Should you play Death's Gambit?

If you like Souls Games you'll probably find this one interesting, as Death's Gambit isn't ashamed of its Dark Souls influence. Not only for the whole Interface design, but also in mechanincs like resting in shrines to save and level up, collecting shards whenever you slay enemies which are used as currency to level up and buy from merchants, or even in its healing item which refill every time you rest, the same as an Estus Flask.

As a "Souls" inspired game, it also shares a somewhat punishing gameplay, putting the player in situations against all odds forcing him/her into using all resources possible, studying patterns to get out alive and victorious.
But this is where most of the similarities end. Although you do have to dodge and time your blocks, playing it feels completely different, as it is a * 2D game*.

Death's Gambit defines itself as a Souls-Like, pixel-art, 2D game, with hack-and-slash combat, 7 classes to choose from, different skills to learn, and equipment to collect. Having a Souls Game translated into a 2D game sounds like a pretty interesting idea, but only if designed well. Let's review every detail about Death's Gambit and see why it's worth playing.

The Plot

So, let's start from the point in which all Souls games are remembered and loved, the Story behind its World. I will mix all the lore pieces from the beginning and create a little, but understandable story to give you some background without spoiling anything about it.

So, in the World of Death's Gambit are various kingdoms but only one is of great importance. Siradon and its Citadel, Caer Siorai which is often call "City of Immortals". Inside Caer Siorai resides the Source of Immortality, and every kingdom is sending countless expedition teams so they can retrieve it and claim it for themselves. After all, an Immortal kingdom can rule over the whole world, who wouldn't like that?

The player is part of one of those expedition teams, but short after crossing into Siradon's territory, the team is slaugthered by Immortals, beings who protect the source and kill everyone before they can even get too close. Although some Immortals have humanoid bodies, they aren't human anymore. Some of them develop different abilities, and with time, changing their bodies and mind, transforming them into monsters.
Our character wakes up to discover that he has been resurrected by the divine order of Death itself, and that he has a job for you. After the character accept the contract, Death will grant the player true Immortality, protecting his mind and body, until the contract is finished.

That's pretty much everything you need to know to sense the similarities between Souls-Games. The story in Death's Gambit isn't only about fulfilling Death's contract, but as you go farther into the game, you'll discover the purpose of the player and the real reason of why he is there. You'll also uncover why Death wants you to do that job specifically, why is everyone so insane about the source, and what Caer Siorai really is.

It's an interesting story and, somewhat, heartbeaking too, but I couldn't avoid to feel like it was a little too rushed and try-hard. Having played almost all of Dark Souls games, I could feel that the game was trying to do the same as Souls Games did, letting the world and Items tell the story, but it wasn't quite right this time. It doesn't mean that the Story is bad or that you won't get hooked, because I did, but it could've been much more interesting and much more than just a Straight-Path Story.

The Mechanics

As I said before, Death's Gambit got most of its mechanics from Souls Games, so let's talk about the ones that they had to adapt and those that are new to the mix!
At the beginning of the Game, you'll get to choose from 7 classes, each one has its own way to generate Soul Energy (which is the currency to perform skills), and a bonus ability. For example, the Assassin generates Soul Energy by dodging attacks, while the Death Acolyte generates Soul Energy by killing monsters. Armors and Weapons aren't locked to classes, but to attributes, so you can still be an spell casting Assassin if you have the right amount of a certain Attribute.

As you kill monsters you'll gain Shards which can be used to level up when resting on a Shrine. It's the same mechanic as the bonfire from Dark Souls, you'll need a certain amount of shards to give one point to a certain attribute, and that will count as a level up. Attributes in Death's Gambit are self-explanatory, so it's easy to know exactly what to improve and what not, depending on the build you're going for. Although leveling up Endurance always felt unfair, incrementing too little Stamina by each point, so you have to spend a lot of shards into Endurance to even notice a change, shards that could've been used to improve your damage.

