One of the very first games officially announced for the next-gen PS5 was Godfall, a game described as a “looter slasher.” Akin to that of Destiny or Borderlands, CounterPlay Games is crafting an epic fantasy game all about slashing monsters with the coolest gear players can find. Various weapons and legendary armor sets, called “Valorplates,” are designed to mesh together to create a highly customizable experience tailored to every play style. In practice, though, much of the gameplay shown hasn’t entirely proven that concept.
The biggest thing about loot games, other than having satisfying gameplay, is the loot progression and customization. In Godfall, the weapons and Valorplates are meant to be the source of that progression. So far, the only gameplay shown in major conferences this year has been strictly combat and exploring the game world. The only information about loot progression, Valorplate augmentation, skills, and abilities has come from word of mouth. This game is a PS5 launch game, and yet very little has been seen from these systems.
There’s been plenty of combat and world exploration gameplay shown of Godfall, but that’s about it. None of the intricate systems of loot progression and abilities, as described in interviews with development about the game, have been shown physically in-game. Gamescom’s Opening Night Live had a teaser for Godfall that was legitimately only 30 seconds long, had zero in-game music or commentary from a developer, and only showed off one piece of armor. This kind of content is already expected from a game like Godfall, but for that to be the game’s only appearance during ONL is concerning.
Now granted, Godfall‘s CounterPlay Games also had a bit of a deep-dive interview in Opening Night Live’s post show. Again, this was another case of showing off combat gameplay, with only a description of the loot progression and abilities coming to the game. Players have not yet seen any elements of HUD UI, the constellation-like skill trees as described by game director Keith Lee, nor any of the special attributes from different Valorplates. For a game all about gathering loot and customizing play styles, there’s a serious lack of information on how exactly to do so.
Godfall‘s biggest pitfall is going to be justifying its use of loot grinding and ability progression throughout the game. Godfall does have an endgame, so it’s not meant to be an evergreen game as a service, but the core gameplay systems are still shrouded in mystery. It’s almost September, meaning Godfall is due out to PlayStation 5 in three months, give or take. The intricate progression that’s tied to the core of the game still hasn’t been shown running in-game, period. Hearing from word of mouth about a core gameplay system is never a good sign.
Granted, there’s still time for ironing out some of the kinks, but at bare minimum players should at least have a general idea or visualization as to how progression functions in Godfall. This lack of information should be concerning for invested fans or those who are mildly interested in playing Godfall later this year. There should be a general framework shown off how these systems are meant to justify the loot grind, bit where’s been plenty of developer descriptions of how these systems will work, nothing running in-game has been shown publicly.
Just to clarify, that’s no criticism on the gameplay itself. As a co-op brawler, Godfall looks like it could be genuinely fun to oppress bosses with well coordinated attacks from teammates. The idea of equipping different epic armor sets to mix up play styles and combat roles adds elements of depth to the dungeon crawling and boss fights that could be interesting. It’s just that there’s a huge blind spot when it comes to how these play styles are changed with different Valorplates and weapons,
This is a severe blind spot for any game that’s marketing its main gameplay loop as the requisition of gear and customizing abilities. There’s a chance that this could change soon, assuming Godfall receives another State of Play presentation dedicated to the game itself. Either that or more Gamescom coverage brings this information to light, but considering CounterPlay’s game director already did an exclusive interview, it’s not likely. For now, with little known about the actual progression in-game, players don’t have a concrete idea as to how the grinding and exploring for loot is justified in Godfall. That’s not an encouraging sign for a game likely coming out in three months.
Godfall launches holiday 2020 for PC and PS5.
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