Labyrinth of the Demon King was a really awesome surprise for me when I first played that original demo last year, and while it was rough around the edges I think it's awesome to see those small hiccups mostly polished up for the full release, because it has turned out to be one hell of a banger! Like the tittle of my review says, it is quite literally a combination of the classic King's Field games mixed together with Silent Hill, set during the Sengoku era in Japan. While a lot of this game's sword play in animation, pace and feel sticks very close to classic King's Field, Labyrinth of the Demon King also takes a ton of inspiration from the awesome Condemned: Criminal Origins - at least in terms of the feedback and AI behaviour within the game's combat. You may be slow moving and sluggishly swing your weapons, but enemies will act very similarly to foes in Condemned, they will feign their attacks, they will run away and hide in ambush and they can get into huge brawls with other enemies, which can become really helpful. The game also has a really satisfying and handy kick and parry that feels exactly like Condemned's, but also includes those RPG elements like a magic system with talismans, damage types, enemy resistances and items to upgrade stats, making all feel like a natural evolution of that King's Field style combat in the modern age. Where Silent Hill comes in is everything else; enemies are twisted and disturbing renditions of classic Yokai from Japanese folklore, the environments are filthy, grimey and dripping with atmosphere and tension and the classic survival horror level design, puzzle design, inventory, etc. And it works perfectly in tandem with everything else in the game! The only things I dislike is the second tower being very tedious to play through, having to cycle through the inventory to re-equip weapons when visiting safe areas, the final tower being too short and just simply the fact that I wish there was more to enjoy. Good stuff!
As someone who really loves the original Slave Zero game as well as the Episode Enyo Quake mod, seeing more of this universe was a real treat for me. And as someone who loves games like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, as well as other spectacle fighter games, this game was such a blast to play through from start to finish. Let me make one thing clear, if you heard people say this game is tough, then head that warning because this game is absolutely BRUTAL. Enemies will punish every little mistake you make, to the point of combo-ing you to death. The combat is also incredibly fast, frenetic but you also have to be extremely precise with your moveset, dodging, parrying, etc in order to succeed. You have to welcome the challenge in order to really succeed at what this game wants from you, you have to be willing to try and retry many times until you can get that winning blow, because it is a game that holds back nothing and expects you to learn the game in and out to get past even a mini boss. But when you nail that combat and understand what the game asks of you, it's pure ecstasy. Pulling off insane combos, timing your EX attacks, maximising burst potential and using your fatal sync to keep you in the fight felt so natural. When you harness your skills and annihilating huge groups of enemies that turns the screen into a beautiful mess, then you know the game is something quite special. There isn't a single thing I dislike about the game's presentation at all, I think it hits that 32-bit era look and style perfectly. It is visually beautiful, with excellent audio, fantastic voice acting and a surprisingly interesting story that would have been quite beloved if it came out back in the PS1/PS2 era and with very likeable and genuine character writing that really helped immerse me in the world a lot. Slave Zero X is VERY niche and not for everyone, but it is a really awesome and unique spectacle fighter, and when it clicks then you're in for a hell of a good time.
Bleak Faith is one of those games you don't see very often, yes on the surface it's a Souls-like game with the usual tropes and mechanics we come to expect, but it somehow manages to transcend into something far more unique than even the most interesting Souls-like games out there. At its heart it's an exploration RPG, focusing more on its world and atmosphere - and for that it's special as no other RPG I can think of has ever attempted a world inspired by the manga BLAME!, which is a masterclass in dark sci-fi worldbuilding, and even then Bleak Faith takes those inspirations and still manages to run with something of its own. We're used to getting typical medieval fantasy and sci-fi settings in our RPGs, but very rarely do we get a game so varied in this approach that it's hard to nail down - being far closer to surreal and sometimes downright abstract brutalism with dark fantasy and cyberpunk sci-fi elements. It's cold, it's imposing, it's full of dread, but most importantly it feels like you're truly alone in this world - much like Killy during his journey in BLAME! The reason I bring so much attention to the world is because it's so rare we get something like this in a game, let alone in a 30 hour long RPG, with some of the best music I've heard in an indie RPG, which sets the vibe and tone for your journey to the anomaly perfectly. And even as an RPG it does a lot right by giving you tons of stats to play with, while its Souls-like combat can feel rough and stiff, it more than makes up for it with excellent build variety and an assortment of interesting and powerful gear, abilities and upgrade materials. There's a lot to love here. However it does have it faults; namely the various bugs, lack of polish, performance and rushed release. While the game is far better than it was at launch, there are still some lingering and sometimes glaring issues that have yet to be be addressed at the time of writing. Luckily, the positives far outweigh the negatives for me.
I was expecting a nostalgia trip, full of wonder, excitement and childlike happiness. I was expecting to laugh my butt off and find myself coming back to the hilarious internet users that were experiencing the golden age of the internet like I was. I was expecting some garish and groovy visuals and pure whimsy. I got all of that and more, so much more. I put the game down with tears in my eyes and a broken heart, and I don't think I'll ever be able to pick up the pieces again. Please play Hypnospace Outlaw.
I personally love the Souls-like genre, but in my opinion Thymesia is missing a lot of systems that makes it a Souls-like. That's not a bad thing, rather it takes far more from Sekiro where you must learn the combat, use your skills very wisely and learn to master the art of deflecting and dodging enemy attacks to come out on top with what limited tools you have. That's not to say having limited tools makes your options limited, far from it, levelling your character just right and using the appropriate plague weapons and talents that fit your playstyle can really change the game up in some interesting ways. You're still deflecting and melee fighting but how you go about achieving those wins that can vary quite drastically on your preferred playstyle - thus giving the player more freedom than they would in a game like Sekiro. All of that makes the combat so satisfying to me and is easily the game's biggest strength, backed up with some interesting levels and some very unique and stellar boss fights that will really put your skills to the test. The challenge becomes utterly brutal at times, but never once have I ever felt the game was being unfair, it's giving you all the information you need and enemies behave very consistently, making everything learnable and exploitable - it's always your fault if you fail due to poor execution or failing to learn attack patterns and enemy behaviour. It is what one might call a hearty challenge. It's not perfect though, performance can range from good to awful, especially in the Sea of Trees with its frame drops, micro stutter and hitching. Lack of enemy variety is annoying, as some enemies are overused while some interesting ones only appear once or twice in the entire game. The side content is also hit or miss, with one side quest level being very dull in its level design and one optional boss being quite buggy, making Corvus glitch in spots. I strongly recommend overall and it lasts as long as it needs to, short but sweet!