Neither the Equipment, nor the Skills are tied to your Class selection, but the skills are tied to the weapons you're using. That's something Souls Games don't have, special triggered attacks for every type of weapon. These skills can be learned by talking to NPCs that offer the service of training.
Skills are well animated and are useful depending on the move they perform whenever they are triggered. For example, my character uses a Spear, there's this skill that lets him take a fast, and long horizontal dash, damaging everything in its path. This skill served me as a provisional dodge, and for positioning as well.

Sadly, a handful of spells and skills for every weapon compensate for the lack of Equipment variety. There's only one looteable weapon for every type, except for Hammers, Scythes and Bows, can't understand why, though. You'll only find the same sword, great-sword, spear, spell book, and daggers. Hammers and Bows have 3 different varieties, and Scythes have only 2. So, you won't be changing of look too often. Although there is a slightly bigger variety in Armor pieces, your character won't change of appearance, no matter what you equip. The cape is the only thing that changes, but it seems that only for a few of them. I remember that I had a "Dark Cape" that looked orange, like the default one.
I was not only dissatisfied by the lack of variety and having the same look throughout most of my playthrough, but some weapon move-sets seemed lazy too. The sword has almost the same animation 3 times, and the Spear has it 2 times before going into a better looking slash, while the Hammer and the Great-Sword have more elaborated move-sets and animations.

Even though equipment variety and lazy movesets were present, the combat still felt strong and impactful, which make me quickly forget about those things and focus on the action in every fight. Weapons and Armor pieces can be upgraded by enchanting them, this adds a sense of progression on your gear, also Weapons and Shields have an Attribute Scaling rating, almost the same as the one found in Souls Games. The Scaling is softer in this game, improving the damage on a decent amount every time you level up the right attribute.

The Boss Fights

We got into the important part of the game, Bosses. Death's Gambit offers 14 well designed bosses, some better looking and richer than others, but every one of them posses a big challenge for the player!
As you get farther into the game, you'll start noticing that you don't only have to stay aware of the Boss's moveset, but also on the stage mechanincs. There's the Tundra Lord, for example. To win this battle you'll have to balance a chunk of land in which you and the boss are fighting. If the chunk of land leans too much into one side, you'll fall to death. So your eyes must be not only on the boss, but in the surroundings as well. It can be frustrating and intimidating at first, but when you go through your first 3 deaths, you'll start noticing there's a constant pattern that lets you create a strategy to win. You'll feel proud of yourself after defeating one of these bosses, for sure!

The only con' I have during the boss fights is the Interface. The bigger the boss, the farther the camera gets, so it's difficult to stay aware of your health and stamina, while trying to figure out where your character is in all the fighting. It can be pretty frustrating be killed just because you had no stamina and didn't notice it. But beyond that, Boss Fights are always intense and epic, it's quite the fun ride every time, if you can ignore sudden rages, of course.

Graphics and Soundtrack

Death's Gambit is a beautifully designed pixel game, with amazing actor and environment design, and the right color palette. Everything looks detailed but simple in the Pixel Scheme, is enjoyable to look at. Combat and Skill effects look powerful and shiny, perfect in a good looking battle. As for the soundtrack, being a Souls Inspired Game gave it a fine touch. Every soundtrack is an epic and intense orchestral piece, or a beautiful, calm, and sorrowful instrumental work. It's unavoidable to feel like playing Dark Souls while listening to it, to be honest. And my favorite of all, the voice acting. It's perfect, although quite dramatic, flawless in its own sense. Every character have a voice fit to their persona, and you'll get to sense every drop of range, and sadness through it. I found myself going back and talking to NPCs just to hear the voice acting and their stories, I'm guilty.

Overall

In conclusion, Death's Gambit is not a perfect game, but it sure is a good, and solid Hack-and-Slash, platformer, Souls Action, 2D game, to spend the time with. Has a story good enough to keep you hooked and going, and amazing boss fights to make you jump into action without fearing Death. And if you do find problems along the way, the soundtrack and the voice acting will probably compensate and make you feel it's worth it.

You can buy it from its Steam Page, so you can hop on, choose your class and start enjoying a pretty good translation of a Souls Game into 2D. Check it out, and do please support the developers!

And that is it!! Thank you very much for reading!

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