Power always corrupts. Yes, it does, as Apple exclusive ‘Bleak Sword DX’ by more8bit, curses its way onto PC and Nintendo Switch. With no announced release date, MKAU got their hands on the DEMO to see what we are in store for!

The Bleak Sword has corrupted King Rhael and the lands upon which he rules upon. Your character is the one that must stop the darkness that has gripped the world as the chosen warrior to store order and peace. The Red Age of Dark Magic and abominations of the flesh must be stopped. I love a good Medieval-like fantasy story and while the demo lays a good foundation down I can’t wait to see what direction the rest of it goes especially around the Bleak Sword itself.

The gameplay is very simple but hard to master. Through 12 chapters there are 10 levels to each world culminating in a boss. In each chapter, your main objective is to slay the monsters that attack you. These may range from spiders, bats, and zombies all the way up to werewolves, skeletons, or even demonic foot soldiers. In your set of moves, you have an attack; heavy and light, a dodge roll, and a parry.

The default keys are the arrows to move and Z, X, and C a bizarre combination, but thankfully it is also gamepad compatible and has key binding capabilities. I actually preferred to play it on an Xbox controller, as a seasoned console user.

Most of the controls I found easy enough to use despite the preset binding however, the parry seemed very sluggish and actually hard to tell if engaged. This was the real mechanic you needed to master and it was brutal in timing it perfectly and very hard to see due to how small your character’s shield is on the screen. I found it very hard later on as I progressed through the game, which is a shame as it is so crucial in this type of game that relies on it so much.

One mechanic that also adds to the challenge, is the fact you need to manage your stamina. This is a fabulous way to keep things spicy as spamming moves isn’t possible, leaving you open to a depleted bar.

There is also a levelling system with a progression bar that you increase through your experience in each level. At the end of each level, you will also be presented with items that you can use or not.

The art style and audio complement each other perfectly. Everything is very pixelated and minimalist in design. Enhancing this is the fact it uses only black and white with red highlights for important icons like blood and health bars. The creepy backing music and environmental sounds really sets the bleak mood as your warrior battles through his hordes of devilish creatures of menace.

Overall, I can’t wait to see what comes from more8bit and eagerly await the release date. The challenging gameplay and interesting story make for one quirky little title. Devolver Digital definitely has a knack for backing some of the most interesting games in the industry.

Written by: Stacey