Stray Gods: Orpheus

By the time the curtain closes on Stray Gods: Orpheus, I’m left conflicted. The DLC is a stunning improvement over the original game, thanks to a smart choice of lead and some excellent songwriting. However, the dialogue-wheel-esque system for changing song style remains as flawed as ever, and it means Orpheus still can’t reach those original ambitions of melding musical theater and RPGs. Still, the team at Summerfall Studios should feel proud of how well it addressed the issues in the base game. Stray Gods: Orpheus might not be musical greatness, but it is the rare musical sequel that I’d recommend over its predecessor.

Play as Orpheus in his musical quest for self-discovery in this DLC follow-up to Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.

Stray Gods: Orpheus is an interesting way to revisit the Icons universe for people who fell in love with the base game. However, the additional content is unfortunately content to be a small and insignificant addition to the experience as a whole.

Stray Gods – Orpheus from developer Summerfall Studios falls short of the original game Stray Gods. The DLC is a shorter game that contains a more compact and less meaningful narrative, while still featuring great music and wonderful gameplay elements like the original release. If you accept those terms, you might like Stray Gods – Orpheus.

The original did feel like it offered a bit more player agency via things like a map interface and the initial choice of a personality trait for Grace, and the romantic conversation options don't lead to anything nearly as fleshed out. However, Orpheus is about one-third the length and price of the original, making it a more-than-worthwhile pursuit for fans of the first installment, particularly considering the replay value. Orpheus is very much a different sort of story than Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, but it continues the stellar writing and musicality in a brilliant new way.