Thymesia from OverBorder Studio and Crew 17 is a “soulslike” sport that clearly attracts plenty of inspiration from Bloodborne. Wanting on the sport’s overview, you’d instantly be drawn to it in case you’re a fan of Bloodborne and the comparisons don’t cease there. This can be a title that is aware of what it got down to do however modified issues up considerably sufficient to set itself other than its competitors.
So what’s Thymesia all about ? The reply to that’s one thing that you simply’ll be asking your self for fairly a while because the sport could be very gentle on its story particulars.
Corvus, a plague knight?
In Thymesia, gamers will tackle the function of Corvus. Corvus, clad in what appears like a plague physician outfit with crow-esque gildings is thrust right into a darkish, disturbing world the place the whole lot and everyone seems to be out to get you. Gamers will encounter a tutorial which will get you in control with the sport’s mechanics and from then on out, you’re by yourself to discover the sport’s unlocked areas.
Thymesia is damaged up into 4 pretty easy areas. Every space includes a vary of enemies and paths to discover however don’t anticipate a massively open and interconnected world as seen in Bloodborne. That is extra targeted. Suppose NiOh this time round and also you’d be proper on the cash. There are shortcuts to unlock and you may be retreading plenty of the identical location time and again although.
Why would you be doing that? The quick reply is that you will want to kill enemies in ranges to improve Corvus. This turns into simpler as you progress additional into the sport. Thymesia’s problem curve is kind of brutal at first however as you stage up, Corvus unlocks much more talents which helps make the remainder of the sport really feel like a breeze. There’s no stamina bar right here however there are different options that are tied to levelling up which you’ll make use of. An instance of this are the feathers that Corvus has entry to.
Throwing feathers at enemies damages them but additionally stops them from therapeutic. Corvus additionally has entry to a “Claw” assault which does the identical factor however is much simpler. The “Claw” assaults strip away at enemy healthbars and prevents them from regenerating over time. That is important to victory in Thymesia and gamers must time their assaults in order to not be killed fairly simply. Enemies in Thymesia are extremely robust and a few don’t even flinch when hitting them which makes issues much more troublesome for you because the participant.
As such, Thymesia’s gameplay is similar to Bloodborne with parrying, dodging and hanging on the proper second being key to victory. Thymesia additionally lets gamers use enemy weaponry in opposition to them. Corvus is ready to steal enemy weapons by executing them utilizing his “Claw” assault. As you progress all through the sport, it is possible for you to to unlock and equip plague weapons and these increase your arsenal and harm output significantly. Quickly sufficient you’ll be combining your customary assaults with dodging, feathers, plague weapon assaults and Claw assaults and executions very quickly.
Forgotten Feathers
What Thymesia will get proper right here is the improve system tied to the gameplay. Defeating enemies and upgrading your talents initially begins off fairly easy however the deeper you go into the sport, the extra there’s to it. When you’ve gained sufficient reminiscence fragments, you possibly can finally begin taking part in round with specializing your construct to fit your play type. The upgrading system in Thymesia is very well finished since you possibly can respec Corvus utilizing “Forgotten Feathers” obtained from bosses. This provides you much more freedom and suppleness to attempt various things out as you get by means of the sport.
Thymesia falters in two vital methods. Whereas “soulslike” video games usually don’t clarify their story up entrance and go away quite a bit to gamers to seek out out. Thymesia’s story feels as if it’s attempting to weave a posh story right here however in the end fails at doing so. There a loads of interactables in ranges which have tidbits of textual content however these don’t actually clarify an excessive amount of about what’s occurring within the sport’s world. It does its job of propelling you ahead however much more may have been finished to essentially flesh issues out. Alas, the story was given a backseat right here and given the sport’s slightly quick size, we might have favored a bit extra.
Visceral, Motion pushed Soulslike
Thymesia’s boss fights are a combined bag with some bosses being slightly troublesome to defeat whereas others are a stroll within the park. For those who’ve spent a while retreading outdated areas and farming enemies, you’d be upgraded much more and subsequently later bosses would possibly really feel quite a bit simpler than the sooner ones you’ve confronted off in opposition to. Some enemies within the sport can come throughout as low cost or unfair with assaults that fairly actually obliterate your well being bar however after some trial and error, you must be capable to get previous them. Assault sample recognition and rapidly adapting to a state of affairs is the order of the day right here.
The truth that there’s no stamina bar to hinder you in Thymesia makes it much more motion pushed and newcomer pleasant. If that is the primary time you’re taking part in a soulslike sport, Thymesia may be the sport to ease you into the style because it’s attainable to stage up Corvus fairly simply to grow to be a robust plague weapon bearer.
Graphically, Thymesia appears good with loads of darkish, moody and mysterious environments. Enemy designs are diversified and look nice too. Participant Claw assaults look spectacular and the plague weapon assaults look wonderful in motion. The one disadvantage being that whereas plenty of the stronger assaults look visceral, bloody and improbable, they don’t actually really feel as if they’re doing a lot harm to more durable foes who seemingly simply shrug it off. You’ll usually end up simply operating in, hitting an enemy and operating away once more in lots of circumstances. If the builders may overhaul a few of this with a patch sooner or later, that may make the gameplay really feel a heck of much more satisfying.
The atmospheric soundtrack of Thymesia matches the sport completely and the sound results used are nice too. Weapons actually sound highly effective sufficient however once more, there’s a mismatch with how a lot harm they do to enemies and the way enemies react to this harm. Thymesia additionally crashed fairly a couple of occasions throughout intense battles. This may be a {hardware} or driver particular problem although and hopefully it may be pinpointed an addressed with a future patch.
Closing Verdict
General, Thymesia has plenty of good concepts. It applied these concepts in a protected method and doesn’t try to chew off greater than it might chew. The sport takes round 10 hours to finish relying in your ability stage and which means it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Some boss and mini-boss enemies undoubtedly have to be balanced and tweaked a bit to make the gameplay appear fairer on the participant although. Aside from that, Thymesia is unquestionably value testing. For those who’re a fan of soulslike video games, Thymesia will attraction to you, simply you’ll want to hold your expectations in verify.
Developer: OverBorder Studio
Writer: Team17
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S, Microsoft Home windows
Reviewed on PC
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