Version tested: Xbox One - Early Access
A little girl, lost alone in a hostile environment reminiscent of a macabre Halloween party. This is the climate that is created by Don't Die, Minerva, title of Xaviant Games coming up Xbox One e PC. In a growing challenge, we will have to repeatedly defeat the Lord of the building to try to free ourselves from the nightmare that surrounds us.
What game is it?
Don't Die, Minerva it's a roguelike with procedurally generated levels. We take on the role of Minerva, a little girl who finds herself in a strange courtyard surrounded by buildings. Each building is composed of procedural levels generated on several floors, in the last of which is a boss: the Lord of the building.
Each bossfight unlocks the next zone and introduces a new ally with whom you can interact. The allies, in addition to unveiling some of the mysteries surrounding Minerva, allow you to invest the crystals obtained by exploring the levels and convert them into upgrades. The moment you are defeated, all the objects obtained in the run are lost, except for the upgrades made through the NPCs. The more upgrades you get, the easier the next run will be.
The gameplay of Don't Die, Minerva picks up on games like The Binding of Isaac. Minerva has a small torch with which she can hit enemies by directing the beam. You can find improved versions of the flashlight that have alternate firing modes. We then move from the classic beam of the torch, to a laser that hits close enemies or a powerful fire mode that hits enemies within an area. In addition to the main weapon, the child has a melee attack. It too can have drop variants in the levels. There are also some inseparable stuffed animals that will help the little girl. THE pet they are powerful weapons and Minerva can place them on the battlefield at any time. Each animal has different behaviors and damage based on rarity and level. The player can equip a maximum of two pets that can be deployed at the same time.
An important element with which we had to familiarize ourselves during the gameplay are the synergies. There are in fact four elemental powers that can be combined with each other and add attributes to Minerva's equipment. They are: fire, ice, electricity and light. Each of them grants players unique perks (electricity increases torch damage, fire increases pet damage, light increases HP, and frost increases damage resistance). It will be up to the players to decide which elements to focus on and build their build so that the synergy is high.
What did we like?
The synergies of Don't Die, Minerva they follow a very simple logic to learn but equally effective. It took us a couple of runs to understand that it is not possible to have a high level in each of them and that the best strategy is to choose a couple to bet on. This forces players to take a more tactical approach and to carefully evaluate which attributes they want to focus on to get out of the nightmare alive.
Don't Die, Minerva creates a spooky atmosphere, with an engaging and apt soundtrack. Each setting has differences from the previous ones and makes the scenarios always varied and not very repetitive. Both the furnishings and part of the enemies hark back to the Halloween tradition. The rooms don't just contain enemies, there are also secret chambers and hidden treasures that develop Minerva's abilities. The music is pressing and adds frenzy to the gameplay, varying in compositions more than setting in the rooms that contain treasures or upgrades.
There are many different enemies, each of them with custom attack types. This makes the challenge of Don't Die, Minerva definitely interesting. Furthermore, between one bossfight and another, the enemies change completely, demonstrating the great effort made by Xaviant in the title design.
What didn't we like?
The version we have is one early access which is plagued by some rather noticeable lag. These, however, are limited to the moments when you exit the elevators between floors, i.e. during level loads. Once the level is generated, the clashes with the enemies always remain extremely fluid and the lags disappear.
We also experienced some glitches with certain weapons, which do not allow you to kill enemies in some cases. You can easily compensate with the help of companions or with the melee attack but, at the moment, it is best to avoid using those weapons. As this is an early access, it is likely that these issues are already being resolved.
Final comment
Don't Die, Minerva it's an interesting title. It presents the classic mechanics of roguelikes and introduces some innovations, such as pets, which distinguish the gameplay. Furthermore, the setting and the music are extremely accurate and pleasant to see. The version we tested has some flaws but, all in all, the game is fluid and absolutely enjoyable. We are confident that, upon its official release, Don't Die, Minerva it will be an absolutely valid title.
