Death's Door

[i]A bird game but it's a peck above the rest; though a few parts are a bit dodo. [/i] Death’s Door gets a lot of the core mechanics right for a combat centric action RPG. The feel is deliberate and well-weighted; souls style. Enemy attacks are generally well telegraphed and visualized and there is no shortage of unique art for them. Player attacks are full commitment for better or worse; (ex: you cannot dodge cancel a heavy attack). A light ability progression system is incorporated to give some added satisfaction to constantly dispatching enemies. The game also features a surprisingly interesting and unique story/plot. Visually, you’ll traverse nicely crafted biomes that feel distinctly different. There general atmosphere is often enhanced by excellent music choices as well. However, not everything is perfect. There are definitely some overly obtuse hidden areas/secrets. There is also at least one mechanic that is not explained what so ever which is important for accessing a bunch of them. For the "true ending" you'll need to complete a tedious exploration phase after the main game has been finished. The game tries to give some clues with what you are missing but they aren't really enough to keep you progressing at a solid pace. Combine that with a lack of in-game mapping and you'll be hard pressed to remember specific locales. As a result, this part drags on for way too long since you will likely need to revisit most of the zones and clear them extremely carefully. Overall, I thought this was a solid package that delivered well on its core objective.