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Godfall takes place on world of Aperion, and you play as Orin, one of the last Valorian Knights. They are warriors who are able to wield immense power channeled through Valorplates, specialized armors that are essentially different “builds” or classes. Orin will travel to various regions in Aperion in search of powerful allies while doing battle with the lackeys of Macros, his brother who betrayed him and all of Valorian Knights in pursuit to become godlike using a dangerous ritual called the Rites Of Ascension. Being one of the rumored Playstation Plus free titles for the month of December, I thought now would be an appropriate time to touch on Godfall seeing as there may hopefully be an influx of new players. I say hopefully because Godfall is sort of a mixed bag, and I think might have a bit more appeal now as opposed to its initial release. Mileage may vary for players depending on the what they are ultimately hoping to expect from the game.

Combat is really the strongest element of the game. Each Valorplate has a specific build in mind, which can be fully realized once you start investing in some abilities to round out your skillset. The most efficient method of destruction is to build up Breach damage, a bar under the enemy Health bar, and doing so allows you to deal massive damage, even moreso if you target enemies weak points. The two skills you will be using and abusing will be your Northern and Southern Technique. One applies heavy damage while the other applies heavy Breach damage. Utilizing these in tandem with your light attacks and heavy attacks will allow you to dispatch enemies quickly. Polarity attacks are another aspect that makes it worthwhile to actually switch up your weapons. Once your gauge is built up, swapping to your 2nd weapon will let out a shockwave of damage, and provide a damage buff. Let’s not forget your shield that is of course useful for blocking, also serves as an awesome Captain America-esque weapon that can be thrown and is very satisfying knocking enemies on their asses. To cap it off, you can perform an Archon Fury technique that is unique to each Valorplate, and each technique is like a hallmark of the Valorplate itself, usually providing bonuses that enhance its features such as adding bleed damage to each hit or critical hit rates/damage.

Dreamstones will be your method of powering up initially in your post game endeavors, and they essentially are condensed missions with certain modifiers. The interesting thing is that you can also modify the rewards they give you, allowing you to tailor them to your current gear needs or to find something to compliment your build. They are available early on in the post game, however they can grow increasingly challenging. The toughest challenge in the game (pre-Lightbringer, in my opinion) is the Ascended Tower Of Trials. You will be familiar with the Tower Of Trials because it essentially is an elevator style gauntlet that you visit during the main campaign as well. You experience a much watered down version initially, as it “challenges you” to prove you are worthy to visit other realms. You will eventually gain access to the Ascended version which is the real deal. As you progress you can choose the boons to apply to your team, as well as the curses that will hinder you. It may seem tantalizing to pick a curse that offers a better chance of loot and rewards, but doing so puts you and your team at a greater risk. Do so at your own peril, as losing a team mate can turn the tides horribly against you. If you have great team chemistry than choosing tough curses can be beneficial in the long run, but if you are running with a group of random players I’d stay the course with lighter ones and pick boons that focus on recharging rates of your abilities, as well as boosting defenses and status buildup. Status effects can be a massive lifesaver in this mode too, do not underestimate bleed, poison, etc.

Everything performs smoothly and once you get a rhythm in combat based on your playstyle and weapons, the synergy between your weapons and techniques really begins to shine. Add in bonuses from your weapons and gear, and you can become a monster provided you are properly utilizing your Valorplate to its full potential. Weapons feel weighty and you can feel the might behind your swings. This is accented with the Dualsense, so I’m not sure how much of this experience will be lost upon the players that might be playing this title on the PS4 version. I’ve only played the PS5 version so I can’t comment on the performance of the PS4, but I’d expect a visual downgrade as well as some performance hits. Combat really just flowed on the next gen consoles so hopefully they were able to maintain this as much as possible. You might be wondering why I’ve been emphasizing combat and gameplay, and to put it blunt the story is very light. It’s a story about saving the realms from a power hungry individual who happens to be your relative. Yes, it’s a trope and storyline that has been used and abused, but for what it’s worth, it holds up enough to get you from point A to point B.

The biggest shame perhaps is that Godfall features a beautiful world that seems to be begging for the player to poke and prod at it in hopes of being rewarded with knowledge, story, and lore. However, this is where it falls flat. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the only issue. The lack of meaningful and varied endgame content also drags out what is your usual loop of “do missions -> get better gear that hopefully compliments your build -> do harder mission”. While the most recent update, Lightbringer, adds a bit of variety to your slaughtering, I feel the biggest issue for myself was the game didn’t give me a reason to love the world I was fighting to save. Two other looter games, Destiny and Borderlands, have excelled in this regard. Destiny and Destiny 2 took a while to really get going, but there is plenty of scannable objects and items that can provide even the smallest insight into the minds and hearts of the characters that fill up the game’s world, or the reason why certain areas are the way they are. Borderlands is very similar but goes about it with a slightly different approach, using humor and crudeness that fits well with the over-the-top characters and environment. Godfall doesn’t have any of that, and it’s apparent after a few missions.

If you are the type of person who doesn’t mind a bit of an simplified experience instead of an RPG that slams you with a barrage of information, detail and exposition, then Godfall may appeal to you. It’s easy to jump in and out, playing a few missions at a time. Endgame content isn’t as varied as its competition, but it’s also more condensed and easier to approach than a game like Destiny. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Godfall and sometimes it’s a breath of fresh air to play some form of RPG that doesn’t require you to have a textbook for definitions or Google something everything 5 minutes. But I think many players will come to Godfall for its graphics and combat and just feel like something is missing. It reminds me of The Order 1886, another game that had beautiful presentation and was lacking in other areas that kept it from truly shining. The potential is there, hopefully Counterplay continues to improve on the game based off feedback, or a sequel addresses the inconsistencies.

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-Game Info-
Godfall 
Genre: ARPG
Developer: Counterplay Games
Publisher: Gearbox Publishing
Release Date: 11/12/2020
Platforms: PS4|PS5, PC

-GamerDad Info-
Completed On: 8/23/2021
Played On: PS5
Time Played: 50 Hours
Rating: 6.75/10