Children of Morta Is A Narrative-Heavy Co-Op Action Game

Children of Morta follows a family of fighters who must fight to defend their home from a malevolent force. Through co-op roguelite action, the game tells a story about family dynamics and resonant emotional beats amidst non-stop hack and slash action.

During a recent 11 bit studios press day in New York City, Screen Rant sat down with Marketing Director Patryk Grzeszczuk, who showed us a demo of Children of Morta and showed off its narrative potential, fast action, and striking art style. The title is published by 11 bit studios, but is developed by Dead Mage, an small group of developers from all over the world.

Upon starting up the game, the first thing we noticed was the provocative art style, which combines elements from several different eras of retro gaming, but with a plethora of modern touches which give Children of Morta a timeless and unique look. Chracter models are 2D sprites reminiscent of early 1990s PC adventure titles like The Secret of Monkey Island, while backgrounds look like the most advanced Super Nintendo game. On top of this, high-resolution shadows and lighting effects add a requisite level of pizazz, reminding players that this is, indeed, a modern game.

After an initial cutscene introducing different family members, the patriarch, John, heads out into the forest. The initial portion of the game can only be played single player, but it doesn’t take long before John is joined by his daughter, Linda, who can be controlled by a second player. Children of Morta offers co-op play for up to two people; some might want a four-player mode, but there’s good reason for the strict two person limit.

Combat is familiar to fans of isometric hack and slash action. It’s a bit slower than something like Diablo 3, but features a unique take on loot, where certain items offer perks which only last through the current level. This encourages players to actually use their equipment and starts them off on a clean slate every time they start a new, procedurally generated stage. While roguelike games remain divisive to most gamers, Children of Morta offers a decidedly lighter take on the genre, even compared to other so-called “roguelites.” Getting killed results in being booted out of the current dungeon, but there is no permadeath, and loot isn’t lost upon death. The stakes are still high, but the player is never truly punished for failing a challenge.

Children of Morta features two-player co-op, but also encourages that players mix up their character choice. In total, there are six family members from which to choose, but playing as characters for too long causes them to become corrupted by the malevolent force against which they fight; players will need to mix it up so their favorites can recover. This is one of the reasons they opted to cap the player count at two, rather than four.

Our brief look at Children of Morta certainly has us intrigued at how the game ultimately shapes up. The game’s story is mysterious, but provocative, and the intimate setting and characters are ripe to be shared with another person via couch co-op. There’s a lot that remains to be seen, but we can’t wait to learn more when Children of Morta releases for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch later in 2019.

About The Author

Zak Wojnar
(946 Articles Published)

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Zak Wojnar is a writer from New York City. He’s covered everything from video games and movies to maple syrup and deli business. Thanks to Screen Rant, he’s discovered his newest passion, interviewing artists. He takes great joy in letting film and gaming legends tell their own story and share their passion for their art.
Zak’s first memory is going with his dad to Tower Records and buying the VHS boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy. Over the next decade or so, those tapes would be completely worn out through overuse. When he’s not preparing for the next big interview, he can usually be found sitting too close to the TV, either re-watching Miami Vice or The X-Files, or getting lost in a video game.
Zak has bylines at Game Informer, Muscle & Fitness, PopCultureGalaxy, Men’s Fitness, Cheese Connoisseur, and Deli Business (see, that wasn’t a joke before!), among others.
Follow and engage with him on Twitter @ZakWojnar.

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