During early development the character Joey was originally going to form a relationship with Lindaof large amounts of loot to collect,
giving you different weapons, armour,
trinkets etc and a reason to keep
returning to the dungeons. Here, the
only thing you gain from each run
is experience points, which awards
you with skill points to spend on new
abilities, and money which then allows
you to purchase improvements to your
stats, such as increased maximum
health or increased damage. These
aren’t unique to just one character,
each of these improvements carry
over to every Bergson.
Live. Die. Repeat.
You’ll spend a lot of the game dying
early on, with the first boss battle
likely taking you several attempts to
slay. This is due to some important
objects not being made available
straight away. During your travels you’ll
spot obelisks that grant you temporary
buffs or special abilities, but you’ll
only be able to use them once you’ve
progressed far enough through the
dungeon and unlocked them. Even
then, your health and abilities won’t
be up to scratch in the beginning,
so you’ll be grinding a lot to get to a
point where you’re strong enough to
take on the boss.
Although most of the enemies
are similar, each boss plays out
differently, giving you the opportunity
to figure out their moves and avoid
attacks. The problem is that there’s a
lack of variety in the tactics you use to
take down these creatures. Most boil
down to dodge-and-attack strategies
while you chip at their health.
A multitude of different items
can be found in chests and random
reward rooms, some of which give
you extra abilities to use in combat,
like a summoning a sword or dragon
to damage enemies, while others will
bolster your other standard abilities or
boost your stats. However, these are
all lost every time you die.The silver lining is you constantly
feel like you’re making progress.
Returning to your home often treats
you to a short cutscene that fleshes
out the story or characters. There’s
a lot to like in Children Of Morta if you
can get past the repetitive dungeon
sections, but when that’s the majority
of the game some might find it
difficult to make it to the end. QCHILDREN
OF CO-OP
Playing the game
cooperatively is
possibly the best way
to play, as you’ll have
a helping hand when
going up against
hordes of enemies.
You can also
complement each
other’s abilities by
choosing a
long-range and melee
character, for
example. You can
revive your partner
should they lose all
their health, but if you
both go down your
run will be over and
you’ll be transported
back to the Bergsons’
home. For now, there
is only a couch co-op
option, however an
online mode is
planned for an update
in the future.“You’ll be
grinding a lot to
get to a point
where you’re
strong enough”
FAR LEFT Lots of
chests and a
giant door? A
boss must be
nearby...
RIGHT It’s
beneficial to
level up each
Bergson as they
gain skills that
improve the
entire family.OXM VERDICT
A charming game
with a wonderful
story, but let down
by its repetitive
combat grind.7
LEFT The
Bergsons’ house
has so much
personality it’s
like another
character.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 079REVIEW