The next in the Morbid series is our game of the day—Morbid: The Lords of Ire. Even if you have not experienced the preceding title (Morbid: The Seven Acolytes), you can probably guess by the name of the game that this one is going to be a bit on the gruesome side and not suitable for the younger gamers (rated M for a reason).
Our hero, Striver, is back with a really big sword and a mission, this time in 3D as opposed to the previous game’s isometric presentation. At its core, Morbid: The Lords of Ire is basically a zombie-killing game. Of course, we don’t call the monsters “zombies,” but they are the defiled corpses of fallen allies animated to attack you, so…
The gameplay is actually fairly simple with intuitive controls. Use the Joy-Con sticks to adjust the camera orientation and to move around (walk and run). You also get a button to block, another to duck, and the Z buttons to launch a normal attack or a special attack. Easy peasy, right?
Not so fast, hero. The game uses the very first level as a sort of introduction/tutorial on moving and attacking. The enemies are sent against you one at a time as a sort of monster resume, but don’t get lax in your approach—even this early on, they can kill you quickly. The monsters get tougher and more numerous quickly, so stay on your guard.
The soundscape is well done. The music didn’t leave a great impression other than it set the mood well enough. The sound effects are also well done and appropriate to the action and the creatures. Finding that balance point between being boring and distracting is something a good game should be doing, so job well done there.
The visuals are a bit of a mixed bag. While there are some interesting environments, scenery, monsters, and so on…
…there are some things which didn’t quite hold up against the rest of the visuals. One particular annoyance/distraction was our hero’s ponytail. I have nothing against ponytails, but when it swings around like a stick on a hook, it doesn’t look right. The pony tail also has an unfortunate habit of passing through our hero’s shoulder – disappearing on one side, and swinging back into view on the other side of the shoulder. This little distraction has the effect of pulling your attention out of the game.
There is a story to be enjoyed as well. There are some interesting elements to the story (no spoilers here), with tragedy and hope. There is also plenty of blood and gory stuff—the game is called Morbid, after all—but nothing you wouldn’t expect if you’re a fan of the genre.
Some of the combat sequences are well done, but there is plenty of running, blocking, and slashing. It mostly comes down to a good sense of timing. The game will show that it has little mercy for the player after a while, so keep your fingers warmed up.
All told, Morbid: The Lords of Ire is OK. Everything functioned well enough, it just never became terribly engaging.
