[Review] Godfall – Playstation 5

  • Developer: Counterplay Games
  • Publisher: Gearbox Publishing
  • Release Date: 12/11/2020
  • Price: £69.99 / $69.99 [UK / US]
  • Game played on PS5

Introducing Godfall PS5 Review

When Godfall was shown off at the Game Awards in 2019, I was thoroughly intrigued. Not much was mentioned at first, but it was labeled as a loot driven action RPG, similar to Diablo. Fast-forward to summer 2020 and controversy reared its ugly head, as this title would be one of the titles sporting the newer and higher price tags. It also required a constant connection to the internet to play, even in single player. With all these snares, I still decided this would be THE game I bought at launch. Was my choice worth it, or did I end up with buyer’s remorse?

I Need More Sigils

Godfall starts off with two brothers, Orin and Macros, ruling together as a team. But, all things gold cannot stay. Macros’s lust for power leads him to turn on Orin and kill him, but he didn’t finish the job. As Orin, you awaken at the bottom of a ravine, worse for wear, but alive. Gathering what strength and allies you still have; Orin sets out for revenge against Macros.

The story unfolds over a series of missions, and while it never becomes Christopher Nolan levels of plot, its basic enough to move from A to B. Orin must gain power and slowly chip away from Macros’ army, while making sure he doesn’t rise to the power of a god. It’s safe, and it never adds any curveballs or twists, but it doesn’t need to, the gameplay is why Godfall exists.

Speak to the Seventh Sanctum

Godfall was made to be an action game that is played with friends. Sadly, there wasn’t a matchmaking section in the game, so if your friends aren’t playing Godfall, then you are not playing it online. With this said, I experienced the whole of the game in single player. Hopefully, Gearbox will find a way to implement matchmaking into the title, if not, then I will continue to play Godfall in single player for the immediate future.

The nuts and bolts of Godfall seem to work out perfectly. Orin can have two different weapons equipped at any time, switching between them and racking up tons of loot in the process. That is the main hook of the game, getting stronger items, cooler gear, and destroying thousands of enemies in the process. There are story missions, but most of them just require you to kill a boss or activate a beacon, which usually leads to a showdown of some sort.

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it is very competent at what it does. The combat feels smooth and the loot is constantly flowing. Even after the main story is over, more challenges are unlocked which offer more gameplay. If I did have a solid group to play this with, I could see myself putting even more time into it than I already have! Gearbox has recently put out an update roadmap, which shows they plan to keep working on Godfall into the foreseeable future, so if you are looking for a game with legs, this isn’t a bad option.

The Tower of Trials

From the first moment I saw Godfall, I thought it was a visually stunning title. The levels can feel a bit empty at times when you are traversing them and not destroying the hordes. It never feels ugly or lifeless, it is closer to stumbling upon an ancient world that hasn’t had contact in years. The character models are very stylized and when you go on a hunt mission, you get a nice close up of the boss characters. I really enjoyed this as it showed off all the little details.

The music in Godfall was very cinematic, epic and booming. This is great at times, but often gets lost in the experience. I never found myself humming along or anything, but I never disliked it either. The voice acting in Godfall was well done. A cool note about Orin is that changing his Valorplate (armor set) changes the voice actor. I didn’t try out all of the sets but having various male and female actors record his lines is an impressive feat.

Even Gods Fall

While venturing through the realms, I only experienced one crash in the game. With both a new console and a brand-new title, I found this to be acceptable. I would have preferred no crashes, but it happened very early in a mission, so my time to recoup was minimal. Speaking of minimal, the load times present in Godfall are quite small. They never felt long, even when jumping back and forth between hunt missions, which can be quite shorter than standard missions.

Final Thoughts

Godfall isn’t a perfect game by any means. The $70 price tag can be a bit scary if you are unsure of the title’s longevity. It is a fundamentally solid game, but it isn’t necessarily groundbreaking by any means. If you and a group of friends are wanting to get together and make a ‘god fall’, then this could be a good option or if you are a die-hard action RPG fan looking to see what the PS5 can do, this is also a pretty good title. Everyone else may want to wait for a sale.

Pros

  • Tight Action
  • Crisp Graphics
  • Great Voicework

Cons

  • No Matchmaking
  • $70 price tag
  • Doesn’t do anything new

Verdict
Godfall is a solid launch title for the PS5, but it may be forgotten in the next year as it doesn’t reinvent the wheel.