Death's
Gambit

Death's Gambit (2018) is a running, jumping and fighting game where you defeat enemies, collect weapons and progress through levels. Drawing on the platforming of games like the Castlevania and Metroid games, it adds difficult and precise combat akin to that found in Dark Souls and Demon's Souls or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, creating a unique blend of exploration, combat and narrative. The game was updated in 2021 with a free expansion, Afterlife, which expands the story, refines the combat system, and adds more levels, bosses and weapons.

---

You play as Sorun Galbraith, who is sent to the realm of Aldwynn on a quest to uncover the source of eternal life and find your long-lost mother, but on the way, you and your comrades are killed. When Death arrives to collect your souls, he resurrects you, allowing you to continue your quest, albeit in eternal service to him. On your mission, you must find and kill all other immortal beings, in order to become immortal yourself.

Gameplay involves exploring the maze-like levels and fighting enemies to progress. Each of the 20+ levels has a boss fight, in which you'll need to use precise button presses, skill and tactical play to overcome their immense strength. As you go, you unlock new abilities and items that will allow you to get to previously unreachable areas from earlier in the game, in a non-linear progression structure.

It's the way that it combines difficult and detailed combat systems with the non-linear, exploration-focused platforming elements that makes it a unique game to play, which rewards skill and perseverance.

---

Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Death's Gambit 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 20 months ago.