Deathless. The Hero Quest Xbox Series X Review 9/10 "A Deck Builder Based on Slavic Folklore" 🃏 @Deathless_TOR #indiegame #gamedev

I’ve been quite partial to digital card games recently, and whilst I’ve played some corkers over the last year, Deathless. The Hero Quest seems to be pulling me back more than most, it’s blend of beautifully expressive and smooth animations, rousing soundtrack and compulsive gameplay means that I find myself settling down for that golden sense of ‘one more try’.

Set in the fictional fantasy world of Belosvet, the game begins with a number of options to tailor your journey to your specific level of difficulty, as well as letting you decide which hero you will take on this epic quest first, will it be the sword and (surprisingly gun-like) wand-brandishing Alyosha? The towering Dobrynya, an armoured warrior who wields a huge sword and dragon skin covered shield? The sorceress Vasilisa, or perhaps the treasure hunter Varvara who tears into battle with a pickaxe and magic braid? Whoever you choose, fun is certainly imminent.

Whilst the main gameplay mechanics are pretty standard – grow and thin out your deck as needed, upgrading cards, and abilities upon each run whilst trying to incrementally get further each time – the absolutely gorgeous visuals and wondrous enemy designs really bring this world to life. Kudos also has to go to composer Dmitri Silantyev who has created a sweeping soundtrack that fluctuates between grandiosity, light fantasy, epic swells, and ominous strings, this is a soundtrack that matches the on-screen action perfectly, and instead of becoming repetitive, the music seemed to warm with each listen, and is an absolutely intrinsic part of Deathless’ magic.

The cold, hard landscapes dovetail perfectly with some of the rank and otherworldly enemies you’ll come across, from shambling corpses through to squat, goblin-like creatures and monstrous bosses – whilst I’ve met my end on many an occasion, the game felt well-balanced and as I moved from one skirmish to the next (each post-battle section allows you to scoop up your spoils and choose from three possible ways of continuation) my ebbing health and dwindling resources meant that I was getting more and more tense, desperate to see how far my intrepid adventurer could go, this time around. 

The fact that each of the selectable characters has a very different set of skills meant that I would flip between them when fancying a change of pace, and they are so well-realised that it does feel like a genuinely different approach. Whilst my initial gut feeling is to always choose the biggest and stupidest oaf, rushing into battle with nothing more than an enormous axe and a powerful erection, I found myself drifting more towards the smaller Varvara, whose braid is unmatched in switching around the ranks of the enemy, and pulling dying foes to her side of the fight, acting as human(-ish) shields, something that turned the tide of the fight more than once for me. 

There are some enemies in this game that really made me swear at my Savalas, let me tell you. Many was the time that I felt the controller plastic creak in my hands as I was getting my precious health chipped away by a couple of crossbow-wielding dickheads at the rear of the enemy assault as I couldn’t take my focus off the multi-headed armoured hydra clowning me over the head with a spiked mace, desperately hoping for those precious cards to pop out of my deck and into my hand so I could make some sort of desperate, heroic final effort.

Deathless. The Hero Quest will be firmly installed on my Xbox for some time, it’s become a ‘go to’ game at the moment, perfect for a lengthy session or even for a quick twenty minute blast, if time allows. The subtle tweaks to the genre formula combined with the hardy story-telling makes this a big ol’ recommendation from us here at GF!

9/10

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