Dark Devotion

It's definitely an acquired taste, but if you like old-school feeling pixel souls-likes (timing, dodging is paramount) with very little hand-holding, this has a very eery vibe, grim religious theme and cool boss-fights.

It’s tricky attempting to mix a souslike with another genre. After all, soulslikes are, by definition complex and challenging games, and attempting to add a further layer of difficulty is a bit like throwing a drowning man a block of concrete. With Dark Devotion, developers Hibernian Workshop wanted to mix the repetitive grind of a rougelite with slow, soulslike combat, and while I did find some things to like over my ten or so hour playthrough, I mostly came away frustrated. You play as a templar ordered to explore the depths of an ancient dungeon, initially with the objective of proving your faith to your God and your superiors, although things change as you discover certain zones in the later levels. It’s still all pretty barebones, even by soulslike standards, with small amounts of lore dolled out by the handful of NPCs hanging around your hub area (the aptly name Filthblood Shelter) or found in documents that you can bring back to your library. Graphically, Dark Devotion uses the same pixellated art style you can find in games like Blasphemous, Moonscars, or Dead Cells, and I found that while perfectly serviceable there wasn’t really anything special to set it apart from…

A magnificent combination of souls-like 2D gameplay and roguelite elements. The level design is solid and features an interesting system of “curses” and “diseases,” as well as traps everywhere: it doesn't force you to dive headfirst into the adventure, but rather encourages you to proceed with caution, just the way I like it The game creates an oppressive and mysterious world with highly detailed pixel art and excellent lighting that captures the essence of dark fantasy, and the soundtrack perfectly complements its somber tone. Combat is intense and strategic, as it revolves around managing your stamina, which is extremely limited. Therefore, every attack, block, or dodge must be carefully calculated. And mastering the rhythm of combat is key to survival. For me, the boss battles were one of the game’s biggest draws. Many are designed with unique and complex attack patterns. And of course, since they’re usually the highlight of the game, they always offer a great challenge and a sense of satisfaction when you defeat them. In fact, there’s an item that lets you skip bosses you’ve already defeated, and I never felt the urge to use it lol The only thing that really frus…

Recommended. A grim 2D souls-like roguelike pilgrimage through a decaying temple, whose note-driven lore, inventive bosses and permanent tablet progression outweigh a risk-reward economy tilted hard against the player. Around fifteen varied bosses mostly fall fair, from a prayer-damage Virgin to an arrow-reflecting bull, the sixteen-tablet hunt rewards completionism richly, and reading every scattered memoir and letter sustains a blasphemous, oppressive atmosphere to the end, with health tied to equipped trinkets and armour degrading as it wears. Curses punish dodging itself, the blessing side never evens the ledger, one-way doors strangle exploration in a game styled like a Metroidvania, and the map is functionally useless at conveying position. Rough edges on a genuinely distinctive systems game, and well worth the patience.

Faith leads into the dark Temples test the faithful knight Death waits behind prayers

I give this game a rank C (60-70%) OKAY game - not bad, try on sale See my profile for more details about my reviews. [b]Full review[/b] available on [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNUMmEucStw&t=366s]video here[/url][/b] [b]Hem & Watch[/b] is on [b][url=https://www.twitch.tv/hemandwatch]Twitch[/url][/b] and [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/@hemandwatch]YouTube[/url][/b]