ADORE Review: Pokemon Meets Diablo

Cadabra Games recently launched ADORE, a new title dubbed an ‘Action Creature Collecting game’ by publisher QUByte Interactive. The game has been well received, with many suggesting it’s taken roguelite elements to their natural end. In this ADORE review, you’ll learn why the game has been receiving so much praise.

You play as Lukha, a young boy who has been carrying the soul of Draknar in his body since birth. At 15, he suddenly discovers this impossible condition. The darkness is rising. A curse is spreading across the land of Gaterdrik. Darknar, who turns out to be the God of Creatures, needs your help to save the land.

You become an Adorer; which is someone who can command creatures. I mean, it’s supposed to be about building bonds as so on, but in reality you’re sending them out to be violent on your behalf. In ADORE, the core gameplay loop revolves around you wandering the maps, capturing said creatures and then using them to engage in battle. But no, this isn’t Pokemon. Far from it in fact. ADORE has more in common with Diablo than any Pokemon game.

The game plays in realtime. The player can move and has a handy dodge maneuver, but no attacks of their own. Instead, up to four creatures can assist you in your party, each assigned to one of the controller face buttons. They all have varying attacks, and can be optimised through synergies with other creatures in your party. There are many creatures you can capture and ‘befriend’. There are many synergies and new abilities that can be unlocked. However, as with all games of its ilk, doing so will demand a great time investment.

ADORE plans to absorb your gaming hours for a long time. Doing so, it offers up numerous quests generated procedurally in addition to the core quest line. The player has a hub featuring a shop, healing station and a few NPCs. From here, they can access a map which denotes all the locations unlocked thus far. Each location will offer up a handful of quests at all times, allowing you to choose whether you want to progress the story, attempt to level-up or even fight for a reward needed for your next healing potion. It’s a simple system that can pass many hours without noticing.

The game has been well thought out in almost all areas. The capturing mechanic is simple and rewarding. The variety of creatures and their abilities is impressive. And the player’s movement abilities means that succumbing to the curse rarely feels anything but your own fault. The one true shame is in that of some of the level design. Many of the locations can offer up what looks like pathways, only to find there’s no access.

For the purpose of this ADORE review we invested many hours into the game. The progress offered is slow but consistently rewarding. ADORE is undoubtedly a huge timesink. There’s a lot of nuance to uncover, resulting in a slow start. But once ADORE gets going it’s hard to put down. If you’re looking for your next huge time investment, it’s easy to fall in love with ADORE.