Morphite claims to be a ‘casual atmospheric FPS, inspired by the classics’, and for the most part it delivers on that claim, offering a relaxing experience rooted in combat, exploration and discovery.
You play as Myrah, and the story revolves around her setting forth into the universe in search of a valuable substance called Morphite. You helm a spaceship, and are tasked with venturing out into space, exploring new planets, encountering friendly and unfriendly characters, and uncovering the mystery behind Morphite. It’s essentially No Man’s Sky with better systems, a tighter focus, and a more compelling central plot.
One of the things that drew me to this game was its clean low-poly look, which stood out starkly among most modern games. The minimal visual design still is imbued with vibrant colors, even with a lot of procedurally generated content, the game tends to look fascinating for the most part. Another great aspect of the game is that it’s not completely procedurally generated, instead the main story planets are all hand-crafted. This is such a great way to handle this kind of game, and the mix of procedural generated and hand-crafted content gels well superbly.
There is an obvious emphasis on gathering resources, getting upgrades – both for your character and the ship, and the overall experience is enhanced by how much fun the exploration really is. As you get more upgrades, you are better prepared to explore in harsher conditions. This constant drip-feed of rewards for getting upgrades is really satisfying, and it’s easy to get lost in the core loop.
Many of the objects in the world, both living and non-living, can be scanned for information, which can be sold later. Combat is some of these situations is optional, but always fun to engage with. The combat does get better as you get further, with weapon unlocks and upgrades.
What’s surprising is the fair bit of platforming involved, and that it’s actually really fun. Certain areas require some platforming to get across. Most of it simple, but adds a good variety to simply moving in a straight line.
There’s a lot to enjoy in Morphite, and even with the general simplicity of it, it’s actually really enjoyable. There are no health, hunger or stamina bars to worry about. It’s just you and the open universe. The central story is fairly compelling and delivered well using hand-crafted worlds and fully voiced narrative. If you’re looking to chill after a long day at work, Morphite might just be what you’re looking for.
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