Death's Gambit Reviews
Despite its flaws, I appreciate Death's Gambit and what it has accomplished. It offers a challenging, story-driven platforming experience that will reward the patient and methodical. Wrapped in a beautiful pixel art veneer and topped with a wonderful soundtrack, Death's Gambit is a treat for those willing to spend the time to master its combat and enemies. Will it appeal to everyone, absolutely no! However, much like games like Dark Souls, I don't really think that's the point.
The new action-RPG Death's Gambit is an ambitious, initially attractive 2D souls-alike, but it frequently stumbles where it should soar.
For Souls fans, there's a lot to love about Death's Gambit. There's a multitude of secrets to be found, shortcuts to be unlocked, and lore to be read from the cryptic item descriptions. When the game isn't being held back by the weird boss and level designs or technical issues, it can be charming and sincere in its own right.
Despite lagging behind in certain key areas and roughly developing others, Death's Gambit is a relatively enjoyable romp for fans of 2D Souls-like hack and slash. Siradon won't beckon you like Lothric or Yharnam anytime soon but presents some enjoyable sights and sounds otherwise.
A great way to enjoy a great cocktail between the Souls saga and a metroidvania. Lots of time to die and an interactive death system are his main features.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Death's Gambit is an outstanding and challenging 2D action RPG Metroidvania that has finally been released on PlayStation 4. It's been over three years since the game was announced as a PS4 release, and I'm happy to say that the wait has been worth it. This is a very addictive game that will grab you from the start and won't let go. Dying only fuels your drive to go back and do it all over again, as you learn from your mistakes and try to recover the last feather (or two) you lost in the process.
Death's Gambit provides an interesting 2D challenge with its dark world filled with fierce enemies. While I can't recommend it for everyone, anyone who likes challenging 2D action-adventure games will enjoy this title.
Death's Gambit is a fun game, it doesn't provide anything out of the ordinary and has some issues here and there. it's just an average experience after all.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Death's Gambit isn't perfect, but it is damn good, and it meshes together two different genres with a lot of style and charm.
The visuals are pretty and the exploration is great, but the combat is unfortunately rather tepid, and hit detection can be disappointing with a slight delay to the attacks. Death's Gambit can also suffer from awkward difficulty spikes and there is a distinct lack of memorable boss fights, but it is overall an enjoyable product that is recommended for fans looking for a Souls-like experience.
Death's Gambit wholly embraces the Dark Souls way of giving players just enough leeway to barely survive against unrelenting adversity, for good and ill. A compelling story, smooth and frantic melee combat, and a robustly grim 2D world come together to form a game that's wholly unafraid to embrace the Souls-like moniker.
While Death's Gambit as a whole falls a bit short of expectations, the game itself is a solid action-RPG.
Death's Gambit had such promise. At its core, it is the blueprint to properly take risks and make attempts to improve a game design that we all take for granted. But it's just surrounded with poor quality of life choices, while missing some things it should have absolutely nailed. Weird animations, strange pacing, counter-intuitive combat, and way too many bugs holds this game back from being something truly great.
With its enjoyable story, melancholic atmosphere, competent gameplay and outstanding soundtrack, Death's Gambit is an enjoyable take on the Dark Souls series formula. Some flaws, such as floaty movement, weird hitboxes on select weapon types, and some mediocre bosses, however, prevent the game from being a masterpiece.
Death's Gambit is 40 per cent trial and error, 40 per cent reliant on upgrades, and 20 per cent luck. Racing to the next level only to be stopped abruptly in your path by an opposing foe issues an element of surprise and delightful unpredictability, and exploring its pixelated medieval world feels both refreshing and nostalgic. Though the inclusion of a fully voiced cast and more platforming elements wouldn't go amiss, its difficult boss battle encounters are enough to keep you motivated, providing you have a great deal of patience, and are willing to put in some time upgrading your character and skill set. Just don't get mad if you die, like, a lot.
Ambitious ideas and a twisting story are marred by bad design choices.
These kinds of games are essentially love-letters to the OGs of the genre, and that sense of affection and praise is evident in the care that went into crafting Death's Gambit, and I would love to see this game become as polished as it deserves to be.
Death's Gambit has all the makings of a fantastic 2D Souls-like experience.