3 
0 In the past couple of weeks, when I’ve found myself with a short amount of time for gaming, I’ve returned to a comforting, familiar place. That place is Curse of the Dead Gods. Time and time again over the years since I reviewed the game for release, I’ve returned to the cursed temple to take on it’s remaining challenges and edge ever close to the coveted Platinum trophy.
The Game That Sparked A Fire
Curse of the Dead Gods was the first roguelike that I ever played, I’d not paid the genre any mind previously. The art direction looked great, and the combat seemed crunchy and quick, so I picked it up for review. I was instantly hooked on the premise of starting with very little power, progressing little by little through a gauntlet, and gradually upgrading various aspects to try different builds for success.
After my first long stint on CotDG, I searched for other roguelikes to play. I’ve since tried Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Going Under, and of course Hades, finding varying success and joy in each. However, the one I most often come back to (alongside Hades) is Curse of the Dead Gods.
Just Can’t Get Enough
Part of the reason I keep coming back is definitely due to not having finished the game yet. I’m still waiting to unlock the lovely Platinum trophy at the end of everything. Standing in my way currently are the higher level explorations, where enemies are stronger and faster, and the no-damage elite/boss requirements. I’m undoubtedly at the skill level where this is possible for me, and I have been for a while, but the random nature of the exploration and upgrades mean it’s a drawn out process.
RNGesus needs to be good to me. I know a lot of the players with the Platinum have achieved it via ‘save-scumming’. This is the practice of saving progress at the start of each room, uploading that data to the cloud, and then restoring it if they die or don’t get the RNG pulls they like. So far I’ve resisted relying on this much, using it just to save good starting equipment. I’m not sure if I want to give into that demon to save myself a lot of time.
Either way though, even after earning the Platinum, I can see myself coming back for a couple of runs in short gaming bursts because playing Curse of the Dead Gods is just so much fun. I tend to main swords or maces, which have a great hack-and-slash feel. I particularly like the Sword of Conjunctivitis, a weapon added in the Dead Cells update. This sword has enormous power at great risk. Get hit once by an enemy while using it, game over. Risk and reward.
Check It Out
If you like the sound of everything above and in my review, you really should give Curse of the Dead Gods a go. The balance of getting better weapons and boosts against being inflicted with various curses makes each run feel different. There’s a lot of content, too. 10 ‘easier’ dungeons, followed by 3 harder temples, are then topped off with 3 more increasingly challenging gauntlets. I’ve racked up 160 hours so far, and I’m still going strong.
If you’ve not played this gem yet, consider picking it up. It’s available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam, Epic, Windows, GOG, Origin). Also consider checking out Ravenswatch (read our review), another roguelike from Passtech Games that can be played solo or up to 4 players. Good luck out there, explorers!
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