What Critics Are Saying About Godfall

Godfall has been linked to the PS5 since little was known about the next-gen console. Its release was first confirmed for the PS5 (and PC) all the way back in December 2019. Since then, multiple PS5 showcases have featured a trailer or gameplay from Godfall among the usual first looks and announcements. While information about Godfall has been available for nearly a year now, development company Counterplay Games has no prior AAA credits to its name, leaving little indication as to how the game might stack up critically.

Now that the simultaneous releases of the PS5 and Godfall are imminent, critical reviews of the game have begun to pop up online. Overall, these reviews are middling. That said, early criticism of fellow looters Destiny and Anthem followed a similar pattern. It's now up to Counterplay Games to determine whether its flagship title can turn into the sort of years-long hit that Destiny and its follow-up have become, or if it will flop à la Anthem.

Tom Marks, in his review for IGN, relegated Godfall to a list of titles accompanying console releases that have looked and played technically well, but offered little in terms of substance. While Marks had good things to say about Godfall's visuals and the openness of its environments, he reported that its gameplay loop began to wear thin due to a lack of variety in both mission objectives and "Valorplates," the name for armor that grants various buffs and elemental abilities.

GameSpot writer Richard Wakeling started his Godfall review by praising its synthesis of influences (like the Diablo and Borderlands series) and the fact that it manages to feel new rather than derivative. Further, both Marks and Wakeling commended Godfall's combat, which utilizes a number of weapon classes, each with their own unique varieties of attacks and abilities. Multiple systems encourage switching between weapons and techniques, which both reviewers found satisfying. However, Wakeling described Godfall's mission objectives as repetitive and a detriment to overall enjoyment.

In his review for Game Informer, Andrew Reiner reported a similar experience. He also described the combat as enjoyable, but found that the game's core loop "falls victim to bland environment exploration and repetitive combat encounters." However, the famously addictive nature of its loot grind, he explained, manages to keep the game somewhat afloat.

Finally, in a piece titled "Godfall Makes Me Question My Life Choices" for Fanbyte, author merritt k attributed a personal crisis over the entirety of her career in gaming to the "aggressively mediocre" Godfall. Even in the midst of such strong language, however, she conceded that Godfall, "for all its flaws, feels good to play."

While none of these reviews distinguished Godfall as anywhere close to essential, each included praise for its more successful systems. Those who managed to score a PS5 pre-order can learn how the game plays for themselves when Godfall releases on Nov. 12.