Mortal Rite

Been following this game for a while, and sadly the experience just doesn't cut it. [b]Combat [/b] I think this is a good example of a game where it looks better than it feels. There's just something that ain't playing right, and I know it because I'm avoiding enemies when I can. In a game that exclusively offers combat - that's quite the issue. It might have something to do with: [list] [*] - The general tempo is a bit "all over the place" [*] - You miss attacks too easily when not target-locking [*] - Sounds not always matching or selling the action/attack [*] - Fast and a bit floaty [*] - The lack of a backstab and/or broken posture attack, combined with a semi-unusable jump attack, makes the combat feel more hollow compared to other games like this [*] - The enemies I've encountered didn't really force me to adapt. So even if they're different, they feel the same. [/list] Whilst the comparison usually isn't fair, the combat curerntly just can't compete with the likes of other action-combat titles. From the biggest like Elden Ring, to the "smallest" like Enotria. From the little i've experienced, the rougelite aspects don't do enough to make up for it. The playingfield is not even, but that's the difficulty of having similar combat systems/foundations as bigger titles. The comparison is inevitable. Combat is hard, very hard, to get right. And I feel like Lies of P is the only indie that currently has made it out alive. But I feel like you guys have a great foundation and have a shot at making it out too, so I'm rooting for you guys! [b]Level design[/b] (As a level designer myself, I might come off a bit harsh here, so apologies for that.) I had no problem finding my way around the introduction or the first 2 levels. However, I see why others might. The different places just aren't distinct enough, and there are no "signposts" that help you understand where you are in that environment. Nor is there anything that helps you understand the space itself. A hallway should lead to a room with a purpose, or something like a courtyard. But I feel more like I was moving through smaller corridors into bigger corridors. Without anchor points, it's really hard to get a sense of the place. A kitchen leading into a dining hall, would instill a feeling inside me that the next room likely might be a reception/hallway. Things like that helps you remember, navigate and understand the place that you're in. As well as making it much, much more interesting to play through. This might get better in the later levels, but that implies you're not putting your best foot forward in the opening. Which is a problem. I get the feeling that the idea might be that you're starting in the gutter, after which you climb up towards the "glistening palaces" up above. But just seeing pipes everywhere is neither fun nor interesting. I would suggest using less pipes and more environmental storytelling to sell that gutter feeling. You might start in a more open "poop" area with piss-pools, and you see the gutter-pipes up ahead. On a closer inspection you find a busted pipe under repairs, and use the scaffolds to get up and inside. All whilst being overshadowed by the city above. I also feel that the combat plays way better in more open areas, yet it seems like most places tend to be quite narrow and small. [b]The good stuff[/b] I know how it feels to get feedback like this, a random nobody who thinks they know the game better than yourself. The feedback-curse can be horrible, yet I hope my words atleast can be of some use. However, I will not leave you hanging without mentioning the good stuff! [list] [*] You've done a tremendously good job of adding those small details and polish generally ignored or unseen by indie devs. [*] Thank you for not solely relying on store-bought assets and mechanics, but that you actually put work into your stuff. [*] You've done a really good job at separating the characters, you've definitely succeded in making them both play and feel distinct from eachother. [*] Whilst I despise tutorials, especially those with interactable-popups, you did a fantastic job of keeping it short and to-the-point. I was up and running in no time! [*] You have a superb camera angle [*] Really good animations and outstanding hit-reacts/staggers [*] Atleast according to me, everything felt well-balanced in terms of damage output and input [/list] (Sorry for refunding the game, but after having been burnt by too many E.A titles I'm very strict about it. I will be checking in regularly and hopefully I will deem it worth the price soon!)

