Mohrta is a game that when I stumbled upon it my brain and my heart screamed "I MUST PLAY IT". I yearned for the experience I felt this game would deliver, and now that I've completed it I can say that my feelings of wanting were right. Mohrta has shaped up to be MY #1 game of 2025, and easily one of the top spot holders of my all-time favorite games.

Mohrta sets you upon an unnamed world as the "Hayward", a designation given to others before you and others who will come after you, with the purpose of stemming "The Great Strange" and finding a certain man, but the game is so much more than that. Truly this game is an incredible example of what can be made with GzDoom, and I will be watching the developer Scumhead with great interest from here on out.



The Good:

Immaculate storytelling. Your goal is simple, and you're set upon the world with the directive of finding whatever's causing the spread of "The Great Strange" and killing it or containing it. From there everything's set in motion by a singular choice which goes against the directive you were given. From there everything you do and everything you learn leads to something more as the storyline blossoms and expands into more than it initially seemed.

Mohrta is simply beautiful. In a world where we're given so many games which look the same due to being made to look as "REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE" art styles truly are the saving grace of games and their overall design. Mohrta has a gorgeous art style and it feels like there was great care put into everything, and it truly evokes the purpose of art, which is to make you feel something when perceiving it. From the beauty of the crystalline caverns to the grotesque and twisted abominations that inhabit certain areas, everything from the areas to the enemies made me feel something.

Enemy variance. There's many different enemies within the world of Mohrta, each one fitting seamlessly into where they're found, and none of them truly feeling the same as if there was great care put into every single enemy design.

Incredibly interesting characters. I found myself deeply interested in every single character you meet within the game, from the hubworld characters to those you meet as you walk from realm to realm. These characters progress as you continue through your adventure, offering new dialogue and commenting upon your progression and your actions throughout the world, truly making them feel alive.

An interesting and lived-in world. Mohrta's unnamed world which is touched by "The Great Strange" is incredibly interesting with a bunch of world-establishing lore spread throughout the game. Where once there was a verdant and lush forest that was once home to playful wyverns now lies a swamp of decay with creatures parading around within their corpses. Machines make way to an accumulation of flesh, seemingly woven together haphazardly. Ice fields lead to unholy machinations in the deep. Along with the great design the world exhibits, areas along your journey convey small details which paint the world you traverse as if it were once truly thriving. Trails through snow from travelers before you, shoes set aside at the waters edge by those who once danced within those waters however long ago, and things such as Ironworks and tools set aside haphazardly near a forge and within workshops.

A hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. Every single track within the game is immaculate, leaving a deep impression that fits the world that you're traversing through. Every single piece felt as though it fit perfectly into the levels and areas that they were played. I find myself drawn to listening to the soundtrack as I write this review. Truly the only downside to the music is that despite how good it is, it doesn't constantly play whilst you're exploring the world.

Intuitive level design. Every single level and segment of each level flows back into itself incredibly well, leading the player along in a seemingly organic fashion so that they never feel lost. Within the game lies a journal which will help you along the way if you ever truly feel lost.


The Bad:

Many superfluous weapons. This is bound to happen when there's as many weapons in Mohrta as there is, but as you go on many guns become outright overshadowed by weapons which utilize the same ammunition later on, with a couple early game weapon entries staying the best for their ammo type throughout the entire game. With every weapon sharing an ammunition pool with a different part of your arsenal it becomes a game of prioritizing your favorites outside of their secondary abilities.

Having an upgrade system but not having enough resources across the campaign to upgrade every weapon. This leads to weapons acquired later in the campaign feeling superfluous and not having much of an impact if you've already upgraded gear early on in the game.

No New Game+. Perhaps due to a limitation of the engine, or perhaps just due to there not necessarily being a need for it as you acquire codes which can act as new game + upon achieving the true ending. Still a bit disappointing since there's so many weapons within the game that I still wonder about the full potential of.

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Final Verdict

Overall Score: 9.5/10. Mohrta is an extremely well-crafted game which will stick with me for many years to come, and I shall look at it as a beacon for what is possible within the GzDoom Engine.

Worth $19.99? Absolutely. There are plenty of other worse games which cost more than this which won't stay with you in the same manner as the narrative and world of Mohrta will.