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Today we are going to take a look at Curse of the Dead Gods. This action-adventure-RPG promises intense action with an endless twist because of its roguelite features. Whether it can deliver on its promise is the question we will try to answer today. Curse of the Dead Gods is available on Steam for 14 Euro and 99 cents or your regional equivalent.

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Video Review

Text Review

We all wanted to be adventurers and find lost artifacts. Maybe it was when you first saw Indiana Jones or maybe when you played your first RPG game. But sometimes going hunting for untold treasures just doesn't pay. Especially when the owners of those riches are not exactly dead. This is what our bearded hero in Curse of the Dead Gods will soon discover for himself.

If you take just a quick glance at Curse of the Dead Gods you might think to yourself - “great another Diablo-like game”. But stop right there. This isn't the case. Curse of the Dead Gods is a purebred roguelike game. Stuffed full of new and cool ideas and built to make you suffer. And even though it was so far only released as an early-access game this isn't the usual case of an early access game being bad. So, take a torch, prepare your nerves, and if you have an adventurous heart get ready. Though, it may be a good idea to leave your heart at home so you do not lose it.

Angry Aztecs

After just a few seconds of the minimalistic intro, the atmosphere is obvious. While the story is somewhat simplistic – your hero is imprisoned in the depths of a forgotten tomb and finds a stone gate leading into a strange temple – this isn't really a problem. Honestly, creating an intense story in a roguelike game is hard and often doesn't have a good pay off.

Everything in the tomb is nicely cursed and well… the undead made it into their own. But do not expect only enemies, get ready for plenty of traps, and bronze statues that are creepily watching you from everywhere. As the torchlight lightens up ancients' drawings and while you watch everything from a top-down view the graphics just get into the mood for some pillaging.

This is because of the great style the studio went for. It gives the game a nice, fresh, and original look. But it also takes inspiration from its older cousins like Darkest Dungeon, Dead Cells, or even Slay the Spire. But it still has plenty of its own ideas spicing up the roguelike genre with very spicy spice.

I'm Stupid & I Know It

The controls are very simple, you just need a few buttons to control everything but honestly, this may be a game where a controller works better for those of you who are well versed with it yet a keyboard will do fine for those who prefer that. But the core of the action lies in dodges with a stamina system that took inspiration from Soul-like games. Your roll allows you to get out of the way of attacks and traps. Another button gives you the chance to block but to do it properly you need to train for a bit. But once you get the hang of it the perfect block gives you the chance to weaken your enemy and counterattack.

For offensive purposes, you get weapon combos. While a bit lacking in the start they quickly get rolling and even the basic equipment is everything you really require for successful adventuring in the tombs. There is the torch that is important to give you light and find your way but also allows you to set spider-webs and enemies afire. And some enemies are even afraid of fire giving you the much needed time to regroup.

But you need more than just fire to win. So you get a devilishly sharp machete and cool Indiana Jones-like revolver that can also solve plenty of dangerous situations. There is one more weapon you should be using though. The environment. Whether you use the traps laid there for you to die or just hide in the darkness for a bit of stealth. Just be inventive as it will allow you to live longer.

Curse You!

The word Curse is not in the name of the game just for show. Curses are one of the core mechanics. In the bottom right corner of the screen, you have a purple indicator that grows with each attack you eat, when you heal, and even just as you progress through the tomb. Once it is full the forgotten gods decide to curse you. The curses add nicely to the roguelike part of the game as they add variance to each playthrough.

Curses can be good and bad at the same time and others are just bad like hallucinations or the Aztec statues coming alive forcing you to fight more enemies. Some of the curses surprised me even after dozens of hours of playing. At the same time you can have up to five curses on you and the fifth one – appropriately called the Final curse can easily end your adventure. If you want to get rid of a curse, you actually can. By killing one of the bosses.

The curses are honestly one of the few problems at the moment as the game could certainly stand to have even more of them but because the game is in early access I hope more will be added. And they are still plenty of them to go around.

Death Finds A Way

If you are going to play Curse of the Dead Gods then prepare to die. Seriously, you are going to die a lot. Before you get to finish a single adventure fully get ready to leave dozens if not hundreds of corpses littering the tombs. Dying obviously means you have to start all over again without any equipment you collected but also you get a clean start without any curses. But, there is something you will retain.

The game includes a special kind of currency that you retain even when dying. This allows you to buy passive abilities and is sort of a price for those who lost. In total there are 24 different passives but at once you can only use 3. They give you very nice benefits like enemies not interrupting your attacks, a bunch of gold, or a special weapon. So be sure to get them.

Conclusion

So… in conclusion: Curse of the Dead Gods is a small and inconspicuous game that took the fight with the curse of Early Access and defeated it. It plays well and most importantly for an early access game – it works. The game is a good buy already and as content gets added in it will only become better.

So, that’s it for today guys. I hope you liked the review and if you did, please up-vote the review, follow my blog, and be sure to share it with your friends. And comment, if you have anything you would like to add. See you guys later with more gaming content.

Disclaimer: All the images have been taken directly from the Steam game pagecenter>