Othercide

Bathed in grey tones, stark blacks and whites, and pungent splashes of red, Othercide is a remarkable feast for the eyes. Its visual palette will burrow into the memory for years to come, a game that looks so distinct.

I was afraid that, unlike its Gothic appeal, Othercide‘s gameplay would flounder under the weight of an unmatched aesthetic promise. Surely something this stylish couldn’t also play well? Thankfully, developer Lightbulb Crew used its expressive, painterly hand to thread a needle through every inch of code. Other, familiar concepts are sewn into Othercide and yes, players may have encountered a mechanic or narrative beat before. Yet there are few games of this caliber that initially capture with the eyes and ultimately follow through hour after hour.

But seriously, look at this game.

Suffering. Daughters. Red Mother. Remembrances. Othercide densely packs its story with weighty nouns, emphasizing their significance from the start. Initially, it all makes enough sense to set an eerie mood that any Bloodborne fans will be enraptured by. Opening scenes flash back and forth between decades while a codex of lore details events from centuries ago. Players will get a sense that Othercide takes place in a late 1800s/early 1900s era where some kind of plague has ravaged its city streets. Battles play out on cobblestone roads lit by tall, ominous lamps.

Then, suddenly, a new fight takes place in an otherworldly realm ripped straight from the demonic hellscape of Kentaro Miura’s Berserk. Grotesque statues jut from the surface of a strange dimension, effigies of untold horrors–or simply the ones right in front of you. In Othercide, the enemies players fight rarely strike a passing resemblance to humans. Many of the bipedal forces wear plague doctor masks and wield guns or scythes, but even they are birthed onto the battlefield from a strange black soup. Dog-like creatures sprout tentacles from their bodies or excrete poison from fanged maws.

Othercide uses thick yet elusive symbolism to dole out droplets of narrative between its bouts of death and recollection. It all may seem obtuse at first, what with a figure known as The Mother giving parts of her soul to spawn Daughters that beat back the forces of Suffering. Inch by inch players will gain insight into The Veil and how it acts as a kind of safeguard between dimensions; how Suffering is actually a force called an Other who cast their influence over a figure known as The Child, who began the calamities found in Othercide.

I never found myself explicity confused by Othercide‘s method of telling a story. As a long time Souls devourer, loose threads that can be dissected and eventually tied together are wonderful ways to invite players into caring about a story for more than just its basic whole. After encountering the game’s first boss, The Doctor, players will gain a sense into the kind of twisted, Silent Hill approach Lightbulb Crew takes. The Doctor is more than just a towering, obese sack of flesh. His deformed plague mask and oppressive scissors are meant to intimidate players in combat but express some kind of terror inflicted upon The Child.

Cutscenes and dialog aim to unravel just a bit of the mystique for players. In a delightful implementation of a codex, narrative bits are doled out in a way that actually aids players and further justifies mechanics of the game. But, in my excitement, I realize I am getting ahead of myself.

Much like its story, Othercide plays as a carefully constructed web of mechanics that begin to supplement each other in successive bursts. As a tactical strategy game in the vein of recent XCOMs, Othercide‘s action unfolds on dark scenes that are actually clusters of squares where character and enemy actions transpire. The game begins with a tutorial as The Mother, a capable force that sacrifices her power to create the Daughters players will use in combat.

Those with a grasp on turn-based games won’t be frightened by anything Othercide offers, outside of the expectation that death will come frequently. Daughters act on a timeline in teams ranging from one to four units. Each Daughter starts the fight with 100 Action Points (AP) that are spent on movement or using skills. The effect these actions have on the course of battle are displayed at the bottom of the screen in a timeline that also shows when to anticipate the actions of enemies. Spend more than 50 AP in a turn and that Daughter’s next action will be pushed further down the timeline in a mechanic called Burst Mode.

Burst Mode has its uses, mainly for playing aggressively and consuming more points to completely kill an enemy and wipe them off the timeline. At first, I consistently sent a Daughter into Burst Mode to speed through battles, eating up AP to kill as many enemies as possible. However, this strategy soon becomes less viable as players select more difficult missions and enemy diversity keeps the action in check.

Othercide is not a game where players can casually send their troops off into the thick of battle and constantly gain the upper hand. Sacrifice becomes a mechanic that players will become intimately familiar with soon into their first outing. Eventually, there comes a point where the Daughters will fall and progress will lightly reset itself.

Runs in Othercide are called Recollections, measured in the days that end when all Daughters die or fail to beat a main boss at the end of a week of fighting. During the first Recollection, players will see a large scope of what Othercide has to offer in its gameplay. But it isn’t until resetting that the game fully sinks its roguelike teeth in.

Players are expected to cherish the lives of every Daughter they come across because each one is preciously fragile, despite their prowess in combat. During each Recollection players can birth three Daughters of any of the game’s three classes: Blademaster, Shieldbearer, and Soulslinger. Blademasters are high-damage units that move in for the kill, Shieldbearers act as supporters or debuffers, and Soulslingers use guns to attack from a distance.

The interplay between these three classes isn’t truly revealed until players begin to level them up and unlock new skills that can be used in combat. While every Daughter comes equipped with a basic damage-dealing attack that costs anywhere from 25-30 AP, attention should be paid when selecting a skill and how it influences the timeline. A Daughter’s turn without going into Burst Mode normally allows for a short movement across the grid and one skill. However, there are skills a player can use that sacrifice a Daughter’s health, layering on new opportunities.

