Devolver Digital recently announced its next big indie hit Death's Door and I had the chance to sit down with Mark Foster and David Fenn of Acid Nerve to chat about this impressive looking Zelda-like. While Xbox has historically missed out on other indie game phenomenons launches like Among Us and Fall Guys, Xbox fans can rest easy knowing this launch won't be skipping their platform of choice. In fact, this crow-centric dungeon-crawler will coming exclusively to Xbox Series X|S and PC later this year. From the glimpses I've seen so far, this could be a big indie win for Xbox.
What is Death's Door?
Death's Door is a top-down action-adventure game set in a melancholy world where crows are tasked with reaping the souls of the dead. Unfortunately for your career as one these crow-repears, nobody has died in the past several hundred years, making your daily routine rather monotonous. But things soon take a turn as you are tasked with your first big assignment in quite some time. You take your trusty blade and head out beyond the "Hall of Doors" into a treacherous world filled with monsters and over-the-top boss encounters.
Acid Nerve, who previously developed the indie-gem Titan Souls, aims to deliver refinements to the fast-paced combat and unique world-building they are known for with this release. As opposed to their previous projects, Death's Door will focus more on providing a compelling and linear narrative with options for open-world exploration. If you're a fan of The Legend of Zelda or even Dark Souls, there are some clear parralels that can be made to the action-oriented combat and currency-based character progression in Death's Door.
The topics covered in our interview
- What is Death's Door about? - 00:40
- David gives a quick breakdown on the general setting of Death's Door.
- How similar to The Legend of Zelda is Death's Door? - 01:05
- Mark explains the impact Zelda had on development and the elements that make Death's Door unique.
- Is Death's Door open-world? - 02:00
- Ben explains the main hub and how it connects to open-world exploration.
- Is narrative a focus in Death's Door? - 03:00
- Mark explains the impact storytelling has on the overall experience of the game.
- What lessons did the team learn from Titan Souls? - 03:55
- Ben shares what the team learned from Titan Souls and how they changed their approach with Death's Door.
- Why the change from pixel-art to 3D models? - 05:00
- Mark and Ben share the reasons behind their shift to 100% 3D game development.
- What is the release date for Death's Door and what platforms is it coming to?
- Ben breaks down when and where you can play Death's Door.
