Godfall review in-progress

Godfall is a loot-driven RPG from Counterplay Games that follows in similar footsteps to the likes of Destiny. You step into the shoes of a godly hero who will slash, bash, tear and slice their way through hordes of enemies in search of valuable gear.

If this sounds familiar, then it should – Marvel’s Avengers tried and failed to pull the same trick earlier this year. So, you may be asking what sets Godfall apart from such a crowded market of competitors?

From what I’ve seen so far, very little. Outside of being a PS5 launch title, as games go Godfall wears its inspiration on its sleeve, borrowing elements from Destiny and mixing them with a new high-fantasy setting and Souls-like melee combat.

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Starting with the basics. Godfall is set in a vague mystical realm inhabited by monsters, mechanical wonders and magical beings. Not giving any spoilers away, you step into the shoes of an Archon, who at first glance looks like a generic high-fantasy hero.

Most of the characters I’ve seen so far all have suitably over-the-top armour that features more RGB lighting than a fancy gaming laptop, alongside brooding attitudes that will give even the sourest of teenagers a run for their money. Honestly, if you’d told me they were Warframe characters, I’d have believed you.

The story is vague, but it focuses on two factions of Archon fighting over a mysterious Monolith, which Godfall describes as “having the power to rework reality itself”.

Unlike Destiny, the characters have names and backstories. So far I’ve only been able to play as Orin, who appears to be the equivalent of Destiny’s Titan class, focusing on high health and heavy hits during melee. However, there co-op support and two other playable characters, which I assume you unlock later in the game.

Thus far the narrative has focused on Orin’s attempts to recover from a crushing defeat, seeing him follow waypoints, smashing enemies, picking up loot and searching for Morphstones (gear drops) and treasure chests as he goes. It’s your usual loot-based affair.

Combat and character development mechanics feel very familiar. Anyone who is old enough to remember Ryse: Son of Rome, Lords of the Fallen or any of the other Souls-like ARPGs will instantly feel at home. Once you’ve picked your weapon, core combat boils down to linking combos of light and heavy attacks, while blocking or dodging incoming threats.

The variety comes from changing the type of weapon you use and activating one of a select few special attacks. These include the ability to throw my shield at enemies and “takedowns”. The latter are special executions you can enact on foes that have been “breached”. This occurs when you land enough heavy blows to fill a yellow bar under their health, at which point they become breached/unbalanced.

So far, so dull? For the first mission it felt that way, with me running from one checkpoint to another through a mysterious temple that wasn’t exactly bursting with originality. This is in part because, despite clearly wanting to replicate the Dark Souls series’ tense, weighty combat, Godfall is fairly forgiving.

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The Life Stones, which are effectively healing potions, top up fairly regularly, and most of the enemies you kill drop green orbs that fix you up upon death. Godfall makes things easier still by colour-coding the attacks from dangerous enemies. Before any big strike you’ll be able to figure out the sort of attack/damage it will do based on its colour. For example, if they start glowing red, they’re about to launch an unblockable knockdown attack. If they turn blue, you’re about to get stunned.

This made fighting the first end-of-level boss – a giant blade-wielding automaton – feel a little like painting by numbers. Despite having a number of high-damage attacks, it was all too easy to avoid each strike just by looking at what colour it was glowing.

However, from there things have begun to look a little more interesting, albeit familiar. Once done with the first boss I entered Sanctum, which is Godfall’s equivalent of Destiny’s tower, and received a peek at some of its more advanced RPG and multiplayer mechanics.

For starters, although you can’t create custom characters, there are a wealth of customisation options. These range from the weapons you want – each character can carry two at a time – to the skills and “Valorplate” you’ll take into each mission. Valorplates are forgeable items that inform the “super” ability you’ll get. They’re apparently modelled on one of the 12 Archons in the game. As well as informing the super-attack you can use mid-mission, which in my case was a magical area of effect explosion, the Valorplates also heavily inform your build’s base stats and skills.

I’ve only touched the surface of the upgrade system, but it looks fairly complex. The Valorplate I built had a diverse augment map themed around constellations. Each option tweaked my character’s core stats and the nature of each attack, which is split into the same red, green and blue types as enemies.

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You can also tweak your character’s core skills. Skill points are earned by levelling up your character – as far as I can tell, you get one per level. These can be used to unlock more combos, special strikes and generally boost your core stats, which are split into might, vitality and spirit categories. Might improves weapon damage; vitality boosts your health; and spirit improves Life Stone recovery and special ability damage.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the system so far, but further in it could add the welcome level of depth that the first hour or so was missing, especially when paired with the game’s co-op and mission dynamics.

The open map lists missions as being broken up into Story, Boss, Hunt and Unique types, each of which can be played with up to two other players in co-op. I haven’t had the opportunity to play any levels in co-op yet, but the promise of Monster Hunter-esque big boss hunts that require the extra muscle is enticing, especially if Counterplay manages to balance each Valorplate and playable character so certain builds compliment one another. Although, given how far I’ve made it in the game, this remains a big “if”.

Early impressions

Godfall currently feels very familiar: it unashamedly borrows the loot system that made Destiny and Borderlands great, attempting to mix it with hardcore Souls-like melee combat.

In the first few hours, this makes the game feel a little dull. But the core mechanics feel well built and could act as a stable base for the game’s more interesting character building and co-op dynamics, of which I’ve currently only scratched the surface.

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