The Matriarch

Multiplayer games are usually the most fun to play, especially when they have the potential to ruin friendships. During the covid lockdown, a certain simple multiplayer game, which we'll mention more later, became the center of attention. and maybe it was because of how simple and accessible it was. But that's not the game we're mainly going to be talking about today. We're going to talk about a game developed by Chewa called The Matriarch, and it is a strange different version of the other game we mentioned earlier, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with it. So, what is The Matriarch all about? We'll let's talk about it!

About the game

The game is pretty simple in concept, every multiplayer match has anywhere from 2 to 8 players. They are divided into three types of characters; the bots are literally bots, just programmed to complete their tasks and try not to look suspicious; The sinners look exactly like the bots, but these are player-controlled characters. They have to emulate bots and make it look as if they are fulfilling tasks, and look for the best opportunity to dig underground and escape to liberty, but it can be really dangerous. The Matriarch is also player-controlled, but she looks really different from the sinners and bots. Your role as the Matriarch is to patrol and observe, taking good care to try and find the impostors. Keep track of their behavior or find them and sacrifice them all! It's very unforgiving, and there are a lot of things to keep track of at once, so you won't get bored playing this game anytime soon.

There are different levels and a set of rules that can be defined each time you play to create custom matches. Whether you decide to go for a quick match or you wish to extend the length of the game, even though this is also heavily affected by how the players actually play the game. There are many execution ways too, and they can be unlocked the more you play, so there's some variability to prevent the game from becoming repetitive.

A little similar?

If you've been keeping an eye on the description of the game, you'll notice that it is suspiciously similar to the hit game Among Us. And sure, at first sight, it might seem as if that game is just copying Among Us, you'll notice that they have some key differences that would cancel out the possibility of the game being a direct copy of Among Us. Instead, there are elements from both games mixed together, making it quite original on its own.

Review: 6.3/10

The Matriarch is a strange game, the art direction is quite cartoony even though it is really violent and with heavy and intense themes. The gameplay works, there are plenty of different mechanics whether you play as the Matriarch or the Sinners to make the game stand out from titles like Among Us, however, is a big shadow that the game barely manages to escape.

Pros:

• Fun to play
• Challenging
• Cool multiplayer modes

Cons

• A little too similar
• Kinda heavy overall