I'm delighted to see how many times the authors of Death's Gambit from White Rabbit's independent studio have turned a blind eye to Dark Souls fans. It is known that playing with the gameplay style refers to the hit cycle From Software, but that's not what I'm talking about. When in one of the initial locations a gushing fire burst appears on the screen, it's not difficult to notice the similarity to the challenge that awaited the daredevils in Dark Souls after defeating Taurus. Death's Gambit also poses such a problem to the player, and its solution turns out to be trivially simple. Examples could be multiplied, of course, but discovering such delicacies is one of the attractions prepared by the creators of the reviewed production.
However, Death's Gambit is not a clone of popular Souls. Sure, we have here all the elements characteristic for games based on the achievements of From Software, but not only. After a short tutorial ended with a fight with the boss, we end up in the Central Sanctuary, which plays the role of the most important place in the world of Death's Gambit. It is there that we will conduct dialogues with NPCs we meet and buy new items or skills to continue our journey. It will not be easy, however, because once the game is characterized by a high level of difficulty, and two, that with "huba" leads several paths. Of course, we follow the one that causes us the least problems.
I really like the construction of the levels in Death's Gambit. The game is relatively non-linear, which I mentioned a moment ago, but for the first few dozen minutes or even a few hours (depending on the skills of the player) we will regularly return to the central place in the game world, having the impression that we are going round and round unnecessarily. We will open shortcuts, kill a boss or even a few, obtain funds to buy a seal necessary to open new locations and once again we will move forward, this time in a completely different direction. Along the way we will set up chapels serving as bonfires, where we will develop our character, while at the same time advising the defeated enemies against the enemy. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Death's Gambit is Dark Souls in 2D. Well, almost.
At the very beginning of the campaign, the main character signs a Death Agreement and sets off into the world to kill certain enemies on her command. This could be the end of the story, but in fact it's worth following the protagonist and other characters, because Death's Gambit makes a very good impression also in this respect. Especially since the story is told more directly than in Soulsach thanks to quite extensive dialogues.
Since Death's Gambit has been deprived of its third dimension, during the game we not only face new opponents, but also jump on various platforms. That's no surprise, of course, because a similar solution was also used in Salt and Sanctuary. Just like the production of Ska Studios, White Rabbit's work tries to improve the formula developed by From Software and at the same time make Death's Gambit stand out from other games of this type.
After his death, our hero does not leave shrapnel (souls) at the place of death, but a pen, or de facto a bottle of Estus. Of course, we are reborn at the recently activated chapel and we can buy a lost feather that allows us to regenerate the protagonist's life energy for an appropriate amount of money. Interestingly, in Death's Gambit there is also a possibility to sacrifice healing objects in order to inflict more damage.
If we fall in battle with a boss, we shouldn't worry either, because we'll be rewarded. Depending on how many life belts we managed to "pull over", we will receive an appropriate number of shrapnel on our account. Speaking of bosses, it is worth mentioning that they can be reborn. The second approach, however, takes place at a higher, heroic level of difficulty. A bigger challenge means, of course, better items to get. However, you can make the task easier (not only in heroic mode, but also in normal mode), because the game rewards exploration. In the vicinity of the boss arena you will find books. Two for each enemy of this type, and each of them will increase the damage dealt by us by 5 percent.
The fight seems to be like a Soulsy fight. We have a life belt, we have to watch out for the strength that wears out when performing various actions, so it is necessary to observe the opponent's behavior and feel the moment to strike, block or fall. Death's Gambit offers one basic attack with each weapon, but here we also have a combination of blows, pairing and skills. The latter are available when unlocked in a special development tree. In order to use them we also have to charge the energy bar by attacking enemies. Oh, and I would have forgotten the bow. Distance fighting is also possible after using numerous items (e.g. bombs).
Death's Gambit has only two dimensions, but the world is really big. That's why in some moments you have to ride on horseback to move faster between locations. A mount often appears automatically, but you can also call it by ringing bells at specific locations. Interestingly, if we gallop, enemies are helpless, and defeating them without coming down from the saddle is fun.
Once we have settled in Death's Gambit for good and find that nothing will surprise us, the authors will pull the ace out of their sleeves. We can reach the places where the game will impose a few negative effects on our hero. We will have only 70 percent of our maximum health, and the treatment will take two feathers instead of one. If you want to perform a coup, you should take into account the loss of the entire stamine bar. This solution, of course, evokes associations with Bloodborne, where in one of the dungeons of the Cup we had to face the powerful bosses, having only half a life belt.
The battles with the bosses are very impressive. He doesn't want to betray too much, but I will say that there are also original ideas and references to the Souls (there is someone like Capry Demon) and Shadow of the Colossus (one of the "bosses" would fit perfectly into the cult work of Team Ico studio). During the skirmishes you should not only watch out for enemy attacks, but also be aware that the appearance of the arena may change, and the player's character will not be able to maintain it. Interestingly, some defeated bosses later play the role of rank and file opponents. It should also be noted that in addition to enemies who are more or less the same size as our hero, we will also hit much larger, though often less demanding enemies. As at the beginning of Anor Londo.
Death's Gambit is a game that is hard to point out any drawbacks. Until now I can't convince myself of the graphic style, although I really appreciate how much work the authors put into the preparation of the visual setting, so in this case we are only talking about personal preferences. Sometimes it is a cause for concern that the hero sometimes makes too long turns, and I very often forget to turn in the right direction after "roller" and instead of attacking the enemy, I wave into the air. It's a bit of a charm to play in two dimensions, but well.
So if you're looking for a Dark Souls-style title with a lot of interesting new features, well-designed locations and interesting boss battles, then Death's Gambit will meet your expectations. This is a well-thought-out, well-made production, which is hard to break away from.