Children of Morta

🎮 Steam ⏳ 20 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Family-Centered Narrative #

This title is a roguelite action RPG that sets itself apart by putting storytelling and character development at the center of the experience. Rather than focusing on a lone protagonist, the game follows the Bergson family, a group of heroes bound not only by duty but by genuine emotional ties. Each family member has their own combat style, personality, and small narrative arcs, which gradually unfold as you progress through repeated dungeon runs. This structure gives the game a sense of continuity that is rare in the genre, making each return home feel meaningful rather than just a mechanical reset.

Strong Story Focus #

I can safely say this is one of the best narratives you can experience on this genre, not just because most of them are somewhat shallow and focus more on gameplay than lore, but also because it is genuinely a good story. You can totally play this as a single-player experience, similar to something like The Legend of Zelda, which is how I played, at least up until now. I say this because I also intend on experiencing the local-coop, though up until the moment that I’m writing this review, I have not experienced this yet.

Stunning Pixel Presentation #

The presentation is one of the game’s strongest aspects, its pixel art is richly detailed, with expressive animations and atmospheric environments that bring both the family home and the corrupted dungeons to life. Lighting effects, particle work, and subtle visual storytelling elevate what could have been a standard retro aesthetic into something far more polished. Though the dungeons can feel repetitive because they’ll only change when you reach the different sections of the game, so a single “big area” will look the same until you reach the next one. Complementing this is a narrator who guides the story with a calm, almost storybook tone, reinforcing the feeling that you are experiencing a tale about people.

Varied but Limited Combat #

The gameplay revolves around exploring procedurally generated dungeons, fighting enemies, collecting upgrades. Each character offers a distinct playstyle, which adds variety and encourages experimentation. There is also a shared progression system that benefits the entire family, giving a sense of growth even when individual runs fail. However, despite these systems, the core combat can feel somewhat limited, attacks and abilities lack the depth and complexity seen in other roguelites, and enemy variety does not always evolve enough. Particularly I forced myself to play each available character, at least for the first dungeon, in order to get the gits on all of them and decide which one I should play. I ended up sticking with both John (the father, shield and sword) and Mark (the monk-like playstyle).

Diverse Playable Characters #

All available characters are very fun to experience, some are more complex, some require more micro-skills in order to be effective, it is very unlikely that you can’t find one that fits your playstyle. There are ranged, mages, melee, fast, slow, and you quickly enable their “core kit” in the very first few minutes that you play them. This helps a lot since the first few skills that you unlock are the ones that you’ll be using the most through the entire, 20ish hours long main campaign. That is, if you choose the “traditional” experience option, which focuses in story-telling and narrative, you also have the option for a perma-death mode, that lets you focus on gameplay instead, and I have not engaged with this mode at all.

Repetition vs Story Balance #

As the game progresses, repetition becomes more noticeable, while the story continues to unfold and provides motivation to keep playing, the structure of the runs and the pacing of upgrades can start to feel grindy. Some people may find that the balance between narrative progression and gameplay repetition leans too heavily on the latter. Even with these shortcomings, this title remains a memorable experience, its emotional storytelling, strong visual identity, and focus on family make it stand out in a crowded genre. It may not offer the deepest or most mechanically refined gameplay, but it succeeds in delivering something more personal and heartfelt, making it particularly appealing to those who value atmosphere and narrative as much as action.