Godfall makes an excellent first impression. Even if you happen to’re taking part in on a reasonably highly effective PC, as I did, it is clear from the opening moments that developer Counterplay Games has endeavored to indicate off developments in visible constancy, little doubt in gentle of latest {hardware} such because the PlayStation 5. From the best way sparks fly to the myriad particles that coat each inch of its motion and the reflectiveness of its gaudy gold and marble halls, Godfall desires you to know that subsequent gen is right here. Beyond the visible spectacle, nonetheless, lies a recreation that is instantly acquainted and over-reliant on an amalgamation of loot-driven video games from the previous eight years or so.Godfall’s combination of loot development and third-person melee fight has been described by Counterplay Games as a brand new kind of style: the looter-slasher. The identify holds up insofar as you loot and slash issues, however there’s nothing about Godfall that feels intrinsically new. Diablo, Monster Hunter, and Warframe make up a portion of its overt inspirations, nevertheless it manages to keep away from feeling fully spinoff by pulling from so many alternative influences without delay. There’s nothing inherently improper with this method, particularly because it mixes in a couple of of its personal concepts as effectively. The points Godfall faces happen exterior of fight, the place its construction and gameplay loop are decidedly uninspired.The complete recreation takes place throughout three distinct realms: Earth, Water, and Air. Upon getting into every biome, you are given a quick tour of the realm earlier than being tasked with discovering some type of door that is locked by a particular variety of MacGuffins. From right here, you must return to beforehand visited areas and defeat plenty of mid-bosses–some of that are distinctive, however most of that are repeats of fights you have already had. Once you have slain every of those enemies and purchased the requisite quantity of MacGuffins, you’ll be able to open the door and battle that realm’s boss. Then you merely ascend an elevator and repeat the entire course of once more within the subsequent realm.As you’ll be able to think about, this inflexible framework rapidly devolves into tedium and wears out its welcome lengthy earlier than the ultimate credit roll round 9 hours in. To make issues worse, Godfall’s endgame revolves round but extra fights towards the identical bosses you have already clashed metal with earlier than. There are some new wrinkles to this endgame content material, together with methods to earn new loot, a reward system that grants short-term buffs, and the prospect of failing and having to begin over, however the core conceit of repeating battles to unlock loot to repeat extra battles is just not an attractive one when that is all there may be to it.Gallery
Part of this tedium is because of routine degree and quest design that does little greater than shuffle you from one battle to the following. Your goal not often deviates from the essential activity of killing all the things in sight, apart from a choose few outliers the place you may need to destroy an object as effectively. You haven’t any interplay with the world round you, and there isn’t any nuance to point a way of historical past in every locale. Enemies merely mill about ready to die–their total function served by being vanquished at your hands–and the environments, for nearly as good as they give the impression of being, find yourself feeling like hole set dressing. The threadbare story offers little context both, providing simply sufficient of a motive for all of the bloodshed. The finish objective is to kill your brother earlier than he can grow to be a god and produce in regards to the apocalypse. At one level it appears to be like as if the narrative may add some depth by musing on the potential for energy to deprave those that haven’t any want for it, however that is dropped simply as quickly because it arrives in favor of a predictable sequel tease.Godfall is a recreation constructed on monotony that may collapse fully if the fight weren’t there to prop it up. Your melee repertoire consists of sunshine and heavy assaults, a quick dodge, and a protect that may each block and parry incoming assaults. There’s the standard assortment of substances rarities, with frequent, unusual, uncommon, and legendary loot to search out, whereas your weapon arsenal options all the things from large greatswords to nimble twin blades. Each weapon kind is diversified by the vary, velocity, and cadence of its moveset, however all of them share the identical four-button combo and an array of talents that may be unlocked through a modest talent tree. Whichever weapon kind you go for will come down to private choice, notably since Godfall’s fight is meaty and satisfying regardless of which one you select, with a palpable sense of skull-crushing weight behind every blow.It may also be surprisingly measured because of the truth you’ll be able to’t interrupt assault animations if you want to block or dodge. This works effectively on paper, forcing you to be taught enemy patterns and be deliberate in your actions, nevertheless it belies Godfall’s emphasis on aggression. Being affected person works towards bosses and in one-on-one encounters, however you spend the