Death's Gambit

1. Trevor9000

   Aug 14, 2018

   10

   I had absolutley no problems with this game. As a long term fan of the genre, this game was an absolute pleasure to play. Very challenging,I had absolutley no problems with this game. As a long term fan of the genre, this game was an absolute pleasure to play. Very challenging, kept me on my toes just the way I expected this game to be.
   
   Looking forward to future updates and hopefully a sequel.… Expand

   • 7 of 11 users found this helpful
2. Avaresse

   Sep 14, 2019

   10

   I kind of feel bad for the mix reviews this game received from the moment it got released. After playing it I could tell the heart and passionI kind of feel bad for the mix reviews this game received from the moment it got released. After playing it I could tell the heart and passion that went into this. I'm not aware of the bugs or problems the game had at first but as of now from a story and gameplay perspective Death's gambit is beautiful from its music to story, simply outright fun, and challenging. In my eyes Death's Gambit is perfect and has given me an amazing experience that I won't ever forget.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
4. throokerz

   Aug 14, 2018

   9

   I went into this game expecting a fun, pretty generic fantasy 2d souls-like game. But after playing for 12 hours straight and beating theI went into this game expecting a fun, pretty generic fantasy 2d souls-like game. But after playing for 12 hours straight and beating the final boss for the first time I can safely say it is so much more. This game blew me away. It starts out slow with you learning the combat and at first it may feel clunky or slow, but as you grow accustomed to it rolling, dodging and counter attacking will become second nature, and they will need to be because this game is tough, and you will die, a lot. The enemy design is varied and unique, the world is well connected and has enough secrets to keep you searching everywhere, and the bosses are incredible. Seriously these bosses are just absolutely amazing, fun, varied, exciting and hard. Brutally hard. There are also a few curveballs and unique twists throughout that are best experienced blind. This game will not be for everyone however. Some people may not be a fan of the combat, some people may not like the design, but I think everyone should look into this game and if you are interested give it a go. I am 12 hours in, have beat the game once, and feel I have barely scratched the surface of what is in this game and the options I have to play it.… Expand

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
5. tmillet2017

   Aug 29, 2018

   8

   Up to this point, I've put in around 30 hours between three different game files. I generally enjoy most of the installments in theUp to this point, I've put in around 30 hours between three different game files. I generally enjoy most of the installments in the challenging/Dark Souls-esque action RPG genre and Death's Gambit is no exception. For the most part I've had a great experience. I like the different abilities available for each weapon type, the unique skills associated with the starting classes, the clear upgrade system for your character and equipment, and the combat is mostly enjoyable.
   
   However, I do feel like I've had a lot more "cheap" deaths in this game than any souls type game (incl. Salt and Sanctuary, Nioh, etc.). I believe a lot of that has to do with intermittent lag times, not always responsive controls, and inconsistent hitboxes. Other critiques would be: (1) not enough weapon variety, (2) too short of areas between bosses, and (3) some of the talents in the skill tree felt useless.
   
   In the end though, I'd rate the game a 7.5. It's worth your time if your a fan of the genre, but I'd probably wait for a sale to come along to pick it up.… Expand

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful
6. mbestvina

   Sep 25, 2018

   8

   I think this 2D Souls-Like gotten unfair treatment from reviewers. It's a little rough around the edges but I deeply enjoyed and played itI think this 2D Souls-Like gotten unfair treatment from reviewers. It's a little rough around the edges but I deeply enjoyed and played it over 1 weekend.
   
   The standout for me is the game's presentation and its world. The pixel art is simply jaw-dropping, some of the best I've ever seen. It's a blend of Dark Souls (of course), Shadow of the Collosus, Anime, and it even has a level towards the end that jumps genres. Its soundtrack is incredible as well and further pulls you into the world. I do recommend adjusting the equalizer though, I had to turn the game's sound-effects down to 30% to get the soundtrack where I wanted.
   
   Though its gameplay slavishly follows Dark Souls, its world is far more unique and engrossing than most 2D action-adventure games (and I played this right after Hollow Knight so you know it's good!). The wide variety of levels all snap together in a sensible way and I managed to never get lost, in spite of having no map. The game also has arguably the best fast travel system I've ever seen. There is one central path that runs a line through the entire game. All the other levels split off of this series of tunnels, either above them or below. Even better, you can call your horse in these tunnels making backtracking very enjoyable. You also unlock more and more of these tunnels as you progress through the game, opening one-way doors a la Dark Souls. I simply can't praise the world design enough, it's quite genius.
   
