She also has a tornado move and she's able to leave a decoy of herself on the battlefield, drawing enemy fire away from her.Ĭhildren of Morta is a narrative-driven adventure and it offers surprisingly emotional story beats for a game packed with pixels. She's able to move around in this form, unlike her basic point-to-shoot attack, which requires her to stand still. Then, players are able to choose a new fighter, offering a variety of styles throughout the game.Įach character has unique powers, including their ultimate abilities: For instance, when the daughter enters rage mode, she Kamehamehas her way out of the situation, shooting a steady stream of flames from her body. The Bergson family scales the mountain searching for the source of its corruption, and each time a character dies, they appear back in the family's home. You can disable notifications at any time in your settings menu. There are skeletons with swords, goblins with bows and arrows, vicious bats and all manner of creepy crawlies out for blood. Ranged characters, like the fire mage, hurl endless rounds of ammo into swarms of enemies as they appear in procedurally generated dungeons. In keeping with the old-school arcade feel, Children of Morta borrows a classic mechanic from shmups of old: point-to-shoot. Think Hyper Light Drifter or Enter the Gungeon. This means the game isn't completely flat instead, it's layered with lighting effects and shadows that lend the landscapes richness and depth, while maintaining a retro vibe overall. Each family member has a special skill, and for my playthrough at GDC, I chose to battle as the youngest daughter, a fire mage.Ĭhildren of Morta's visual impact stems from Dead Mage's clever use of modernized pixel art. It comes from Dead Mage and publisher 11 Bit Studios, and it's an isometric hack-and-slash game starring the Bergsons, a family of fierce fighters on a mission to save their home mountain from an evil corruption.
Children of Morta made me incredibly happy, scared, sad and fiercely determined, all within the span of 10 minutes and using only pixel art - plus a few modern bells and whistles.