The best part of the last decade of gaming has been the meteoric rise of indie games and development studios, bringing with it legendary titles and even burgeoning genres that have exploded in popularity.
Among the pantheon of new-but-exploding genres would be roguelikes and roguelite titles, where the only way to progress through the game is by simply dying. But, in death, roguelikes give rewards.
Morsels is an upcoming roguelike title that will release later this year, published by Annapurna Interactive. It’s the debut title for indie studio Furcula, which was at Summer Game Fest to give us a first-hand look at the coming game.
The top-down shooter combines classic roguelike elements that we see in popular titles in the same genre like Hades and Spelunky, but with its own vibe and mechanics that make it feel like a must-play for roguelike fans.
In addition to being a roguelike, the game is also a creature-collector and you’ll collect different “Morsels” who will be playable characters which offer different skills and abilities that lends it self to unique different playstyles.
The game also offers lots of little secrets and bonus levels that will have you carrying key items across levels and searching for hidden little secrets (read: mouse holes).
The game doesn’t quite have the unending feeling of having hundreds of items to unlock, according to developer Toby Dixon, but the variety of buffs, items and abilities you unlock through your various runs definitely feels fresh, particularly across the different Morsels and their own individual play styles.
The pixel art style is riveting and draws you in, and the small development team really captures the retro vibe while also giving life to the kooky little sewer world and its characters.
The music in the game also sets the scene and helps immerse players into the game, not just in the music itself but the environmental and character sounds (I love a cute mouse squeak).
The game features a small three-man development team to bring together the art, direction, music and technical aspects of the game to bring Morsels to life, with studio founder Toby Dixon founder boasting credits as an artist on games like Atomicrops and Nidhogg 2.
There are aspects of the game that are remniscent of beloved games in the genre, like environmental damage like we see in games like Hades and quirky secrets like in the Spelunky titles, but the game doesn’t rely on known mechanics only.Â
Dixon also didn’t want the game to feel endless and like you could sink thousands of hours into it — he wanted it to feel complete. He also didn’t want people to feel the pressure to break every single destructible item in the environment or traverse across the levels from the spawn point just to pick a consumable item up so implemented ways for it to feel like less of a slog.
That doesn’t mean there is no value to checking for little secrets around the map, but he didn’t want there to be intense pressure to break every little thing.
In our conversation during Play Days, Dixon described creating Morsels as a “dream come true.” He described himself as a “not classically trained game designer,” considering his time working more on the art side of his previous credits, but I feel that his perspective made the game feel fresh.
Morsel appears to be carving out its own oddball place in the mega popular roguelike genre. The gameplay combined with the visuals and music really bring the title’s unique aestethic together.
You can wishlist Morsel now on Steam.
