Curses of the Old Gods are an intriguing and mysterious phenomenon that has captured the imagination of people for centuries. These curses are believed to be the result of ancient deities or supernatural beings imparting their wrath or displeasure upon individuals or communities. The curses are often associated with ancient civilizations and their pantheons of gods and goddesses. The Old Gods, as they are commonly referred to, are believed to possess immense power and have the ability to bestow blessings or inflict curses upon mortals. There are various types of curses that the Old Gods are said to unleash. These curses can range from personal misfortunes such as ill health, bad luck, or financial ruin to larger-scale calamities like droughts, plagues, or natural disasters.
You can’t control what type of curse you get (they’re randomized), which adds some spice to the repetition of your runs. The only exception to this is the final curse, which always activates when your corruption meter hits the last stage. Since I tend to just go ham when I enter high-danger areas, I had to really brace, because this curse ensures survival is as difficult as possible. Death is inevitable, but this ramped-up danger serves as another way to break up the monotony.
This mechanical structure was something that I loved because it made it easier to strategize how I wanted to approach upgrades and what I was willing to give up for better stats. Even without the curses themselves, Curse of the Dead Gods would be a standout roguelite with excellent combat, a smart structure that eases you into its difficulty, and a great variety of enemies, traps, and bosses across its three distinct temples.
These curses can range from personal misfortunes such as ill health, bad luck, or financial ruin to larger-scale calamities like droughts, plagues, or natural disasters. Some curses are said to be passed down through generations, affecting entire bloodlines or communities. The origins of these curses are often rooted in mythological tales and legends.
Curse of the Dead Gods Review
I will admit that when I initially saw a top-down action roguelite called Curse of the Dead Gods, complete with swords, bows, environmental hazards, and semi-random rewards based on what room you choose to enter next, my first thought was “Hey, this seems a bit like a Hades knockoff.” It turns out, I was completely wrong. Despite featuring a smorgasbord of clear influences from other roguelites, Curse of the Dead Gods stands out in that increasingly crowded genre thanks to some cool new ideas of its own. Its curse and corruption mechanics add an extra strategic layer to its already excellent reflex-heavy hack-and-slash combat by forcing you to make tough and meaningful decisions at every step of every adventure it takes you on.
Curse of the Dead Gods doesn’t do much in the way of storytelling, opting instead to simply throw you into a cursed temple, get out of your way, and let you read up on unlockable codex entries if you’re truly interested in learning more about its lore. It’s a bit of a bummer to see it pushed to the side considering the way Hades has recently raised the bar for storytelling in roguelites (and its art style’s similarity to Darkest Dungeon makes me long for a creepy baritone narrator), but the moment-to-moment gameplay of Curse of the Dead Gods is its true focus – and it’s so good that a thin plot is easily forgivable.
Loading PlayCurse of the Dead Gods does a number of interesting things to break from [roguelite] tradition.
All of the familiar roguelite mechanics that come with the territory are here: you fight your way through increasingly tough procedurally generated levels, collect new weapons and upgrades along the way, and when you reach the end (or die trying) you start your next run from scratch – except for permanently unlocked upgrades that make your next attempt just a little bit easier. But Curse of the Dead Gods does a number of interesting things to break from tradition. For one, instead of stacking all of its levels together, they’re divided into three different temples for you to attempt to conquer in turn, each with their own set of devious traps, brutal bosses, and bloodthirsty enemies – from the godforsaken electric babies in the Eagle Temple to the plague-bearing monstrosities of the Serpent Catacombs.
Furthermore, instead of having you hopelessly attempt to beat a full temple right from the get-go, Curse of the Dead Gods eases you into its impressively challenging gauntlets by only giving you access to their first floors to start. Each floor is made up of just nine levels, including a boss battle at the end, and it’s only once you beat those first floors that you’re then able to challenge each temple’s second one – then the third after that, until finally you open up the true roguelite experience of trying to conquer the entirety of a temple in a single run. It’s a much more natural and forgiving difficulty curve that allows you to achieve small victories and have them mean something as opposed to just losing over and over again until you finally win.
