Children of Morta (PlayStation 4) Review

The Bergsons are a family from a long line of ancestors, who have taken it upon themselves to defend the world from the evils that are infested within Mount Morta. In this instance, an evil purple entity called the Corruption has formed from the heart of the mountain, and it has been infecting the nearby lands, animals and the beautiful forestry. Led by the family matriarch Margaret, and her two sons - family-man John, and his disgruntled older brother Ben - the Bergsons comprise of a cast of family-members, each with their own skills and fighting abilities to help combat the evil in the mountain. John is the conventional sword-and-shield character, Linda is the archer of the family, Kevin is the twin-blade wielder, while Mark is the beat 'em up puncher, and so on.

Each run can take anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes, with a series of dungeons that end up culminating in a boss fight. Defeating a boss with any of the characters ends up unlocking the next dungeon, which escalates in difficulty by introducing new, stronger enemies. Any money earned or experience gained on each run is permanent, where the money can be used back at home to purchase upgrades that affect all the characters base stats. Like other rogue-likes, nothing goes to waste here. Every run adds a benefit to the next one. Every failed attempt at clearing a dungeon makes the characters stronger for the next attempt.

The narrative is intriguing - despite the simple story, there are many random events that can take place in the dungeons on each run. These events can result in different benefits, from temporary charms that can buff the character during that specific run, or as a token to be brought back home as a souvenir. The brooding narrator adds another element to the story, with his resounding performance. Each scene that plays, whether in the dungeon, or back at home, adds another immersive layer to the story - from the major story beats that play out, with new family members being unlocked for play-throughs, to the side missions that involve rescuing villagers or merchants, or even returning a lost child back to their parent.

While the collected money in each run can be used to increase the base stats of all the family members as a collective, experience points gained by each family member can earn skill points which can be used on each characters unique family tree. Children of Morta is all about family unity - and this is further displayed within each characters skill tree. While most of the abilities unlocked in each characters skill tree only affect that specific character, there are shared traits within each skill tree that will affect the other family members during their run. This makes it vitally important not to focus each run on using the same character, but to allow for each character to get their moment in the sun to earn experience points, as these can still positively affect the other characters.

In addition to the skill trees, there's also a bunch of stuff that can be found within the dungeons that can temporarily buff characters. 'Divine Graces' are semi-permanent buffs; semi-permanent in the sense that these will last for the duration of that particular dungeon run, but it will be removed once the character has returned home after falling in battle or defeating the end-stage boss. 'Divine Relics' provide the hero with a special move that can be used repeatedly, albeit with cooldowns in-between uses. Then there are 'Charms,' which are one-time use abilities, while 'Obelisks' provide the hero with timed buffs that will expire when the clock runs out. The best part is all of these abilities from the four different sources stack, so by the end of the run, a character may be considerably stronger due to these buffs. However, all of these will be removed at the end of each attempt and they don't carry across to the next dungeon.

Like most rogue-likes, the dungeons are randomly-generated with each run. The colour palette changes as the Bergsons progress further into the game. This keeps each new attempt a fresh experience, and for those who don't wish to progress solo, there is a co-op feature that enables two family members to progress together. Children of Morta is a highly addictive rogue-like that allows to be played in short bursts as well. With its simple control mechanics, it's vast and sprawling dungeons, abilities and skill trees to unlock, and it's colourful and wonderfully-detailed art scheme, this is one of the better rogue-like experiences out there.