

#OTHERCIDE VITAL GRACE SERIES#
It ends up as simply a thin pretext for a series of battles and any backstory to glean is told with all the grace of a dull codex in any other RPG.

However, the game doesn’t really focus on its story outside of a handful of cutscenes pertaining to each boss. There is more to the story, told in Memories that randomly drop during play, each giving several short paragraphs of the Mother’s long history as an immortal Chosen One. Stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of death and rebirth, the Mother and her Daughters remain the last hope to save humanity. At the beginning of the game, the Mother is overwhelmed by the forces of Suffering, forcing her to adopt a new strategy of giving her power to her Daughters, who comprise the units the player will control during the game. The game puts players in control of the Mother, a powerful being who positions herself against Suffering, another being that reflects the darkness of the world to make monsters to destroy it. Othercide is a horror-themed tactics game from Lightbulb Crew. What could have been a taut, captivating experience instead feels like too few ideas stretched too thin.

For while at the heart of the game lies a solid combat foundation, its structure seeks to undercut it at every turn. Constantly fighting the forces of darkness, the game invites players to guide a company of empowered goth girls in the drudgery of conflict while also partaking in the repetition as well. In Othercide, that feeling is far more literal. In a turbulent world, everyday can feel like a struggle without end.
