Death’s Door Review – Reaping The Rewards

We all share one thing: death. We all experience death sooner or later, and that can be terrifying because we don’t truly know what awaits us on the other side. Salvation? Oblivion? Death’s Door offers an amusing interpretation of death by framing it as a boring, day-to-day business run by crows. While some of the crows may not find much enjoyment in their work, playing Death’s Door couldn’t be further from their dull reality. It’s an entertaining and engrossing action-adventure romp that you’d do well to enjoy before your time is up. 

You are a young crow, and you’re a rookie reaper for this bloody organization. Your task is to find one large soul. Once you do, however, it’s promptly stolen by a mysterious figure. The soul’s recovery is paramount because while the crows are immortal in their home dimension, traveling to the living realm leaves them vulnerable to aging and death, and they can’t return home for good until the job is done. Although the recovery mission to find your soul is an interesting hook, it quickly becomes a compelling story about figures that have cheat death over the years and what the real meaning of your work.

It’s fun and strategic to relieve bad guys from their souls. You can do simple close-range attacks and roll to evade. All the while, you chip away at their health by using your bow or ranged spells like a fireball. For attacking from distance you only have two shots. Each successful melee attack will refill your ammo. It is a great system that keeps me away from using ranged attacks to my advantage and forces me to work hard. This system rewards aggression with increased chances of you backing off. It allows for smooth dealing with attacks even after making second dodges. You also have the ability to improve your maneuverability by improving your capabilities. 

This sense of risk and reward can be extended to replenishing your health. You can find flower seeds in the natural world. When you place them in pots that are scattered, they will bloom and become permanent health stations. There are only so many seeds you can collect, and it depends on how much you look at the environment. So, choosing which pots to plant is a difficult decision. The choice of healing now or waiting until I visit a pot I’m more likely to frequent gives the design a fun element of risk and improvisation as I’m effectively creating my own safe zones. 

Hidden weapons can be used to mix it up, such as daggers which trade speed for faster combos or powerful hammers that channel electricity. Although these options feel great in combat, they are not as effective as your traditional sword. For most of my adventures, I stayed with the sword. Thankfully, the same can’t be said for your arsenal of spells, all of which feel useful. You can attach a chain hook to foes, so they can be quickly snuck in your face and closed the gap. Each time I launched a bomb-like fireball, my smile was contagious and I watched multiple targets be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

Combat encounters can be difficult, particularly when a host of villains surrounds you. You will need to make every effort to survive. You can use their abilities as well as the surrounding environment against them. Many projectiles can easily be deflected and returned to the sender. Sometimes, arenas have hazards like laser turrets and plants that explode gas bubbles similar to mortar. These can be used to clear whole mobs. Death’s Door does a great job encouraging players to work smarter and not harder to overcome its occasionally overwhelming combat challenges. 

Major boss battles against creatures who live beyond the normal lifespan are amazing and my favorite encounters. I was challenged by these epic battles, which required me to utilize my entire arsenal of abilities. The giant armored Frog that slowly destroys the platform each time you hop on it was an especially memorable one. The final boss battle, in particular, plays out as a neat amalgamation of every obstacle you faced before, offering an entertaining final exam of everything you’ve learned. It’s a cool touch that enemy bodies can accumulate cracks and scratches to show their damage status. This is way more fun than just a health bar. 

The journey of rescuing your lost soul includes exploring beautiful, distinct locations such as the seaside docks and an elegant, yet opulent, mansion. I also like how the living world’s color contrasts with the noir-esque greyscale of your otherworldly headquarters. You will find enemies everywhere, lots of secrets, as well as hidden pathways that can lead you to new weapons, flowers seeds, collectibles, or vital souls to upgrade your stats. There are hidden bosses who can give you powerful upgrade spells. 

Many areas are ability-gated; I’m sure you can connect the dots on what a cracked wall or unlit torch requires. Other environmental puzzles and secrets require more observational skills, such as spotting discreet hedge maze entrances or using a bathroom floor’s reflection to find a concealed door. Death’s Door’s world feels like a living puzzle that I was always chomping at the bit to fully unravel. Plus, some of its coolest mysteries don’t reveal themselves until after the credits roll. 

 

Despite their long association with death and the macabre, crows are clever animals known for their funny behavior; the game’s tone sports a similar playfulness. You have a keyboard-obsessed data entry employee who is excited to produce all of the paperwork that your adventure produces. A passionate bard tags along for a period in search of inspiration for a wacky song, the quality of which I’ll leave you to judge. Pothead, a jovial knight with a stewpot for his head, is hilariously named. 

Death’s Door is more lighthearted than it looks, and that’s to its benefit. These amusing moments complement weightier themes about respecting the dead (no matter how terrible they were in life), the fear of death’s inevitability, and whether anything we accomplish truly matters when our time is limited. Death’s Door isn’t the most profoundly written story, but it handles these sensitive topics well. My favorite moments, outside of the moment-to-moment action and exploration, are when it reminds us that death isn’t something to be feared. Rather, it’s just a necessary step in the cycle of life; a cycle that cannot exist without it.

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