Coming straight from a successful foray in Apple Arcade and onto PC and Nintendo Switch, Bleak Sword DX is the enhanced edition of the lo-fi action roguelike from developer more8bit. First impressions could tell you that it jumped straight out of a Game Boy, but these are often deceiving, as a more attentive look reveals an addictive and engaging game that takes pride on its simplicity and uses it to ramp up the challenge.
Diorama Souls
Comparisons to Elden Ring or Dark Souls may be a trend nowadays and mostly serve a marketing point of view, but Bleak Sword DX does share some aspects with FromSoftware’s colossal achievements. Granted, single-screen gameplay may not be one of those traits, but it’s hard to neglect the focus on dodging and parrying as crucial moves to remain alive, along with the occasional mobs surrounding you from all sides. It can get quite difficult, but just as in any Souls-like, it’s up to you to learn enemy patterns, adapt, time your movements to perfection, and raise your fist in the air each time that you eliminate a hard-as-nails boss.
Tentacles reaching out for you, carnivore flowers spitting venom, spiders slowing you down with their gooey webs, harpies throwing spears, knights slowly creeping on you…these are just a few examples of regular creatures that will give you a field day in these diorama battlefields. When faced alone, the enemy isn’t unsurmountable, but it’s when they come in assorted types that things get tricky, as you must constantly recall each one’s strategies and adapt in the nick of time to whoever is threatening you.
That’s the beauty of Bleak Sword DX – how it mixes a somewhat plain look with gameplay mechanics that are designed to feel intuitive, fast, seamless, and that stay out of your way as you move around the battleground with the precision of a lynx. Parrying is a technique that you should master right from the start, as this creates an opening for a counterattack that leaves the opponent at your mercy. However, some enemies use attacks that can’t be blocked – marked by an exclamation point – and your only option here is to roll out of harm’s way and wait for the sweet moment to strike. Use your wits and not just your brawn and you may get the enemies to throw projectiles at each other, saving you some of the trouble – this is especially useful as some foes are out of your reach, meaning there’s no way to hit them otherwise.
You earn experience points after each battle, and a level up rewards you with a choice from a couple of perks like additional health or damage. Death is not the end, but it may be a significant setback to your progress, as you lose your items and experience points from the current level. You have one shot, one opportunity to cut your losses, but die again and it will be lost forever.
Ballet of Death
The gameplay loop of Bleak Sword DX is this addictive blend of timing and skills, a challenge that is bite-sized and yet keeps you going for as long as you are entertained, throwing some variables at you for the sake of diversity. Horse riding, for example, as you jump obstacles while being attacked by knights and harpies, in a clear case of everything, everywhere at the same time, just like the movie but in a very different keynote.
Apart from the main campaign, you can unlock two modes to keep the fight going. Arena mode is a battle for survival with increasingly difficult enemies, while Boss Run is what it says in the box, as you fight all 12 in-game bosses in succession with only one health bar.
As for the retro art style of Bleak Sword DX, it’s an acquired taste. The details are ostensibly low, but the animation is smooth and enjoyable, with neat visual effects and filters that clearly are made of our current times: snowstorms that push you around, water ripples, volumetric fog, and the like lend the game this sense of immersion that goes beyond its basic style.
However, it wouldn’t be asking too much if there was a little bit of environmental destruction in the battlefield, to add to the chaos and all the bravado going on. Having enemies hidden from sight behind houses, pillars, and trees, among others, is something that doesn’t quite gel with me, especially because there’s no line-of-sight mechanic at work here for our little pixelated knight, but I can understand this as a design choice that is intended as requiring an extra effort from the player.
Bleak Sword DX is a straightforward action game that might not set the world on fire – unlike the village your hero crosses on his path – but if you like your action deceptively simple and addictive, this is one to check. It may end up slightly repetitive in the long run, but play it in short bursts and the challenge will keep you entertained and surely advocating that looks may be important, but beauty is only skin deep.
Score: 8.5/10
Pros:
- Deceptively simple and engaging
- Intensely playable and challenging
- Functional but clever art style
Cons:
- Some environmental destruction possibilities would be fun to have
Bleak Sword DX review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.