Those victories also reward you with a large amount of Crystal Skulls and Jade Rings, two currencies that allow you to purchase permanent upgrades that aid in subsequent, more difficult runs, and there’s no shortage of choices to be made here. Blessings can be bought with Crystal Skulls and provide you with various powerful buffs, like the ability to deal 50% more damage for six seconds if you kill three enemies in quick succession, or one that causes bosses to drop five pieces of loot instead of just two. You can also spend your Crystal Skulls to improve weapon altars which determine your starting loadouts, or extra Divine Favors, which allow you to re-roll the gear at any mid-run shop. Jade Rings, on the other hand, can be used to unlock new weapons so that they are added to the pool of ones that are allowed to appear on subsequent runs.
Curse of the Dead Gods' combat is mechanically simple, but impressively deep.This progression system borrows a lot from ideas that work brilliantly in Dead Cells, but there are a couple of factors working against it in the context of Curse of the Dead Gods. For one, Dead Cells’ system of adding new gear to the existing pool works great partly because there’s such a breadth of different types of weapons, items, and gadgets that can dramatically alter how you approach a run. In Curse of the Dead Gods, most of the weapons that you unlock are only slightly more interesting versions of the base weapons that may add elemental damage, critical hit chance, or damage scaling with a particular stat. There are definitely exceptions, mainly in the form of rare cursed weapons that typically throw in a disadvantage that you need to work around in order to make use of their powerful modifiers. But for the most part, I was never particularly excited about returning to the shop and adding new weapons to the pool because it felt like most of them didn’t matter.
That said, even though the unlockable weapons aren’t as exciting as they feel like they should be, the basic versions of the 10 different weapon classes are a ton of fun to use and have notable nuances that encourage different playstyles. Guns, for example, can interrupt enemies if you use their off-hand combo finisher in the middle of their attack; spears will always trigger critical hits if you land with just the tip of the weapon; claws can use their charged attack to dash behind an enemy and get out of the way of their attack; and shields can be used to bash enemies into spikes or other forms of environmental hazards.
It is believed that the Old Gods were worshipped by ancient civilizations who sought their favor and protection. However, if these gods were displeased or betrayed, they would curse those who had wronged them. Throughout history, there have been numerous accounts and legends of individuals or communities suffering from curses of the Old Gods. These tales have served as cautionary tales to heed the warnings and respect the power of these deities. The belief in the curses of the Old Gods continues to exist in various forms today. In some cultures, rituals and offerings are still performed to appease these deities and protect against their curses. Additionally, stories of individuals experiencing misfortunes attributed to the wrath of the Old Gods often find their way into popular culture, further perpetuating the fascination surrounding these curses. While the existence of curses is a matter of faith and belief, their influence on human behavior and culture cannot be ignored. The fear of incurring the wrath of the Old Gods has led to the creation of legends, rituals, and superstitions that continue to shape the beliefs and actions of individuals and communities alike. In conclusion, curses of the Old Gods are a captivating aspect of mythology and folklore. Whether these curses are seen as mere tales or believed to have a tangible impact, they continue to intrigue and captivate the human imagination, leaving us to ponder the power and influence of the divine..
Reviews for "Spiritual Practices and Worship of the Old Gods"
1. John - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Curse of the Old Gods". The storyline was confusing and hard to follow, with random plot twists that didn't make sense. The characters were one-dimensional and uninteresting, and the dialogue felt forced. The writing itself was also lacking, with many grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Overall, I had high hopes for this book but it fell short in almost every aspect. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written and engaging fantasy novel.
2. Sarah - 1 star - "Curse of the Old Gods" was a complete waste of time. The pacing was extremely slow, and the action scenes were few and far between. The world-building was minimal, leaving me with no sense of place or immersion in the story. The protagonist was unrelatable and lacked any depth of character. Additionally, the book was riddled with clichés and predictable plot points, making it a boring read overall. Save yourself the trouble and find a better fantasy novel to dive into.
3. Alex - 3 stars - I found "Curse of the Old Gods" to be just okay. The concept of the story had potential, but it was never fully realized. The writing style was average at best, lacking descriptions and leaving me wanting more. The characters were forgettable, and I didn't feel invested in their journey. The ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. While I didn't hate the book, I can't say I enjoyed it either. It was just a mediocre read that didn't leave a lasting impression.