Morbid: The Seven Acolytes Review (PC Game, 2020)
Note: Sketching Details was given a code to review Morbid: The Seven Acolytes on Steam.
content warning: gore, violence, gun violence
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is a new horror-themed Souls-like game on PC and console. You are the last survivor of your people. You are the only one left in the world with the skills to defeat the Seven Acolytes. These are incredibly power creatures with armies of monsters and demons working to destroy you and everyone else in this world.
What defines a Souls-like game? This is a game with similar mechanics and storytelling to the Demon Souls/Dark Souls series, an incredibly challenging series of action/rpg games where death is a tool used to teach you how to play. You will die over and over again as you learn how to battle different enemies and that is the point. You do not lose experience. You do not lose your inventory. You just restart at a spawn point you activated on the map and try again.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is very well made. Everything about this game hits on an aesthetic and gameplay style I’m a big fan of. This is a top down action/rpg game with retro style graphics and wonderful sound design.
The world is filled with details that help to tell the story. The different variety of monsters define what kind of world you will face next. Lovecraftian human/sea creature hybrids lead you to a complex series of battles on the dock of a fishing village. Gigantic insects with menacing fangs arrive in a swamp. The color palette of each environment is limited by design, allowing you to easily spot your white-haired character among more subdued tones of browns, grays, and greens.
The combat feels natural and fair, which can be a huge stumbling block in the world of Souls-like games. I played with keyboard and mouse and did not feel like I was being inhibited in any way. You move with WASD, aim and attack with the mouse, and crouch/run/roll with the keyboard. It’s simple and effective. You can also play with a controller, which may seem more natural to Demon/Dark Souls fans who learned this style of gameplay on a console.
One of the more interesting elements of Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is the inclusion of guns. Most Souls-like games tend to stick to more fantasy weaponry: swords, axes, clubs, maybe the occasionally bow and arrow or crossbow. Morbid lets you duel-wield with a melee weapon and a firearm. You can only run one of each at a time, but the inclusion of guns adds some unexpected variety to this form. Even the enemies can have unique ways of using guns in battle that alter your gameplay style.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes really works for me as an action/rpg game. The horror elements, visual style, gameplay, and beautiful score pull me back into the world even after failing quests over and over again as I learn how to best approach the enemies and layout of the map. The worlds have set points for monsters, items, and powerups, so you learn where you can go and what you can avoid entirely as you loop back through the more difficult stages. It is a hard game that never feels like it’s punishing you just to extend your playtime. There is always a way to finish a quest and you learn through trial and error.
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