overwhelming majority of the sport combating mobs the place velocity is of the essence. You must rapidly lower by ranged enemies or healers earlier than coping with anybody else, and this method is antithetical to the best way defending works. There’s even a Rampage mechanic that rewards you for staying on the entrance foot with a 20% harm enhance. However, these mechanics are undermined by the truth that dying in Godfall is so inconsequential that it is really advantageous loads of the time. Falling in battle merely respawns you again the place you died, with the entire enemies proper the place you left them, whether or not meaning they’re lifeless or broken. Doing so additionally replenishes your entire therapeutic gadgets, so there’s little motive to keep away from letting your well being bar attain zero until you need to preserve maintain of any of the power you have constructed up. This adjustments throughout boss fights, however even these are generously checkpointed every time you deplete a bit of the boss’ well being.Godfall captured on PCFortunately, there may be some significant depth past the fight’s acquainted fundamentals. Every weapon kind has two distinctive variants of particular assaults referred to as Southern and Northern Techniques. You can execute these by spending power that is steadily collected throughout the warmth of battle. Performing a Northern Technique with the longsword, for instance, will launch you right into a fast flurry of strikes that cuts by any foes round you, whereas the polearm’s Southern Technique sends you right into a leaping floor slam that features equally to an AOE assault. Aside from being flashy shows of energy, these strategies are additionally an important a part of Godfall’s Soulshatter mechanic. By utilizing gentle assaults and Northern Techniques, you’ll be able to apply Soulshatter buildup to an enemy’s well being bar earlier than switching to heavy assaults and Southern Techniques to financial institution all of that risky power and dish it out within the type of harmful Soulshatter harm.There are plenty of different talents you’ll be able to unlock all through the sport as effectively, corresponding to a Weak Point talent that permits you to purpose the cursor at highlighted enemy weak spots to deal further harm. This provides a component of finesse to these moments if you’re merely wailing on a gaggle of enemies, forcing you to course-correct and hone in on a particular level. There are additionally Polarity Attacks that encourage you to swap between each of your outfitted weapons within the midst of battle by rewarding you with a shockwave assault and further harm for a quick interval. It’s these bodily talents that actually stand out throughout the chaos of Godfall’s fight. Some loot has an opportunity to use totally different standing results like bleeding, or add fireplace and electrical harm on prime of your bodily assaults, however none of that is notably noticeable. You know if you’ve killed an enemy utilizing Soulshatter harm as a result of they explode in a vivid mud cloud, however standing results simply get misplaced within the noise.Godfall is a recreation constructed on monotony that may collapse fully if the fight weren’t there to prop it up.As a end result, Godfall’s loot is outlined by fundamental quantity crunching–where gear is supplied in keeping with the best digits and little else. Your choice for a selected weapon kind will issue into this, however discovering a legendary warhammer is simply thrilling as a result of your harm numbers develop in dimension. A legendary weapon does not operate any otherwise to a typical one; they each nonetheless have the identical combo and rhythm to their assaults. There’s nonetheless an inherent endorphin rush that comes from seeing that golden orb burst forth from a defeated enemy, however this largely seems like muscle reminiscence that is accrued from taking part in different loot-heavy video games. Seeing numbers develop is at all times an excellent factor, nevertheless it does nothing to alter or evolve the movement of fight.Valorplates are equally disappointing. These armor units include barely totally different stats and varied Archon abilities–which are basically ultimates–but the stats and passive buffs they apply are nonetheless barely perceptible, and there are solely three Archon talents cut up amongst its 12 Valorplates. They’re diverse from a visible perspective, providing totally different types on Godfall’s cosmic knights aesthetic, and this does mean you can look totally different from each other when taking part in in co-op. The recreation is of course higher with friends–even if there’s little synergy shared between your assaults and abilities–but you will have buddies if you wish to play cooperatively, since there isn’t a matchmaking.Even if you happen to can play with others, Godfall’s meaty fight finally begins to put on skinny after the umpteenth model of the identical battle. This is a shallow recreation bolstered by respectable fight that struggles to bear the load of a whole recreation. Uninteresting loot blended with a monotonous and grindy construction is just not an excellent mixture, and for as satisfying and enjoyable as it could possibly usually be to hack your manner by one battle after one other, there’s not sufficient right here to maintain that enjoyment for various hours.