In an early map layout, my three Daughters started in one corner of the screen most of the enemies scattered far off in an opposite direction. When the round started, though, two ranged enemies engaged an attack that forced them to wait one turn before firing their guns and dealing massive damage. For a Blademaster or Shieldbearer to get in range, they would have to move along the grid past a canyon, forcing them into Burst Mode and hoping they could fell both enemies before their next turn came. With a Soulslinger, I was in range to execute four attacks at 25 AP each and kill the enemies so they weren’t a problem, allowing my other two units to prepare for the next turns.

Because the timeline shows the influence of every action taken by both sides of combat, it’s crucial for players to be mindful in how they can manipulate fights in their favor. As Daughters grow in power, players are given the option to select one of two skills for that class to learn. Many of these higher level skills focus on increased mobility or intercepting and hindering enemies. The Shieldbearer can slam down her shield to not only cause damage but delay when an enemy attacks. The Soulslinger can shoot an enemy attacking another Daughter in range, interrupting that attack. The Blademaster can build up for a reactionary move that counters an enemy melee attack.

Eventually, players will learn how to string combos together to safeguard Daughters or line up the timeline so the enemy rarely gets a turn. But what happens when a Daughter gets hurt? In Othercide, the only way to heal a Daughter is by sacrificing another of equal level. Do you have a Daughter that has grown exponentially and acquired passive traits that make her essential in battle? Over time its likely she has taken significant damage and will die if sent into the fray again. Initially I thought the mechanic of sacrificing a Daughter to heal another would be a cheap get out jail free card. By requiring both Daughters to be of equal level means that a second equally important unit will have to be taken away. As compensation, the healed Daughter will carry on a part of the one sacrificed, meaning she will forever gain a stat boost.

If a Daughter does die, they will be sent to a graveyard that is able to “store” the corpses of a few dozen Daughters for a potential resurrection. A Daughter can be revived but it is quite a rare occurrence, requiring a Resurrection token or as a reward through completing a rescue mission. New Daughters can be created by using Vitae, a currency that is granted after the completion of a mission.

It is advisable to create a small stable of Daughters both new and old early during a Recollection. After one Synapse–or mission–the Daughters players have used will need to rest, meaning that no new missions can be taken. With at least six or seven Daughters available, players can tackle two missions a day and maximize their reward potential and ability to create a new Daughter in a pinch. Keep in mind, however, that it’s highly unlikely low level Daughters will be able to defeat main bosses. Instead, try to think of your secondary party of Daughters as an increasingly stronger batch of potions that you hopefully not need to use.

Othercide‘s mechanic of growing in strength after death is used through Remembrances. Remembrances are bonuses applied during a single Recollection that are unlocked after completing certain milestones. From defeating bosses, killing a specific number of enemies, dealing a set number of damage, or creating more Daughters, Remembrances are used to gain further power in a run. Players may opt for Remembrances that buff the maximum HP of Daughters or start them out at Level 4. One Remembrance grants a Resurrection token right at the beginning or places the player further along week, allowing them to skip fights.

Remembrances are purchased using Shards which are awarded after the start of a new Recollection and based on how many missions were completed. It pays to fight to the bitter end in Othercide because it means that players will come out on the other end with more currency to enhance their current party. And if there was a particularly stinging loss of a Daughter, there were options to always bring them back.

The ebb and flow of death in battle was enjoyable in Othercide but infrequently had drawbacks. Boss fights were incredible, puzzling rounds that asked players to parse out specific mechanics. Seeing a new enemy often meant trouble as it was an unknown quantity that should always be approached with caution. That being said, I eventually found the option to increase battle speed handy as watching enemies enter battle and move around became slow. Most of the in-game text is terribly small, even on a large screen. I had to squint from a distance or move my face up to a monitor when playing.

On a PlayStation 4 Pro, I found Othercide to run quite well but came across issues when selecting skills and moving around the grid. Often when selecting a skill to perform, I instinctually moved the thumbstick which made it appear like the enemy and skill were not selected by becoming greyed out. I would have to exit the skill selection menu and activate it again to figure out what I was doing. After a bit of time I got used to it but was never sure if it was a bug or just an annoying quirk.

What I truly enjoyed from Othercide was being completely wrapped up in its world that was expressed both visually and through gameplay. Small touches that may have been lost in other games came to light here. Players can attach Memories to Daughters’ skills that act as buffs to damage, defense, or the effect on the timeline. Though players lose Memories when starting a new Recollection, they are permanently unlocked and visible in a tab on the codex. These Memories represent actual events from The Mother’s life, bridging the gap between gameplay and narrative.

By looking at enemies in the codex, players will be able to not only get eerie tidbits about what they are fighting but also see what the actual tactics for these enemies are in battle. Reading through these entries, players can actually understand how to manipulate fights by recognizing what enemies might target the Daughter with the lowest health or the one farthest from them on the grid. This even applies to boss strategies.

Othercide does not want you to fail. It wants you to learn, to accept loss, to make bold sacrifices. Lightbulb Crew has designed a beautiful game with truly stunning imagery. But just as striking is the attention to detail in its gameplay. This dark, broken world is meant to be tamed by players who seek out the boldest strategies to purge evil forces. Caring for the Daughters, understanding their quirks and randomly-generated names and looks will create an inseparable bond that lasts not only for the first run but every subsequent one. There are several secrets to unfold in Othercide but it’s little secret that it is one of the best strategy games to have graced us in years.