   On the gameplay side, you'll immediately feel at home if you've played a Souls or Souls-like game before, with leveling up, estus, shielding, the gear-system, and stamina. One odd omisison, however, is the lack of proper corpse running. Instead of dropping your experience when you die, you drop an estus flask which you'll have to retrieve and you don't need to fetch it if you die again. This greatly reduces the penalty for death and overall makes the game a lot more uplifting, for better or worse.
   
   As you get deeper into the game, the true depth of the combat will reveal itself in the form of your special abilities. These are powerful attacks you can do with your melee weapons that need to be charged and have a cooldown. Here is where you can really carve out your own playstyle and bring heavy damage. By the time I was halfway through the game, it felt far more frantic and twitchy than Dark Souls, and I mean that in a great way. The game also has an ability tree but I didn't get much use out of most of these. The air-dash is incredibly useful but was all the way at the end of a branch that I didn't like.
   
   Anyway, I had a really great experience with this game. It's reviewed fairly poorly and I'm scratching my head at that a little. There are some bugs and minor UX issues but nothing ever majorly deteriorated my experience. I played it over a weekend and couldn't put it down. The game is expertly paced and doesn't overstay its welcome, throwing a new area at you about once an hour for its 15 hour runtime. I felt I got my money's worth and would absolutely play some kind of successor/followup. If the 2D art appeals to you and you like Dark Souls, 2D action, or Metroidvania, it's absolutely worth a play. It's not a Metroidvania, but it's level design, world design, and brilliant presentation make this world more engrossing than most Metroidvanias'. That alone makes it worth it to me.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
7. Refridgerator

   Aug 14, 2018

   5

   The core of the game is fun, and captures the Souls-like feel well. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is a mess.
   
   Issues: The animationsThe core of the game is fun, and captures the Souls-like feel well. Unfortunately, the rest of the game is a mess.
   
   Issues:
   The animations look incredibly wonky, and it's an issue right from the beginning as soon as you start running with the horse. Enemy and player attack animations look like stock joint movements instead of actual animated sprites, which really makes things look ugly as well.
   
   The UI is crazy. You often can't see the white text on the bright skill icons. The locks on the skill tree are often invisible against the dark icons. Selection order on the menus often doesn't make sense, and frequently the "confirm" button changes from Square to Cross for no reason. The starting menu item on the save/level up menu is not correct, and it's hard to tell how much experience you need to level up due to the strange menu design. The confirm button on this screen is also really misaligned.
   
   The game crashes a lot, and beating a certain boss causes your save file to be unplayable.
   
   The framerate is all over the place, and the running speed of the game is locked to the framerate, so the game actually moves at a variable pace. It also means someone with a 144hz monitor simply cannot play the game fullscreen currently, since it runs over twice as fast.
   
   Over all, this game feels rushed and could have used 6+ months of development.… Expand

   • 5 of 7 users found this helpful
8. V-S

   Aug 14, 2018

   0

   First off the only good thing in this game is the soundtrack!!!
   This game I was hyped for with dead cells I thought I was good pampered withFirst off the only good thing in this game is the soundtrack!!!
   This game I was hyped for with dead cells I thought I was good pampered with those two. No it came like it had to. I had a strange feeling about this game. It is the intro what i play, midnight on release. There is no option to play with touchpad. Which idiot makes a 2D game without dpad?????? WHAT THE HELL? if you want to climb you need to hold L1 I mean why? Why just don’t press up? Like in all other games??? No you had to be different right? Contacting the devs didn’t bring me my money back. They told me to mail them. Did they even test the game? I started streaming what happened I got more than the half of my screen full of scan lines if you stream on PS4 with the comment box. Nice right? The character movement seems stiff as f***. This game is stupid. Don’t waste your money. If you want to buy it wait for a update. Wait for at least a price drop under 10€ no under 5€. ... know what? Don’t buy it. The devs didn’t give you even an option to change the button layout. It is such a outstanding trash game. Congrats on wasting your money if you read this after you bought it!… Expand

   • 3 of 30 users found this helpful

See all 24 User Reviews