Review for Othercide. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 28/07/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 30/09/2020
From the blood of a mother, Daughters were born, who at the same time sacrifice themselves to save a child from suffering. This family theme isn't the only aspect of Othercide to be interesting, because the turn-based strategy video game with an all-female subject presents some beautiful features, both in terms of gameplay and structure.
Although an intense journey into the human soul is missing as in The Last of Us: Part II, certainly there will be no lack of blood shed by many enemies and daughters. Especially the latter, as the game was designed to make you lose numerous times, with the aim of starting over but always in a slightly different way.
The plot is intentionally unclear at first because Othercide throws a lot of information into the player's head without explaining the connection or context, in order to leave room for the greater immediacy that characterizes the gameplay. So how does the narration happen? The lore as well as being perfectly constructed is explained through the voice of the Mother and the cutscenes containing the defeated bosses within them.
That said, selecting a new game immediately starts the action while being guided by a clear and concise tutorial. Once passed, it will be necessary to defeat the enemies in the different missions called "synapses" through the use of the Daughters on the very small battlefields, and then inevitably come to collide with the boss.
Quite similar to XCOM: Enemy Unknown units level up by defeating enemies and completing missions, and then unlocking a new skill slot that is filled by choosing one of two different skills while their stats will increase by themselves.
Compared to the title just mentioned, Othercide, however, takes a leap further through the implementation of memories and traits. Memories are upgrades that can be obtained by defeating enemies and that can be inserted individually within each skill slot, while traits are earned in the same way but are non-modifiable bonuses that remain even after death.
The fights follow a timeline in which characters with a higher initiative value act first, quite similar to the turn order shown in Wasteland 2. Each of the Daughters each turn has 100 action points, and move or take instant defined actions there. consume. If more than 50 points are used in a turn the unit will fatigue, thus delaying its turn in the timeline by 100 initiative points.
There is a skill category called interruptions, which, as can be understood from the name itself, allow you to interrupt an enemy attack and counterattack through a cost in health, and not in action points like most of the other skills. However, it should not be abused, as the only way to restore the life points of one of your units is to sacrifice one of the other Daughters of equal or higher level.
But don't despair, because it is always possible to create new soldiers by spending vitae, the game currency that is earned by completing missions. It is also possible to resurrect the fallen through the use of tokens, which can also be earned as a reward for certain missions.
That said, sooner or later we will have to face the boss of the end of each era, and it will not be easy. It will get lost very often, and in that case it will be necessary to start all over again. This repetition does not take place in a punitive way, but through bonuses called remembrances that can be acquired through cumulative points. This is a similar mechanic to the one in A Legionary's Life.
For the product developed by Lightbulb Crew and published by Focus Home Interactive, the Unity graphics engine was used. The edges of the characters are very sweet and soft, the animations of the Daughters are scenic and fluid, but at the same time the textures are not very detailed if not almost invisible. The style includes the use of only black and white colors with the exception of red which is highlighted, similarly to what has already been seen in Darkwood.
Precisely because the game wants to be dynamic and spectacular, there is some great rock-metal music that will hound at certain moments of the fight.
Othercide is a videogame with a particular design, with a decidedly procedural gameplay but still literally repetitive for how it was rightly conceived. The style and animation of the models created, the music, finally the way in which the impeccable lore is explained make the title a valid product to buy and play, especially for those looking for a game with dynamic and immediate gameplay.
► Othercide is a Strategy-Tactical-indie game published by Focus Home Interactive for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the game was released on 28/07/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 30/09/2020