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38888018-United-Critics/] Please follow [b]United Critics[/b] for quality reviews[/url] [h2][b]Mortal Rite[/b][/h2] [h1][b]Introduction[/b][/h1] Mortal Rite is a 3d action adventure game still in development. Some things may change in the future, so please keep that in mind. It hints at a larger game in the future. Unlike most games of this era, which apply a souls-like approach to everything, Mortal Rite takes a different path, meaning no bonfires, no soul loss upon death, and no standard character level-ups. Instead, you have actual levels, similar to missions in Nioh, a single respawn point per level (they are kinda short), unlockable abilities, and equipable artifacts that change your attributes or give special effects like lifesteal. Currently, there are 6 levels in the game. [h1][b]Story[/b][/h1] As I mentioned in the introduction, the story is mostly hinted at rather than being completely available. You awake as an initiate in Alden’s tower. He says the ritual is complete, and you are now part of the guild. You are then given the choice of embodying one of his champions and told to explore the gates for artifacts as he prepares for the rebellion against the king. And that’s about it. There are small bits and pieces here and there throughout the game, but nothing worth noting. [h1][b]Gameplay[/b][/h1] There are 3 champions available at the moment: Dawskin, Shold, and Fia. Each plays uniquely, and you should find the one that suits you best. Dawskin uses dual swords and scales with precision. Shold mainly uses a sword and shield, but can transform them into an axe for higher damage - he scales with strength. Fia uses daggers, but her abilities are ranged and scale with intelligence. I mostly played as Shold. Alden’s refuge is your starting area (after the tutorial). It is considered the hub, and in here you can change your character, practise moves and combos, re-distribute attribute points, talk to Alden for some lore, or the blacksmith to craft or purchase artifacts to help you in your endeavors. When you enter a level, you are free to roam and explore the area. You will encounter enemies with melee or ranged attacks. You do not have to fight them to proceed, but they drop consumables which will help you proceed further. Scattered around are attribute points which you can use to learn new abilities, upgrade the ones you have previously learned, or unlock hero-specific passives. Chests you find will contain artifacts that serve as level-ups in this game. The more you have them, the more times the bonus activates. Once you find the boss, defeat it to unlock the obelisk and complete the level. Beating a level will provide you with an attribute point, new consumables for the forge, and Alden will tell you a line or two about the area. [h1][b]Positives and Negatives[/b][/h1] [b]Positives[/b] [list][*] Clean and fluid animations [*] Devs are active on social media [*] Interesting combat [*] Multiple characters[/list] [b]Negatives[/b] [list][*] Early access means bugs [*] You can cheese everything except 2 bosses [*] Low enemy variety [*] The game doesn’t turn automatically with the character[/list] [h1][b]Video, Audio & Sound[/b][/h1] The game looks good, and the animations are fluid. Levels could use improvement. What do I mean by that? Everything looks as if it’s randomly floating. Distant backgrounds are nonexistent. It’s probably by design, but I think closed-off worlds are better. Something like a lake around the playable area, or insurmountable cliffs… The audio and sound are awesome. Weapon clashing sounds good; weapons sound heavy. Voice-over is decent. I personally do not think the Alden character and voice fit, but it’s by no means bad. [h1][b]Personal thoughts[/b][/h1] The camera and I didn't quite agree; I felt it was too high above the character, so it disfigured it (could just be my imagination). I got a headache when I played with the motion blur active, so be aware that might be something you experience as well (could be totally unrelated, but i don’t think so). Last but not least, I found some minor movement issues annoying. There was no reason for the character to be blocked by floor tiles being lifted by a couple of centimeters… [h1][b]Conclusion[/b][/h1] It’s a fun game to play, definitely has potential to be great. In the current state i would recommend trying it out, but you can easily tell it’s an early access title, so it might not suit everyone. Rating: 6/10 For full review head over to our [url=https://www.united-critics.com/post/mortal-rite]website[/url]

