for secrets becomes senseless, as the loot does not make the combat challenges any easier and is never actually worth the effort. The post-game makes this experience even worse, as it turns the game into a terrible collectathon for masochists who, after hours of tedium, are gifted quite probably the worst hidden ending in the recent past (that you can easily watch online of you actually care about it).
In conclusion, Death's Door is a huge disappointment that overpromises on its presentation and underdelivers in all of its most essential gameplay elements. Even if you like how it looks, you shouldn't play this and certainly shouldn't buy it - and don't go for all the endings or achievements under any circumstances.
TheBurkinator4
11 months ago