Godfall Review — Godfalling Flat

Godfall, the latest championship published by Gearbox Entertainment, released alongside Sony's new behemoth, the PS5, aiming to create a new genre of action RPG and gear-driven gameplay: the looter-slasher. Unfortunately, Counterplay Game's attempt falls apartment on its face and never ascends to the lofty heights information technology strives to accomplish.

Godfall's story is i of the nigh blank-bones and non-starters in a game that I accept played in some time. You lot are Orin, and your evil brother wants to become a god. In your effort to terminate him, he cleans your clock. From there, yous have to wake up a weird magical AI-similar beingness composed of three-faces, spending a lot of fourth dimension running back and forth betwixt the game'south simply 2 NPCs to hear about the next of your large bad brother's generals y'all take to shell, earlier thrashing your brother. If y'all don't, the universe will be destroyed.

Before Godfall'due south release, Gearbox recruited lore video guru; My Proper noun is Byf to create a 4-part series of videos that dives into the history and world that the game takes place in. If you were, just to but play the game, though, 90% of that lore would be lost on y'all.

This "take a chance" you commence on consists of repetitive missions, handed out to by the previously mentioned NPC duo, that will send yous to the three different elementally-themed areas to gather coins to unlock the next general. You do this for virtually 8-10 hours until you finally confront Macros (that's your evil brother). If you want to go more than out of the story, your best bet is to check out Byf's lore videos.

When it comes to the gameplay, Godfall can't quite decide what it wants to be. Previews and trailers for the game give a sense that the game is fast-paced and much more hack-due north-slash like than it is. Combat feels much more akin to the parry-heavy methodical combat of a Souls-like or Monster Hunter, where you accept to pay close attention to where yous aim your attacks and when y'all strike.

Wreckfest | Stadia Release Trailer

What is especially troublesome is that the game in its current state can't practise either well. The overly long cooldowns on skills (which admittedly can be decreased by items and gearing your build in that direction) paired with the inability to cancel animations and deportment midway through, say block and parrying an incoming assail, remove the power to play fast. Instead, y'all will have to decide whether or not information technology'southward worth committing to an assail and leaving yourself open to a potentially devastating enemy rebuttal.

On the flip side, playing more than restrained has its share of headaches also. Targeting is a nightmare, and using some weapons–even while locked on–can exist easy to miss. Attacks can push enemies outside of the range of finishing combos, which can easily leave yous open for a few frustrating seconds. What is peculiarly infuriating is the lack of a office to apace toggle between the targets effectually you. Instead, you're forced to abolish a lock-on and try to lock on to a dissimilar enemy. This blows my mind that this toggle characteristic is missing.

"When it comes to the gameplay, Godfall can't quite make up one's mind what it wants to be."

Another badgerer is how many enemies shoot you from long range and teleport around. The very few long-ranged attacks available to y'all, primarily your shield throw, are attached to aggravatingly long cooldowns. This means you will be forced to try and run up close to enemies that keep teleporting away from you or shooting y'all equally you attempt to do and so.

If y'all stick with Godfall, finishing the "campaign" unlocks an equally bromidic post-game grind. You open up two post-game modes, the beginning of which–the Dreamstones–serves as the best way to reach level 50. You will tackle a handful of quests and unlock a final round where you fight a gauntlet of mini-bosses or previous bosses. The bosses will be at a higher level and with new attacks unlocked. While it tin make things more interesting, it doesn't change things upwardly enough to force you to rethink your strategies. It'southward repetitive but tin can be done quick enough and nets you some loot, which makes information technology worthwhile.

After reaching Godfall'southward current max level of 50, you tin can dive into the Tower of Trials mode. Your goal is to consummate as many trials as y'all tin every bit you climb the tower. You are gaining buffs as you go, contending with wave after moving ridge after wave of progressively more difficult enemy mobs. This fashion could exist fun with a team of players, but playing is on your own is probably the most notable slog of the game, where the payoff wasn't worth the time investment.

When information technology comes to multiplayer, developer Counterplay Games made the dumbfounding decision not to include a matchmaking choice. This ways that unless you have friends that likewise ain Godfall (on the same platform, no less, since this game also has forsaken crossplay), y'all volition exist left to loot on your own. It'south unfortunate since you almost accept to have a total political party to contend with the Tower of Trials.

All of these gripes would exist more endurable if it weren't for two things. Starting time off, this game does non run all that well. I experienced several drops in performance during gainsay, including stutters and slowdown. It is a mood killer when yous manage to do something cool, and the game hangs for a 2nd because it can't go along up.

The 2d is that this game has no reason to be a full-priced $70 game. From the performance issues, repetitive and uninspired missions to the missing features, this feels more like information technology should have topped off at maybe a $xxx price tag, if not free-to-play with a micro-transaction element.

Now at this point, I'm sure that you are thinking to yourself that I believe in that location is nothing even remotely redeemable about Godfall, and that isn't true. Underneath the rubbish is a sparkly, if not overly shiny, jewel, which makes everything I've said so far sting fifty-fifty worse.

"Underneath the rubbish is a sparkly, if not overly shiny, jewel"

From the flashy Valorplates to the weapons, each with their unique lore, the gear are some of the nigh badass looking fantasy weapons I accept seen in a video game in a long time. The fact that Counterplay Games accept gone out of their way to give each item you get its history is a labor of love that pays off. I loved checking out the lore of the new weapons or equipment I institute and was excited to unlock each new armor set, even if that excitement didn't translate to playing with the new Valorplate. I found myself peculiarly drawn to the Phoenix plate, with it's flowing chugalug-similar items hanging off of it.

Godfall as well has a great level-up progression tree that offers players many options in how they desire to build their graphic symbol. What'south more, each node has five levels that y'all tin can invest in, none of which are locked behind a level requirement. Instead, y'all merely have to have made information technology into the tree that far. Should you choose to try a dissimilar build, returning your points for a respec is every bit simple as pressing a button. It's fantastic.

My just issue with this system is that, strangely, some important gainsay mechanics are unavailable until y'all unlock it on this lath. Mechanics that were often touted in weapon stats, similar Binge, weren't immediately accessible because I hadn't put a point in even so. All the same, you can go these opened up reasonably early on, so information technology isn't as big of an issue as the ones I've mentioned previously.

Between the leveling system and the gear, I did get hooked on that oh-so-sweet looter loop while grinding to max level in the Dreamstones. The constant driblet of higher-level gear and the want to continue to better my explody-fire build scratched that crawling quite nicely, which just connected to brand all the game'southward issue hurt more.

There'south something special here, simply the precious stone that is Godfall is buried deep underneath a pile of issues and lackluster content. Godfall hamstrings most of its good ideas, crippling the game out of the gate. Offering multiplayer but no matchmaking or cross-play, throwing numerous enemies at y'all at a time without a way to toggle between targets, forcing you to chase later enemies hitting yous with projectiles when your only long-range attack is on a also-long cooldown, and of grade, that $lxx cost tag. It volition be interesting to meet what shape Godfall is in a year from now, merely I advise you hold off on falling down this hole for the time being.

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