▶ TL;DRChildren of Morta is an 8.5. The fighting is tight and the progression never wastes a run, and the house full of Bergsons at the end of each one is what sets it apart. The dungeons run out of new things to show before the story does, and it is still worth playing for the family.

Die in Children of Morta and a crystal pulls your Bergson out of the dungeon and drops them back in the family house. Grandma Margaret is in her lab. Uncle Ben is in his workshop. Whatever gold you were carrying comes home with you, and a narrator picks up the family's story where the last run left it.

Dead Mage released it in September 2019 with 11 bit studios publishing, after a Kickstarter in 2015. It's an action RPG about a family that guards a mountain, built on procedurally generated dungeons and a levelling system that never takes anything back. Seven years and a long run of free updates later, I'd give it an 8.5, and it's the roguelite I'd hand to someone who thinks they hate roguelites.

The house is the hook

The Bergsons have guarded Mount Morta for generations. When a rot called the Corruption starts spreading from the mountain, the whole household goes to work on it, and the game tells that story from inside their home. The house is a pixel-art cutaway with every room visible at once, and Dead Mage animated the family frame by frame. You can watch them tinker and worry between runs.

Cutaway view of the Bergson family house in Children of Morta, with an alchemy lab on the left, a fireplace and patterned rugs in the middle, a cluttered workshop on the right and a red-haired woman in an armchair beside a child.
Margaret's lab on the left, Ben's workshop on the right, and someone downstairs with a bad feeling about a hideout. Screenshot via Steam / Dead Mage.

After nearly every run there's a new scene waiting. Some move the main plot. Most are small, like the family taking in a wolf pup they rescue from the dungeons. Ed Kelly narrates all of it in the voice of someone reading a bedtime story. Nintendo Life's review called the delivery hammy, and I get why, but I think the storybook tone is what lets the small domestic scenes land.

The scenes arrive whether you win or lose, so a failed run still moves the story on. That's the best decision in the game. It also costs momentum. When I've just lost to a boss and want an immediate rematch, there's often a cutscene in the way.

A failed run still moves the story on, and still pays for something in the workshop.

+ PROS

  • The Bergson house turns every run into a chapter of a family story
  • Shared upgrades mean a failed run still pays off
  • Seven characters who each fight differently
  • Hand-animated pixel art that still looks great in 2026
  • Free updates added New Game Plus, Family Trials and online co-op on Steam

− CONS

  • The opening caves drag on before the scenery changes
  • Enemies and side rooms repeat in every region
  • Story scenes get in the way when you want a quick rematch
  • PlayStation's store page still lists online co-op as coming later
  • The roadmap's paid story chapter never came out

Seven fighters, one shared pool

You start with John, the father, who fights with a sword and shield, and Linda, the eldest daughter, an archer who handles like a twin-stick shooter. Kevin's daggers, Lucy's fire magic, Mark's martial arts and Joey's sledgehammer unlock as the story goes, and a free update in 2020 added Apan, a healer with a staff. Each has a separate skill tree, and going from Linda to Joey means relearning where to stand.

What they share matters more. Levelling one Bergson unlocks passive bonuses for all of them. The gold you bring home, which the game calls Morv, buys permanent upgrades in Uncle Ben's workshop and Grandma Margaret's Book of Rea, and those apply to the whole family too. Lean on a favourite for too long and they pick up Corruption fatigue, which cuts their maximum health until you rest them.

The Workshop upgrade screen in Children of Morta, a ring of eight upgrade icons around a human figure, with Sharp Weapons selected to raise the Bergsons' critical damage from 195% to 210% at a cost of 3,350.
Sharp Weapons lifts critical damage for every Bergson at once. The next level costs 3,350 and this save has 267. Screenshot via Steam / Dead Mage.

It's a good nudge. Without it, it would be easy to ignore half the roster. The seven aren't equal, though. John is the safest pick and the dullest to play, and the first few hours ask for some grinding before the upgrades add up.

Short runs, tight fights

Combat is top-down hack and slash with a dodge, a basic attack and a few cooldown skills per character. It's responsive, and the animation makes every hit easy to read. Each dungeon is two to four floors with a boss at the bottom, and a run takes between five and 25 minutes by Game Informer's count.

Apan, a staff-wielding Bergson with teal hair, stands inside an orange circular blast in a bone-littered arena while a hulking green-skinned enemy with a red boss health bar closes in from above.
Apan, the seventh Bergson, catches a big one in her blast radius in Area 30. Screenshot via Steam / Dead Mage.

On the way down you collect Divine Relics, Divine Graces, charms and runes. These are temporary powers that vanish when the run ends, and a good set can carry an underlevelled character past a boss. Two players can share a run on one screen. Enemies get more health in co-op, and you can revive each other.

Where the dungeons wear thin

Variety is the weak spot. There are three regions: the Caeldippo Caves, the desert of Barahut and the machine halls of Terralava. The caves last far longer than they should. Mike Burgess at Irrational Passions counted eight to nine hours before he reached the desert, and the opening stretch feels every bit that long.

Linda the archer stands in a green-lit cave chamber in Children of Morta facing a large carved stone door, with two treasure chests, clay pots and cobwebs around the room.
Linda in a cave chamber with two chests and a sealed door. You'll walk into a lot of rooms like it. Screenshot via Steam / Dead Mage.

Enemies repeat inside each region, and the side rooms repeat sooner. The procedural generation rearranges the floor plan and changes little else, so by the back half of a region I know what's behind most doors. Early bosses also hit hard enough that the opening hours can feel like a wall until the workshop upgrades kick in.

What seven years of updates added

Dead Mage published a roadmap in December 2019 and spent the next two years working through it, mostly for free. Hard mode came in February 2020. New Game Plus followed in May with 20 new cutscenes, and Apan joined in June.

Family Trials arrived in April 2021 and is the biggest addition. It's a separate mode set in a dungeon called Zyklus. Every Bergson is available from the start and a talent system replaces the skill trees. You also lose most of your progress when you die. If the story mode is too forgiving for you, this is where the game pushes back.

Two players as Apan and Lucy fight in a dark blue cavern in Family Trials mode, surrounded by swirling orange and teal spell effects, with the floor counter reading Zyklus 2 / 17 and a completed Ferocious Slayer objective.
Floor 2 of 17 in Zyklus, with the timed side objective already failed. Screenshot via Steam / Dead Mage.

Online co-op for two reached Steam in February 2022, and 11 bit studios billed it as the roadmap's final stop. Consoles are another matter. The PlayStation Store listing still says online co-op is 'to be added in the future', more than four years on. The game is Steam Deck Verified, and an iOS and Android version came out in October 2024.

Two paid add-ons sit alongside the free updates. Paws and Claws (A$2.95) adds an animal shelter to the house, and Dead Mage and 11 bit studios give their share of its sales to the charity Humane World for Animals. Ancient Spirits (A$7.50) adds Yajouj'Majouj, a fighter with two forms that you can only play in Family Trials. The roadmap also promised a paid story chapter called The Uncharted Lands, with a new hero and a new boss. It never showed up on the Steam store.

Watch the trailer

Children of Morta final trailer, from the official 11 bit studios channel.

Verdict

Children of Morta is an 8.5. The fighting is tight and the progression never wastes a run. What sets it apart is the house full of Bergsons waiting at the end of each one. The dungeons run out of new things to show before the story does, and console players are still waiting on online co-op. It's A$35.95 on Steam and it discounts hard, down to A$5.39 at 85% off as I write this. At either price, play it for the family.