Death’s Door is a challenging adventure game where you play as a crow reaper whose assignment goes awry. In the process, you’re tasked with hunting down three foes who have lived far beyond their years and collecting their souls in order to open the titular Death’s Door. Taking inspiration from retro 2D Zelda games, Death’s Door features great combat that is difficult, but fair, an interesting story, and memorable characters and music. Already, I can say without hesitation that I highly recommend this game, but if you’d like more details, carry on, dear reader!
First off, the story in this game is quite poignant, as it touches on death in a way that’s sensitive, but not depressing. Whenever you defeat one of the game’s major bosses, there is a brief funeral where the Gravedigger says a few words and reminds you that death unifies us all, whether you’re remembering a foe or a loved one. I appreciate that they managed to handle these scenes in a way that was touching without justifying a character’s bad behavior (I always find it frustrating when an evil character’s deeds are excused because of some tragic backstory). In addition, the game has a great (and sometimes dark) sense of humor, too, which certainly gave me a few chuckles.
Visually, the graphics have a nice, clean look to them, and character and enemy designs alike are unique and memorable. The music is also amazing, with much of the soundtrack being quite beautiful and somber, fitting the game’s tone. Additionally, the sound design is equally excellent. I don’t tend to notice such things myself. Not unless it’s done really well or really poorly, and I thought the sound effects used for enemies, whether they’re attacking or you’re damaging them, is very well done. And while enemies don’t have health bars, you will see cracks upon their body that indicate how close they are to being defeated, which is a nice visual aid so you know how much progress you’ve made.
The game is split into four major sections, one for each of the three immortals you’re after, plus the Lost Cemetery, which acts as a hub of sorts. The world is quite fun to explore, with plenty of collectibles to find, plus a few unlockable tools at your disposal (including a very familiar hookshot…). Now, touching on the aforementioned Zelda vibes, if you’re expecting traditional Zelda dungeons, you’re not going to find that. Puzzles are fairly basic in this game, with a lot of them revolving around lighting torches and whatnot. But as I already mentioned, there are plenty of secrets to discover, and they do require some exploration and poking around to find. A few shrines (for obtaining crystals that increase your health or magic) are actually hidden quite well, but you can get help from a bizarre character named Jefferson. Without his tips, I would have never found a few things…
Death’s Door is an amazing game and one of the best I’ve played in a while. Frankly, I just wish it was longer, as three major locations, besides the Lost Cemetery, were not enough for me. Nevertheless, with all the collectibles and some post-game content (including a secret ending), that does serve to round the game out a bit more. Death’s Door is available on all major consoles and Steam for $19.99, though you can sometimes find it on sale for half off, or more, if you’re lucky. The game can take roughly 10-20 hours, depending on whether or not you’re just beating the main game or getting 100%.
Banner image from official Nintendo eShop