[h1]The game feels more like a vertical slice than a product worth $24.[/h1] [h3]Don’t buy this based on the "positive" reviews. They are not genuine. [/h3] I read the "positive" reviews and got a bit hyped for it... one even said, "10/10 no notes." Yeah right... [b]Problems:[/b] - Needed about 5 minutes before launch to install some Microsoft script. Then, the launch screen stayed black for another 3-4 minutes before I got into the game. - Perhaps you could rename the "Play Offline" mode to simply "Singleplayer." - The intro that plays at the beginning—jesus, every single color was off, though not the game itself. - There is no mouse cursor. How are you supposed to close the messages? Later, I realized you can run away from the messages to close them. But still, come on—no mouse cursor? If you want the player to know how to close these messages, put "Press E" instead of "Back." - For some reason, you can walk on the ocean. Maybe it's a feature, or maybe there’s no water level or swimming animation. - Cloth clipping through the body. - Opening chests is just a mechanic where you kick the chest to get the item; you don’t actually open it. - The game awkwardly named a function "refund" for returning items… but honestly, that’s what I feel like I should do with this game—refund it. My recommendation: don’t buy it right now. Maybe consider it much later—several months or even a year down the line—if the developers actually rework most parts of the game. [b]Currently, the game has both minor and major problems almost everywhere, and it’s nowhere near worth the asking price.[/b] Personally, I’ll be requesting a refund.

Has the potential to be a great game, basics are there, however, lacklustre title. Unfortunately the game needs the following basics: Player Guidance, confusing MUSIC, game feels empty as no music Story seems irrelevant UI seems weirdly placed, for example, inventory accessed via escape menu General work on the ambience / goal of the game Positives: Unique vibe Good graphics Cinematic is decent Settings work well AI seems good Not many bugs Performance seems decent Base is there for great game.

GAY

I saw this on TikTok quite a while ago and wishlisted it. I like the design, and you can tell this is a work of love from the devs. Some parts of the game feel a bit unfinished or unpolished, so there’s plenty of room for improvement. I didn’t encounter the major issues mentioned in earlier reviews, so it seems like they’ve already addressed some problems. If this is the base, it has a lot of potential.

The game play is fun, there's some cool stuff you can do with the combat. Characters do feel a bit weak though, with the exception of the mage who has absurd damage, and is what allowed us to beat the game in an hour. I can see what the game is going for and it just falls short of it a bit in terms of level design and combat. We also found that it was just far easier to run past all the enemies to the end of the levels and just beat the final enemy. Hopeful that they keep updating the game.

