Netflix’s Death’s Door review - "A cute dungeon crawler with vicious combat"

• Unique and compelling plot
• Overly sensitive controls
• Beautiful world to explore

Widely underestimated, the crow is an exceptionally intelligent bird capable of befriending individuals and holding grudges against them, and the crow protagonist of Netflix's Death's Door is certainly able to hold a grudge. Created by Acid Nerve and 22nd Century Toys, Netflix’s Death’s Door is an isometric dungeon crawler mobile RPG in which a sword-wielding crow takes on an epic journey.

Death’s Door storyline

You play as a crow tasked with reaping souls as a Reaper’s Commission employee. For the most part, working for the Lord of Doors is a tedious, thankless job. You spend most of your time in the office, occasionally travelling to reap specific souls. While working at the office of the Reapers Commission, you and your coworkers are immune to death. Once you step onto the mortal plane, however, you're always one wrong move from entering the afterlife yourself.

After a thief steals the souls you’ve reaped, you quest to uncover death's secrets. Along your journey, you'll stumble upon dungeons where death is no longer working as it should and it's up to you to figure out why. The game’s concept is unique, and as you delve deeper into Death's Door, you'll find that the plot only grows more engaging.

Graphics and gameplay

One of the first things you'll notice upon launching Death's Door is the simplistic yet breathtaking graphics. Friends and foes alike are adorably rendered, and the cold beauty of the environment will have you itching to explore. However, while the game features a simplistic style, combat can be incredibly challenging.

As the game’s feathered protagonist, you can have one melee weapon and one ranged weapon equipped. You’ll start out with a sword and bow but will find more weapons as you progress. While your weapons are integral to taking down enemies, you'll need to utilize dodge as well if you're going to survive some of the game's harsher battles.

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Battling one or two baddies won’t typically cause you too much distress, but when it's just you, your sword and bow against a group of enemies, expect a challenge. You’ll need to understand your enemies if you’re going to beat them. Some enemies can simply be hacked and slashed away, while others require you to plan your moves strategically.

What really makes Death’s Door so challenging is a combination of the game's controls and the fact that it's relatively easy to fall to your death. You control your crow with a virtual joystick and tap buttons to interact, dodge and use melee and ranged attacks. Overall, this is a fairly typical layout.

Controls can be clunky

Unfortunately, the controls can be a bit touchy, making it all too easy to miss your mark or dash right off a bridge when dodging an attack. On the one hand, the game’s difficulty is part of its appeal. Nothing makes you feel as euphoric as overcoming a particularly challenging enemy. Still, the touchy controls make for some incredibly frustrating moments. There are more rewarding ways to make a game challenging than difficult-to-master controls.

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Collect enough souls and you’ll be able to upgrade your stats by visiting Darwin, the Vault Keeper in the Reapers Commission Headquarters. Upgrading your strength increases the amount of damage you deal with melee attacks and the reach of your weapon. You can also upgrade Dexterity to charge attacks faster, Magic to increase the damage of spells and ranged attacks, or Haste to move at a quicker pace. Each upgrade improves your chances of survival, which helps to offset the challenging controls.

Netflix’s Death’s Door is a gorgeous action-adventure game with a satisfying and intriguing plot. The game features challenging battles against a plethora of interest-piquing foes and features stunning environments. However, the game's sensitive controls can make for some seriously frustrating gaming sessions. Still, if you have the patience and determination of a crow, you’re sure to reap tons of rewards - and souls in Death’s Door.