DEATH’S DOOR
Though Inkle has 2021’s best ‘game over’ moment sewn up with Overboard’s “Oh, bollocks”, Acid Nerve can lay a strong claim to the silver medal. Perish here – and you will, even though this isn’t quite as unforgiving as the studio’s one-hit-kill debut Titan Souls – and ‘DEATH’ appears in giant text against a stark black background, the site of your demise visible through the letters as a chord of doom sounds loudly.
It’s a darkly amusing reminder of the business you’re in. You play a crow, working for the Reaping Commission, who must harvest the souls of the deceased, venturing through magical doors in this monochromatic world to more colourful realms and returning when the job is done. Things quickly go awry, however, when a thief knocks you aside and whisks off the soul you’ve been assigned to collect. Getting it back, it turns out, is not going to be that straightforward – not least when you catch up with your assailant and they suggest a counter-offer to the monotony of your current existence.
Which isn’t to say Death’s Door is remotely tiresome. Though its challenge is still exacting, Acid Nerve has broadened the scope beyond its debut. There are boss fights here, and they are still tense and thrilling, and your opponents are still striking in their design (one early challenge sees you facing off against a laser-firing, rocket-powered cathedral). But in between you have smaller groups of enemies to fight, corkscrewing environments to traverse and puzzles to solve. It’s an isometric Zelda, in essence, with a dash of Hyper Light Drifter in its combat: landing melee strikes replenishes a meter that allows you to attack from range, whether you’re firing arrows or lobbing projectile spells.
That’s an appetising combination, and it works beautifully, in no small part thanks to how it all feels. Sword attacks are precise and have real impact: a charged swing gives you more control than Link’s spin attack, with a brisk roll letting you dodge counterattacks easily. There’s a generous degree of auto-aim on arrows and fireballs, which are used outside combat to smash vases, activate braziers and stoke furnaces. You face a range of smaller enemies between bosses, but there are shortcuts to open and checkpoint doors that allow you to return to the office and spend the soul energy you’ve accrued on stat upgrades.
Familiar ideas, in other words, though it’s rare to find them executed quite so well, and the fascinating settings (a witchy mansion is soundtracked by screeching souls and eerie whispers) and judicious drip-feed of narrative make it hard to put down. Four hours in, we’re confident Acid Nerve has plenty to crow about.
It’s an isometric Legend Of Zelda, in essence, with a dash of Hyper Light Drifter in its combat