Morkredd review
Morkredd is a unique co-op puzzle game where players control two shadows, a man and a woman, who have to traverse an oppressive dark environment filled with lush architecture and full of strange creature Stepping into the darkness means instant death, so players have to stick to their light source, which changes the entire game. At first, it was a bright light that players had to follow, and then it was an orb that the player could move around.
The majority of Morkredd is spent spinning a glowing orb around, teaming up with a partner to push it together as well as solving puzzles that pop up along the way. The gimmick is that, with the orb being a light source itself, it casts player characters with shadows that can kill their partner. It forces players to think about navigating the environment in a way they’re not used to in this type of game, and while it can be frustrating at times, it’s a unique gimmick that helps Morkredd stand out from the sea of similar indie game on the market.
Morkredd is a game clearly built for co-op play in mind, although without online support, it’s good that the developers have included an option to play through the game solo. When playing Morkredd solo, the left side of the controller controls one character, while the right side of the controller controls the other. It’s a bit difficult at first, but players will soon be able to control both characters at the same time with little confusion. A quick press of the button allows players to switch which character is controlled by which stick, which is a big help when trying to keep everything organized.
However, playing Morkredd solo is still not the ideal way to experience the game. Some of the puzzles and timing challenges are more difficult when playing solo versus co-op, and there is some added frustration as a result. It’s nice that the option exists at all for those who don’t have a co-op partner handy, but it definitely loses some entertainment value when playing the game alone.
Morkredd’s solo control scheme is reminiscent of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the first game from Josef Fares. And indeed, Morkredd seems to be directly inspired by that game. Aside from having very similar control schemes, the games look similar, with similar camera angles and a story told mostly through actions rather than words. Some of the puzzles also harken back to Brothers, so fans of that game might want to give Morkredd a try.
Fortunately, Morkredd is currently available through Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service that gives players access to hundreds of games. Because of this, many players can try out Morkredd without spending any extra money. And honestly, that might be the best way to experience the game, since it’s only been a few hours and it has some pretty serious technical issues that prevent it from reaching its full potential.
Morkredd crashed several times during our play sessions, and had game-breaking bugs on more than one occasion. In a sequence where the crew is rowing a boat, the camera swings behind a structure and stays there, revealing a concrete slab that makes it impossible to see where the boat is going, and therefore it is impossible to proceed to the next part of the story without it. reloading the checkpoint. At another time, it will not allow one of the player characters to drop an item, which is necessary to solve a puzzle. Again, the only fix is to reset the game.
Issues like this don’t run well in any video game, but they’re especially problematic in puzzle games. Players may not realize that their game is bugged to begin with, and thus may find themselves banging their head against the wall trying to solve a puzzle that is not technically possible for them to solve. without reloading the checkpoint.
Even if Morkredd works perfectly, however, it’s still not the easiest game to recommend. While this can be a fun local co-op riot, the experience feels hollow towards the end. The story doesn’t go anywhere interesting, and by the time they reach the conclusion, many players may feel like they’ve wasted their time with the game. There’s a power fantasy moment near the end that could have made it all more worthwhile, recalling a certain sequence in Inside, but it didn’t go quite as well as it should have due to some wonky controls.
One thing Morkedd has going for it, though, is diversity. While that power fantasy moment at the end of the game kind of flops, it still represents a pretty significant departure from previous gameplay mechanics, and that’s something the game does throughout. Players always have to keep light sources in mind and always think about where to move to avoid being killed by shadows, but each area offers new gameplay mechanics that shake up this formula. Yes, Morkredd players spend most of the game spinning around the glowing orb, but the dangers they have to face and puzzles they have to solve are completely different from one area to the next.
Each area is visually unique as well, with one of Morkredd’s strongest suits being its visual presentation and art style. On paper, it seems like a game almost shrouded in darkness is boring to look at, but even a short time with Morkredd shows that’s not the case. Sometimes players explore what appears to be an ancient stone temple of some kind, and other times they work their way across fleshy bridges that seem to be part of a larger entity. Morkredd is both beautiful and ridiculous, with some truly striking cinematic shots accompanied by horrific images, such as endlessly growing, huge pimples that repeatedly burst with pus.
While some of its depictions may make gamers feel dizzy, Morkredd otherwise has great graphics and runs at a crisp frame rate with no hiccups or slowdowns. The game certainly looks like it enjoyed a boost from Xbox Series X optimization, but it’s hard to see why it would run worse on last-gen hardware, as it doesn’t appear to be all that a game demands.
Morkredd looks great and works well when it’s not held back by its technical issues, which are too serious to ignore. Those looking for a local co-op game to play on Xbox Game Pass might still want to give it a try, but if not, it might be better to wait for some of the kinks to be ironed out first.
Morkredd is out now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Today Technology reviewed the game on Xbox Series X.