Throughout this year so far, I’ve been concerned about my skills as a game critic. I’ve handed out more than a few harsh reviews for games that I felt disappointed me, largely because they failed to innovate. They weren’t bad, but with some exceptions, none of them felt special. And what concerns me is that I’m of the mind that you don’t necessarily need to innovate to create a terrific game, you just need it to be fun. Was it just bad luck and I happened to pick a crop of games that simply didn’t agree with me, or have I become jaded and unable to enjoy some of the gaming world’s most simple pleasures?
To answer that question, along comes Bleak Sword DX, which promptly makes it clear that nope, it was bad luck, the simple pleasure still rule, and that you can still make an exquisite old-school video game just as long as you put a ton of care into your gameplay and still find some way, any way, to stand out. Glad that clears things up! In fairness, Bleak Sword DX does have an advantage, as it already started out in 2019 as a mobile game, part of Apple Arcade’s debut. What we have here is an enhanced and updated version, with the title referring to a new DX mode that features new levels, enemy layouts and enemy AI. I confess that I never got around to playing the original, but I dove into thew new DX mode, hoping that it would stand on its own, which it more than achieved.
The setup doesn’t contain much, just being a simple dark fantasy game about having to lift the curse of the Bleak Sword and stopping an evil army. Despite its simplicity, though, the game does feature effective cinematics that nicely progress the story and emphasize the kind of threats that you’re up against, especially when tackling bosses. And this is a particularly impressive feat given that every character and enemy in the game is represented by monochrome pixelated sprites, all of whom wouldn’t feel out of date somewhere between the second and third generations of gaming. And yet despite what could be seen as crude sprites, a lot of work has clearly been poured into each one, making sure every enemy is distinct and easily recognizable, with superb, fluid animation to boot. Their bright white 2D appearances also allow them to perfectly stand out among the diorama setups that make up each stage, designed wider varieties of grey and the occasional splash of red. Each unique level features a good amount of scenery crafted with great details, doing a perfect job of creating a ravaged fantasy world where brutality and darkness lies around every corner. It’s like a demake of a title such as Dark Souls or Bloodborne having gone back even further, and then made into something original. Props to the nicely moody and atmospheric soundtrack as well.
This brings us to the gameplay, though, which features a lot of the same combat maneuvers to be found in similar roguelike hack-and-slash games. You have your regular attack, charged heavy attack, dodge roll, block that allows for a counterattack if done properly, and…well, actually, that’s it! There are a few sections like some neat horseback riding levels that add jumping into the mix, but for the most part, Bleak Sword DX sticks to the basics…though it isn’t above adding occasional twists. For one, there’s the stamina bar, which is sort of the inverse of how it typically works as here, attacks use up stamina, and dodge rolls are unlimited. That means you’re able to’t go on the aggressive and perfectly have to manage when to attack, dodge and block (as blocking also refills stamina), while making sure to avoid the numerous other enemies and hazards.
The other twist comes in the form of the leveling up. You gain experience after each stage, along with the occasional stat-boosting item or consumable (being able to hold onto a maximum of two), and as you level up, you choose one of three stat boosts to your health, attack power or defense. The catch is that while you stay at your current level when you die, you lose all of your items and all of the remaining experience between your current level and the next one. The only way to get the items and XP back is to successfully clear the level you lost them in without dying, lest they be lost forever which either requires you to be careful or head back into earlier levels to build up more XP. So there’s a nice amount of strategy here as you try to manage your best strategy for getting through each stage.
But while the basic gameplay mechanics are perfect, clearly having been reworked for gamepads, what really makes it work is the stellar level design and the enemies that occupy them. Bleak Sword DX easily makes the most of its diorama setup, having to maneuver around a static 3D model with no real camera control, meaning heading into the background causes things to get fuzzier, or heading behind scenery can obscure things. And then there are visual effects like snowstorms designed to obscure things even further, all while a bunch of giants hurl rocks at you. Sometimes you have to deal with only a narrow space, sometimes with hazards such as fire, or sometimes with a wind that can blow you into an instant-death trap if not careful.
Them there are the enemies, which range from aggressive animals to shielded soldiers, flying harpies, ghosts that require heavy attacks and more. They’re all a blast to fight, and Bleak Sword DX knows exactly what groups of enemies should go in what stage, and in what order. Every battle feels designed to at just the right of difficulty, in just the right-sized area, being tough yet fair, with more than a few skirmishes escaped with only a last, small bit of health, which makes the potential leveling up in between all the sweeter. This is a glorious homage to the “Nintendo Hard” games of old (right down to the numbered levels), but it still never sacrifices fun for increased difficulty.
There are a few gripes, mind you, such as having to get used to a few things like the B button being used for jumping on horseback, instead of the traditional A button. And while the game is clearly doing its best to provide a fair experience, there are still a few moments that feel like some cheap hits, with myself in particular find in the…well, we try to keep things clean around here, so just imagine a string of expletives ending in “spiders,” with the freaking buggers being a constant foe that’s quick and doesn’t telegraph the moments it lunges at you. But overall, Bleak Sword DX is a terrific and unique hack-and-slash game that expands upon its original outing greatly, even throwing in extras like randomizers, a boss rush mode, and an arena mode to be unlocked after beating the game, which are all great additions. But once again, “genius in its simplicity” is the key to success here.
Closing Comments:
Whether you were a fan of the original game or a newcomer to this twisted world of dioramas, Bleak Sword DX provides a perfectly action-packed experience that’s sure not to disappoint. The eye-popping use of pixel art and monochrome visuals combined with the challenging combat and impressive level designs easily makes for a classic bit of hack-and-slash fun, a journey of 8-bit brutality that’d not to be missed out on. Sure, you may die several times along the way, but it’s still a journey worth taking.
Bleak Sword DX