Souls-likes are challenging, plain and simple (blah blah git gud blah blah). Roguelites can be challenging (personal opinion - if you are not dying over and over, is it really a roguelite?). How about we merge the two? Challenging game + challenging game = Challengechallenge. 2xchallenge? Challenge Squared? Anyway….thankfully Night Reign is not out for a few months or my incredibly thought out introduction would be reduced to “The next Night Reign Clone.” Developed by Round Toast Studios, Mortal Rite “is a fast, action-based melee combat system that allows players to trade blows with enemies and rewards strategy over button mashing (from Steam).” To quote Yoda, “Patience you must have, my young Padawan.” The Souls DNA is ever present here but at the same time, this is a different beast altogether. You, the player, must use the ancient Godstone dagger to become a resurrected champion of your choosing and reach the top of the tower solo or with up to 4 co-op partners. Combat follows traditional soulslike basics. You have light and heavy attacks and the ability to block, parry, and roll, all governed by stamina. If you try spamming buttons, you will just die exhausted. Each character can also equip up to 4 unique abilities (learned via separate talent trees). Using skills requires focus, which you generate by engaging in combat. This is where that strategy comes into play; equal parts soulslike methodical pacing with choosing your spot and equal parts Doom aggression where you just unleash your abilities and destroy everything. Over time, you learn what risks net the best rewards. Unlike Souls games, Mortal Rite has a large volume of enemies with some sections even swarming you. Most are just cannon fodder but they also serve as easy focus generators. Luckily, there is a training dummy back in the hub area that can be used to try out any combination of attacks without the risk of dying. In the current state of the game (in early access), you can choose from 4 different characters/classes: Shold, Fia, Dawksin, and the Initiate. Each character can manipulate a different type of matter, which sets the theme for their abilities. Shold fills the tank archetype with his sword and shield and can manipulate rock. The sword and shield can be converted into a two-handed axe or just go nuclear and summon an entire rock wall that can be kicked into enemies. Shold also has access to taunts for when playing in co-op to keep the attention on you. Fia is the caster of the group and can manipulate fire. While not as sturdy as Shold, she is significantly more nimble, allowing her to dart in and out to get a hit in to regenerate focus. She has access to talents that increase the regeneration rate, meaning less time running into fire and more time setting things ablaze from afar. Dawksin is the rogue-like (not roguelike) of the group with fast attacks and movement to match. He manipulates metal, which causes shrapnel to build up whenever he attacks. The shrapnel causes damage over time and abilities like Recall (rips all shrapnel out) or Pierce (sending shrapnel from range) enhance his moveset. The final class available is the Initiate. If you have played any Souls game, he is similar to the Deprived except with a better rap sheet. The Initiate can manipulate all matter, granting him access to talents from all three of the other classes. Want to summon a giant lance to pierce armor and then light up enemies from a distance with fireballs? Go for it. Based on my time with the game, Shold is your best bet for a starter character or at least the character that is the most forgiving when it comes to making errors followed by Dawksin and then Fia. Feel free to begin your journey with the Initiate but understanding the other classes and their skills makes figuring out combinations for the Initiate much simpler. I did mention that this is a roguelite, right? Alden’s Refuge serves as the hub and where every run begins. You can choose which character to play, visit the blacksmith, alter your talent points, engage in PVP, or pick a world to enter. In this current version of the game, there are 6 worlds to choose from, with each one locked behind completion of the prior. Progression is saved across your entire game, allowing any champion you play access to the available worlds without needing to start from the first. Whenever you die, you start back at the spawn point of each level. Everything resets (enemies, chests) BUT you lose nothing (you earn bonus gold depending on how far you made it) and shortcuts opened remain as such (they do and do not - I have reached out to the developers for clarification). Returning to Alden’s Refuge though will reset the world completely. A boss awaits you at the end of every world and killing it opens the path to the next level. These bosses may need some tuning though because, by the 3rd world, navigating the area was more difficult than the actual boss fight. As you progress through every world, you will acquire loot in the form of gold, consumables, blacksmith materials, and equipment. There are no weapons or armor to be found as the talent trees provide offensive and defensive tools. Gold is used to purchase new recipes for the blacksmith and to craft known ones provided you have the right materials. Similar to most roguelites, loot options appear at times but instead of “Throw 50 fireballs every time you dodge” or “Successful parries heal you,” you choose from equippable gear that boosts a particular stat. Each class (not the Initiate) benefits from one of the primary stats (i.e. Strength for Shold). While not essential, it is probably wise to have one of our four available equipment slots filled with the strength item. Other stats include intelligence, endurance, and health to name a few. There are also items to permanently boost your speed or give back health when attacking. Players have free rein over what to equip and can change them at any time (well, opening the menu does not pause the game…). The blacksmith can craft these items, which stack, increasing the value of the given stat. It is unclear though what stacks and to what limit as I was only able to use 5 speed items, but I had the strength one up to 19. None of the equipment is bound to the character, so you can throw it in storage and have another class utilize it instead of having to farm up and recraft everything. Mortal Rite is a fantastic blending of the soulslike and roguelite genres. The game is in Early Access but the Discord is very active with regular participation from the development team. Admittedly, the road map listed on Steam is somewhat vague, which may be a turn off for some people. For my experience, I completed the game (6 levels and the boss fight) in approximately 5 hours with Shold. The first level took the longest as I had to get used to everything, and I even reset it all just to spend the one talent point that enabled me to kill the boss. There is plenty of replayability especially with the ability to play in co-op. I have added another 2 hours or so playing around with the other classes so far. If you think you would just be one and done (beat the current content with one character), I would say to wishlist the game for now and see what content releases. If you are more likely to try each class, play co-op, or PVP with people, there is more than enough content and well worth the purchase. Full review with screenshots can be found at: https://www.deargamers.net/reviews/mortal-rite-early-access-review

Great game with a lot of potential. Love the combat and the overall style of the game. Definitely worth checking out.

For a small dev team not to bad, that being said the graphics looks to grainy for me and they need to be fixed and even tho i have it set to 120 fps im only getting 40-50fps,but overall the idea and core funtionality for game is really unique