Although the surroundings are dull, the fast-paced action allows you to decorate it with enemy blood.
It's about a swordsman who wakes up with no memories. After meeting a woman who fills in the holes in his memory, he gradually begins to recall the events that lead him to this unknown but strangely familiar world.
The gameplay is really simple. You move forward, jump over a few chasms and platforms, and use your main attack to defeat enemies. Everything moves fast, and you may perform various attacks by pushing in different directions or while in the air. Despite the game's simple aesthetics, the animation is quite good. The strikes of the main character are smooth and flow beautifully into cool combos.
Enemy engagements can prove difficult because you can only take two or three hits. On the other hand, enemies occasionally hit each other, especially when projectiles are involved. Furthermore, hazards of the environment affect them in the same manner that they affect you. It's always entertaining to kick an enemy into a spike pit. Splattered blood over the backdrops and dead bodies across the floor after a battle are a lovely aesthetic touch.
Because of linear approach, all defeated enemies stay dead forever. There is no respawning while changing screens, loading, or dying. Saving occurs automatically when you walk by a statue or when something important occurs, such as opening a chest. Statues heal so you can return after each combat and make things easier for yourself.
Enemies can get repetitive after a while. Once you get comfortable with the attacks and gain new ones, you shouldn’t have any problems with them. Everything, including bosses, can be taken out by abusing a couple of attacks. There is no strategy involved.
You gain experience points for defeating foes. When you gain a skill point, you can put it towards one of five stats. Most boost physical damage, critical or air attacks by a particular percentage, but some include new moves. This is found in the final stat, sorcery, which allows you to use healing and fireball spells. Each stat has eight upgrades, but they must be unlocked in order. And finally, since you can’t upgrade everything, you need to pick a stat and go with it.
The only worthwhile thing in the world are chests. These are hidden in some corner of the screen and contain relics that either increase something by a particular percentage or add something to combat, such as teleport attack. They are not essential, but they add to the game's charm. There are no other secrets.
Besides the dull world and opponents, the game has some annoying mechanics. The worst are the unskippable boss cutscenes that take too long and ruin the entire flow of the game. You need to press a button to move through text or wait for animations to end. There will also be at least one unavoidable occurrence where you will have to fight an army enemies. Because health does not regenerate and the game saves right before the event, you may find yourself in an unwinnable situation.
Another big obstacle might be the fact that you need to unlock the dodge. If you invest points into something else and ignore it, you will get stuck in harder battles because they’re almost impossible without it.
For those who want to collect everything, finding relics can be frustrating. There's no map or teleport system that would allow you to locate them or travel between parts of the world.
