In 1980, the Rogue game was released, after which a whole subgenre is now called – “roguelike” or “bagels”, in Russian. In games of this type, the hero rolls back after death, loses everything, levels are rebuilt, the composition of enemies and bonuses changes.
Independent developers have long adopted this technique. Rogue Legacy, The Binding of Isaac, Dead Cells, Into the Breach, Spelunky and the like are very popular (if you haven’t played any of them, it’s worth a try). Last year, Hades became a kind of benchmark for other roguelikes. The developers from Supergiant Games looked, thought, and realized that dying over and over again, returning and dying again without emotional stimuli is somehow sad. Therefore, they added motivation: the main character, with the help of the Olympic gods, tried to get out of the kingdom of Hades. Each time after death, the plot developed a little, it was possible to communicate with the inhabitants of the underworld and even with some bosses. Gradually, the hero himself developed, because from the campaigns he endured not only a feeling of emptiness.
Hades won a lot of awards for a reason and for many is one of the best games of the last year. The developers realized what the “bagels” lacked, filled in the gap and it turned out cool. But the guys from another studio – Passtech Games – decided to go the other way. Instead of creating a universe, story, characters, and hero, they focused on making each playthrough of Curse of the Dead Gods as painful as possible. And it’s all about curses.
No, the hero does not curse the developers – the player does an excellent job with this. Curses are part of the game mechanics. The further you delve into the gloomy pyramid, the more Corruption you get. You pass through the door, you want to heal – Corruption grows. I saw the desired weapon or relic, but there is no money – donate blood, and Corruption grows. And with it, you get a random Curse, among which there are both harmless and very cruel ones, up to the loss of the interface and ghosts chasing in the dark. Each chest turns into a trap, you lose money for the passage to the next room, the gold on the ground quickly disappears… And the curses accumulate over time. The worst is the fifth. In fact, you turn into a helpless pear for one blow. A bale – and for rebirth.
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Curses can be fought. Sacrifice the found items to the gods, some of which remove the level of Corruption. Don’t buy items with blood. Do not be treated. Quickly kill bosses – after the death of each, one Curse is removed. You can live, but you have to give up too much. And this is the main feature of the game. You realize that you can get stronger, but it’s not the “risk-reward” concept (typical of roguelikes) that’s holding you back, it’s the “reward-curse” concept. And the latter can alienate a huge number of potential players.
Curse of the Dead Gods does not immediately show its evil face. At first, she lets you try out the first floor of each of the three Temples, kill one boss at a time. You can easily run through them, the bosses are not difficult, the topic of curses is not particularly disturbing, because the races are short. But then the second floor opens, the third, and then – the real game – the Pantheon, where the conditions become tougher. Is it possible to complete this game to the end? Maybe. But every time you almost, almost got there and are ready to enjoy a well-deserved victory, you are politely patted on the shoulder and turned towards new, much more severe trials, devaluing your conquests.
The rewards for defeating the bosses are skulls and rings. The latter are needed to open weapons, and they will appear in the Temples. And there will be a lot of rings to knock out. But the skulls are necessary so that the “trembling creature”, the main character, can declare himself from the very beginning of the passage. And it takes even more skulls, hundreds, to open all the altars, upgrade them to the end and open all the Blessings. The more you invest, the more likely you will get cool weapons from the start.
Curse of the Dead Gods is a long game. Skulls and rings accumulate slowly, progress is not felt, because each time after the victory new floors are opened, and it becomes more difficult to survive. And this is the main problem of the game – not at all in curses. The problem is that the meaninglessness of what is happening quickly begins to be felt. Hades rewarded you for running with history and bonuses, new weapons and artifacts, gradual leveling. You can fly Dead Cells in 40-60 minutes, defeat the final boss, exhale, tick “done” and try again with a new build. Right there, like a hamster in a wheel, you rush through the dungeons, get resources for upgrades, and the light at the end of the tunnel is not even visible. There are doubts that he even exists.
There is no plot. The hero has no personality. There are no other characters. There is only a desire to get out of the pyramid, but hours pass, and you don’t even get close to the final. The developers have created a great “bagel”, but removed the motivation, which is why many users are likely to abandon the path in the middle.
The game mechanics are well tuned, the envy of others. There is an interesting concept of light and darkness giving their bonuses. The levels are full of traps, and in each temple they are different, as are the sets of enemies. It is very interesting to create “builds” of the hero, since he is able to take three weapons and six relics with him. The synergy between different elements is also attractive. For example, if you hit a poisoned enemy with a fiery whip, then he will receive additional damage. There are dodges and blocks, but the stamina is small, so during the battle you need to carefully monitor this parameter as well.
There are many different types of enemies, enhanced options appear over time. There are also a lot of bosses, and against each one it is required to build the perfect tactics so that victory is given with less bloodshed.
Curse of the Dead Gods has a dark style, reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon, and a good soundtrack. If you take it apart by its components, then it turns out almost the perfect “bagel”, but that’s just it does not bring joy.
Diagnosis
The creators of Curse of the Dead Gods did everything right. The curse system is like a hot spice. Not everyone will like it, but the game does not try to be kind. The mechanics are set up almost flawlessly. Battles are exciting, and even exploring temples with clocks does not lose its appeal. But the game still gets boring over time.
The developers made the game too long for a bagel. Each successfully completed cycle does not bring you closer to the goal, but moves you further away from it. The challenges get even more difficult, and the items in the store are annoying with high prices and the need to kill bosses over and over again in order to get a subtle and most likely useless bonus. The plot doesn’t develop because there isn’t one. The game quickly ceases to amaze, it becomes boring. And I want to go through Hades again.
Pros
- Well tuned battles
- Many types of weapons and opponents
- Interesting synergy between passive bonuses
- The temples are full of traps, gold and chests
- Unusual Curse System
- Dark style
Cons
- There is no plot. At all
- Each “passage” winds up the complexity of the following tests
- Items in the store require too many skulls and rings
- Hands down over time
Questions about this game:
The estimated time to beat “Curse of the Dead Gods” can vary depending on your playstyle, skill level, and familiarity with the game’s mechanics. On average, completing the main story and reaching the endgame content can take around 15 to 25 hours. However, it’s worth noting that “Curse of the Dead Gods” is designed to be a challenging roguelike game with procedural generation, meaning each run can differ significantly. The game’s replayability factor comes from its difficulty, multiple unlockable items, and different paths to explore, which can extend your overall playtime.
In “Curse of the Dead Gods,” parrying is an essential mechanic that allows you to deflect enemy attacks and create openings for counterattacks. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to parry in the game:
- Timing: Parrying requires precise timing. Watch the enemy’s attack animation closely and look for the moment when the attack is about to connect with your character.
- Shield or Weapon: Parrying can be done with either a shield or a two-handed weapon. If you have a shield equipped, use the parry button at the right time. For most controllers, it’s the right trigger or the right mouse button on PC. If you’re using a two-handed weapon, you’ll need to press the parry button without blocking.
- Successful Parry: When you time the parry correctly, your character will perform a parry animation, and the enemy’s attack will be deflected. This opens a brief window for you to counterattack.
- Counterattack: After a successful parry, quickly follow up with your own attack or a combo to deal damage to the enemy while they are vulnerable.
- Practice and Timing: Parrying can be challenging, especially with different enemy attack patterns. Practice your timing by observing enemy movements and learning the specific cues for each attack. Experiment with different weapons and shields to find the timing that works best for you.
Remember that timing and practice are crucial when it comes to parrying in “Curse of the Dead Gods.” It may take some time to get the hang of it, but with patience and persistence, you’ll become more proficient at parrying and gain an advantage in combat.