An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie RPGs and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores and quotes below are theirs, linked to the source.
A roguelite about a family of guardians — where the real story is the people you fight to protect, not the dungeons you clear.
At a Glance
| Developer | Dead Mage |
| Release year | 2019 |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch |
| Subgenre | Roguelite action RPG |
| Length | ~20 hours (main story) |
| Metacritic | 82 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (~88%, 22,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Verified |
| Languages | 13 |
About the Game
Children of Morta, from the studio Dead Mage, is a roguelite action RPG with an unusually warm heart. You play the Bergsons, a family of guardians sworn to protect Mount Morta as a creeping Corruption spreads across the land. Each family member is a distinct playable class — a sword-and-shield father, a bow-wielding daughter, a spell-casting grandmother — and you swap between them across runs.
The dungeons are procedurally generated and you will die often, sending you back to the family home to spend earned essence on upgrades. What sets it apart is the narrative woven between runs: gorgeous pixel-art vignettes, narrated like a storybook, that develop the Bergsons as people — their quarrels, fears, and small kindnesses.
The pixel art is some of the most lavish in the genre, with hand-animated lighting and particle work, and the family-leveling system cleverly ties mechanical progress to the story’s theme of a household pulling together. It’s a roguelite you keep playing as much for the next chapter as the next loot drop.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for Children of Morta.
Why It Made the List
Children of Morta earns its place by proving a roguelite can have a soul. Most games in the genre are about systems; this one is about a family, and the storybook narration between runs gives every death and upgrade real emotional weight.
What the Critics Say
Children of Morta holds a Metacritic score of 82. Critics praised its sumptuous pixel art and the warmth of its family narrative, with the main reservation being the grind that can sit between story beats.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Very Positive across more than 22,000 reviews — about 88% positive. Players love the art and characters; the most common critique is repetition in the mid-game runs.
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- Gorgeous, richly animated pixel art
- Genuinely affecting family story
- Six distinct, fun playable characters
- Storybook narration ties it all together
Criticism
- Mid-game runs can feel grindy
- Occasional difficulty spikes
- Co-op is local-only
Games Like This
- Moonlighter — another loop-driven action RPG
- Hyper Light Drifter — atmospheric, combat-focused action
- CrossCode — precise, demanding action-RPG combat
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam has no affiliate program; that link is for convenience.)
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