I suppose it was inevitable Darkest Dungeon clones would pop up eventually and yet calling Mistover that would be severely underselling it. Taking a brief glimpse at combat screens and overall mood developers were going for would leave you with a particular impression – gothic fantasy with anime girls taking the lead. And... that's not wrong, but unlike the former, Mistover has more roguelike elements in its DNA when it comes map exploration outside of aforementioned combat. This translates to somewhat traditional implementation of class skills where a Paladin, for example, can rush obstacles and clear tiles allowing you to progress, etc. Having exploration phase presented with a tangible map and not a winding corridor lets you actually avoid encounters, choose your routes more hands-on and decide whether you want to look for a key to unlock that particular shiny golden chest or rush for a completion teleporter instead. What I'm trying to say is stuff between battles isn't there just for atmosphere's sake or to pad out the run time.

Still, combat matters and if you have ever played Darkest Dungeon you kinda know what you're getting. Difference is you have FIVE characters and they're not in conga line, but rather take their places in 3x3 grid, which that applies to your enemies as well. This changes how recommended positioning, skill effects/range, party composition and other basics operate. There's no sanity mechanic and [almost all] characters have mana pools to work with when activating abilities. This doesn't mean combat is static because that sanity tug of war element has been replaced with both fairly conventional and dynamic combat. Taking a critical hit, for example, usually leads to victim in question getting jolted and increasing their speed or resulting in interrupting counter attack. There is plenty of meat to bite into here if somewhat lethal combat is your drug of choice.

VERDICT: Wishlisted for now, but uncertain if I actually have it in me to play for long stretches. This is a formula that either clicks with you or doesn't when it comes to more than mere dabbling. Story regarding “something-something-dimensional vortices-something-amnesiac party” is just a framework to go dungeon delving, keep doing it, level up the party and get better equipment while replacing fallen heroes. Keep in mind this IS a rather harsh game and it most definitely did not ignore that aspect from its chief inspiration. Ironically, it's probably more brutal when it comes to roguelike exploration because those food reserves and luminosity go out like crazy and you have to be constantly mindful because bad things will happen otherwise.

Turns out various cute anime mods for that other dungeon crawler were popular enough to spawn a game of their own.

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Getting around to actually playing Bound by Blades I can safely state I'm not exactly impressed. Why? Well, I guess the best description would be to say it's an action RPG with some progression in the form of gear you craft in the village. All combat doubles as boss fights with four “spots” connected by lanes your cute cat character dashes to and fro as you dish out and receive damage along the way. In combat terms it's a simple affair with light/charged attack alongside block and dodge at your disposal, but I think MOBILITY is key here as you need to constantly move to dodge and weave through incoming attacks. Some special abilities pass through your block so there's no explicit spammable win button either and you do get some potions if things rough alongside three re-tries for each fight. Resource gathering also plays a major role, as you get more materials after each fight, seeing as you need it to craft new pieces of gear and upgrade existing ones at the village shop. Story is something I can't really delve into as you merely get the occasional text blurb here and there with not much else to go by. Then again, story may not be be the focus as much as genuinely inviting, soft visuals and seeing your character change with each new shiny loot piece.

VERDICT: Would not recommend as is. Ignoring the fact game's formula gets quite repetitive on demo impressions alone, I think there's also a major problem going on with the way content is clearly gated behind grinding for ingredients so you can “level up” aka doing same old boss fights to gather enough stuff for new upgrades. If this is evident three fights into a demo you have a balancing problem requiring some attention.

Remember what you know about slimes. No, not about getting into every crack, about splitting into smaller versions and being annoying to kill.

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Once in a while you want to try something blind. Ukhar was that something for me and about a minute in you can tell it wears its influences on a sleeve – Legend of Zelda is strong in this one. You get a tidbit about great destiny and dangerous raiders to fight befitting a story of a young warrior that is our eponymous hero Ukhar, but this appears to be a strict case of scarce story scenes to drive a very basic plot forward. Yes, they kidnap your woman because that's part of the package. Sadly, I think the “basic” part also extends to gameplay as well. Uninspired would really be the most appropriate term to use here. I do like the absence of a shield which encourages you to play more aggressively when combined with a throwing weapon.

VERDICT: Strong pass based on the demo. It has to be emphasized this was a technical mess and I spent about a quarter of my play time trying to find ways back into level bounds after getting kicked out on seemingly random basis. Uninspired opening dungeon layout didn't help and probably the greatest danger came from spikes rather than enemies testing my skill.

Glitchy, green dungeons of demise. Don't forget re-spawning enemies.

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I'm not one for walking simulators or their ilk, but I suppose in this case that doesn't really apply, now does it? This is worth pointing out because I got the demo thinking it's just another VN albeit with somewhat atypical aesthetic seeing as anime representation remained absent, but I have to admit my own prejudices got the better of me. Dry Drowning definitely stands out visually and yet it was its well-realized world that drew me in even more. There is a sense of belonging and history here instead of the usual “player is an idiot, let's explain everything even though characters should know their own world already” game takes in strides. We follow a detective and his assistant as they work on solving a particular case that may discredit a political leader of an infamous party with a very no-nonsense stance on social matters like immigration, welfare, etc. There were some parallels drawn to real life situations and events, which I never really like seeing in my games, but this pulled it off well enough to not detract from the murder mystery story we just barely got a taste of and I already wanted more. By the end I was dreading the very same thing crossing Mordred's mind and being that much in-sync with the protagonist is a good sign for immersion.

VERDICT: Wishlisted and scoping the horizon for good deals. I'll almost certainly get around to this eventually. Making some hard choices and memorable characters worked wonders in just over an hour demo lasted for me. Also, an actual numbers puzzle! Color me surprised, doubly so because there are point & click elements to the game go beyond just talking to people you get in VNs as a rule + some Ace Attorney-style examinations. Give it a try.

Not everything gels visually as well as I would've liked, but animated noir characters definitely stand out.