Curse of the Dead Gods – A Whole New Version of Roguelite 

Scary, engaging, dramatic, and adventurous. If you want these features in a game, Curse of the Dead Gods is the perfect game for you. This action video game was published by Focus Home Interactive and created by Passtech Games in 2021. The game is available on different platforms, including Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. 

Just Another Roguelite? Or More.

My first impression of Curse of the Dead Gods was that it was just another roguelite game. The game features different tools like bows, arrows, and swords, typical for any roguelite game. The game also provides little rewards based on the kind of dungeon room you find yourself in. 

As it turned out, after playing the game for the first time, I was wrong. Though featuring an array of pure influences from other roguelite, The Curse of the Dead Gods stood out firmly from the crowd. Some of the unique ideas, such as the curse and corruption mechanics, added a whole new layer to its already excellent game design. It has a compelling hack-and-slash combat or fight system, which forces you to make reasonable and tough decisions at each step of each adventure or mission it takes you on.

Poor Storytelling, Amazing and Design 

You may be a bit disappointed at the storytelling of Curse of the Dead Gods, but the developers make up for this in the Gameplay. Curse of the Dead Gods is unlike most roguelite games, it pays very little attention to the storytelling aspect of the game. Instead of the storytelling, players are taken straight to a cursed, scary temple. Every aspect of the gameplay of Curse of the Dead Gods is focused on the mission. It’s so perfect that a thin plot is forgiven easily in a blink.

However, the game shares some familiarities with other roguelite games in some other ways. You must fight your way through mostly tough procedural-generated levels. On the way, you can collect new weapons and also upgrade old weapons to the latest version. If you cannot reach the end after dying, you must start over again from the beginning. You can, however, permanently make some upgrades to enable your next attempt to become a little bit easier. 

A New Perception of a Great Genre

What I find most interesting is that Curse of the Dead Gods takes interesting turns, which makes it break out of tradition. Instead of keeping all of its levels together in one place, for instance, the levels have been divided into three different temples. In the temples, you could try to conquer all the enemies. Each temple is with their unique bad traps, brutal bosses, and enemies that are thirsty for blood. The creepy babies of electricity in the Eagle Temple aren’t left out, as well as the plague-bearing nightmare of the Serpent Catacombs.

Well, instead of hopelessly attempting to bring down a whole temple right from the start of the game, Curse of the Dead God’s makes things a little easier. Its gauntlet is quite challenging, but it only permits you to the first floors for a start. Each of the floors is made up of nine levels, with the boss battle located at the very end. The boss of the first floor can be beaten just once. After beating the boss, you will then be able to challenge or fight each of the temples, from the second floor to the third. It continues in such order till you finally open the true roguelite experience of trying to make sure the entire temple is being conquered in a single run. You get to achieve small victories instead of you having to keep losing and losing until you finally win.

Purchasing Resources With Crystal Skulls and Jade Rings

After each victory, you are rewarded with many Crystal Skulls and Jade Rings; These are the currencies you can use for purchasing permanent upgrades. There are no shortages of upgrade choices to be made. You can buy lots of blessings with Crystal Skulls, after which you will be then provided with different powerful buffs. The ability to deal 50% more damages is possible within six seconds if you kill three enemies quickly. 

Your Crystal Skulls can also be spent on improving weapon alters, which brings you more divine favors, which allows the gear to be rolled. On the other hand, Jade rings can be used to unlock weapons to be added to further runs.

Checking Out the Ten Weapon Classes

There are so many different kinds of weapons, gadgets, and different items that can be used during a dungeon run. In most instances in Curse of the Dead Gods, the weapon you unlock can bring elemental damage, especially the rare cursed weapons. There are sub-weapon and heavy weapon attacks. Each attack makes use of a stamina meter which can be exhausted. The stamina gets refilled after a few seconds. Stamina points are also gotten each time you kill an enemy to perfectly dodge a blow from the enemy. 

Curse of the Dead Gods has ten weapon classes in Curse of the Dead God’s. Each class has its unique abilities and can be used in different situations. For instance, you can use guns to stop the enemies by using the key button to attack in the middle of the fight. Spears serve as a great trigger when landed with a sharp edge. The claws are used to attack the enemies from behind. Spikes also deal mortal blows to the enemy.

Conclusion 

A nice combat system doesn’t have enough worth if the enemies don’t force you into engaging with the enemy. Curse of the Dead Gods doesn’t disappoint in this aspect, as the enemies are challenging for any player. Apart from the combat system, the game has incredible gameplay, which makes the game more interesting than a typical roguelite.