Death’s Door

Genre: Isometric Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Death’s Door is an Isometric Action-RPG released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2021. Players take the role of a Reaper, a small lightsaber-wielding crow-like creature who is charged with collecting souls in an abstract… er… afterlife? It’s not entirely clear, with the Reapers working in a literal office suspended in a monochrome void, the souls are various monsters, and the lands you’ll be exploring are almost like an MC Escher artwork come to life. Anyway, after defeating a particularly large monster, its soul is stolen by a large crow, resulting in the player having to go through a series of ordeals to retrieve it.

The premise sounds like it could be quite silly and comedic, but while Death’s Door has its share of comedic moments, the presentation for this game actually goes in the other direction, being quite somber and sad in tone. Even after leaving the monochrome offices of the Reapers, the lands players explore are desaturated and have a serene, lonely beauty to them. Well, lonely save for the monsters and the occasional lost soul you encounter and speak with. This excellent presentation is executed using some good 3D graphics, but there’s nothing in the visual department that’s anywhere near as impressive as the game’s art design.

However, even more stunning than the art design is this game’s instrumental soundtrack, which is heart-wrenchingly beautiful, absolutely delivering on the game’s quiet, somber tone. I hesitate to link to any particular songs to demonstrate. Instead, I’ll just point you to the entire soundtrack.

Given the beautiful presentation, it’s a bit disappointing that the gameplay here is merely… okay. This is an Isometric Action-RPG, but the RPG elements are somewhat minimal. Mostly, you’ll be attacking enemies with a melee attack that’s frustratingly short-range, occasionally tossing in a projectile attack, and using a dodge roll to avoid enemy attacks. The combat here is decent, but nothing special – it has neither the great feel of a game like Hades nor the depth and variety of Diablo III, but it’s sufficient.

Less excusable is this game’s repetitive, mazelike environments. Exploring the areas of this game is far more tedious than it is enjoyable, and it’s extremely easy to get lost, or lose track of where you’re meant to be going. This game would have been much better served with more linear, straightforward level design.

Still, while the gameplay is somewhat lacking, it’s still enjoyable, and it’s much easier to overlook the flaws in this gameplay when the presentation is so incredibly beautiful. Death’s Door is a good game, but it is a delightful experience, and it’s the experience that makes this game well worth playing, not the gameplay.

tl;dr – Death’s Door is an Isometric Action-RPG where players take the role of a crow charged with reaping souls. This game’s gameplay is good, but has multiple frustrating issues. However, it’s worth putting up with those issues to enjoy the absolutely beautiful presentation, particularly this game’s outstanding soundtrack. As an action-packed game Death’s Door is good, but as a wonderful audiovisual experience it is something truly great.

Grade: B

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