The challenging action RPG game called Dark Souls has inspired numerous mobile titles referred to as Souls-likes. It is not an easy task to imitate the dark and gloomy atmosphere and the satisfying combat of the Souls series, especially with limited resources and personnel. Despite this, there have been significant achievements in developing successful Souls-like games that are accessible on the top Android phones.

In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the top 10 best Soulslike games on Android in 2023.

1. Dead Cells

Dead Cells is a prominent model for Souls-like games available on the Play Store. It is a 2D platformer game that makes each playthrough different by using procedural creation. In reality, you are a revived corpse from a failed scientific experiment, but as the player, you assume the role of a warrior wandering through a dungeon.

The gameplay consists of 2D platforming and dynamic hack-and-slash combat. Exploring the game's environment is encouraged as it rewards you with money and new weapons to battle with terrifying foes. The game is categorized as a "roguevania" because it combines exploration and map navigation with procedurally generated layouts that change after you die. If you enjoy challenging gameplay and procedural runs, Dead Cells is highly recommended.

2. Animus: Revenant

Animus: Revenant is an ambitious game that places you in an isometric 3D world on a linear adventure to save the world. The game draws inspiration from Dark Souls, evident from the combat mechanics that offer a variety of battle approaches such as parrying, backstabs, blocking, and attacking with different weapons. Unlike hack-and-slash games, Animus: Revenant has a slow and methodical combat style that requires players to be deliberate with their attacks.

While the graphics may not be visually dazzling, they can offer a greater frame rate, much like the first Dark Souls. However, a strong device is required to play this challenging game. It is obvious from the slow game pace and disconcerting camera perspective that this is not a game you should rush through.

3. Ronin: The Last Samurai

Ronin: The Last Samurai is a samurai-themed game that puts you in the shoes of a katana-wielding warrior battling multiple enemies in level-based waves. The combat mechanics are similar to Sekiro, with a focus on an aggressive yet cautious fighting style. Touch controls are used to perform strikes, blocks, parries, and special attacks, which are highly responsive and complement the game's art style.

But because of the slow mobility in the game, archers have plenty of time to aim and fire. Even though the game is simple, playing it is still fun, especially for Nioh and Sekiro aficionados.

4. Pascal's Wager

If you've been eagerly anticipating a mobile game in the vein of Dark Souls, your wait is over with Giant Global's Pascal's Wager. The game immerses players in a foreboding and eerie realm, offering an intense action experience with stunning 3D visuals. Combat is challenging and pits players against terrifying foes in a quest to bring light to the world.

Pascal's Wager draws heavily from the Souls series and other similar games like Nioh. The player must traverse perilous environments and reach altars to progress. Bone fragments can be dedicated at altars to level up, and each level-up grants an attribute point that can be used to upgrade stats like vigor or strength. Altars are also used to craft potions and rest, which fully heals the player but respawns all enemies, akin to Dark Souls.

Unlike its inspiration, Pascal's Wager is divided into distinct levels that can be accessed through a map in the player's caravan. While the interconnected world of Dark Souls was a beloved feature, it may have been challenging to navigate such a complex world on mobile devices.

5. Shadow of Death

Shadow of Death is one of the best examples of a 2D hack-and-slash game. The game features a silhouetted world with hostile creatures that want to kill you. You get to choose from four different warriors, each with unique abilities and playstyles, similar to the build concept found in the Souls series. The combat is fast-paced and stylish, with wave-based levels and creatively designed enemies. As you progress through the game, you unlock new abilities and usable items.

The game does not offer much in terms of exploration, likely due to the limitations of the art style. The silhouette environments can be visually confusing, making exploration difficult. Although the game's art design may not be award-winning, the combat in Shadow of Death is satisfying to control and visually appealing, satisfying both the Devil May Cry itch as well as the desire for a Souls-like game.

6. Way of Retribution

Way of Retribution is a unique take on the Souls-like genre that adopts an MMORPG-style gameplay, with the game's design resembling Neverwinter. The game places you in regions with lots of adversaries and a boss to take down, but there's a twist: you have to finish the level's objectives before taking on the boss. There are a variety of starting classes available in the game, each with their own specializations in battle.

Similar to previous games in the genre, the player locks onto foes and uses symbols for particular attacks during combat. Even though the gameplay differs from classic Souls-style games, it's still a unique experience that blends the greatest elements of both genres. The game is also simple to download and play.

7. Watcher Chronicles

Watcher Chronicles wastes no time in identifying itself as a 2D Souls-like game, placing you in a dungeon with a sword and armor. The gameplay is similar to Blasphemous, but with a cleaner art style and less disturbing visual design. The combat is seamless, allowing for dodge rolling, blocking, and ranged combat to aid you in challenging situations.

Though the cartoonish art style may be unattractive at times, it quickly evolves and reveals some truly exceptional enemy designs, making Watcher Chronicles proficient in its basic features. The difficulty is well-balanced, the weapons are satisfying, the bosses are impressive, and the game motivates you to experiment with different play styles, as the best RPGs do.

8. Grimvalor

Strangely similar to the previous game, Grimvalor is a 2D hack-and-slash Souls-like that places emphasis on platforming and agile combat. However, Grimvalor differs by pulling the camera further back to increase visibility of the surroundings, which is beneficial for precision platforming. The game provides a double jump and a powerful dash for level traversal, which seamlessly integrates with combat.

Enemies are fairly predictable in telegraphing their attacks, but the game remains challenging. The difficulty level is well-balanced, with the basics thoroughly tutorialized before the game presents any significant challenges. Although Grimvalor is very linear and can be visually dull at times, the gameplay is enjoyable and satisfying, making players feel powerful.

9. Swordigo

Swordigo is heavily influenced by the Souls-like genre, with an emphasis on difficult fighting and exploration. You play as a youthful hero tasked with defending the land from an evil entity in the game. The enemy assaults are telegraphed and must be avoided or deflected in this fast-paced, timing-sensitive fight.

As you progress through the game, you'll acquire new abilities and weapons that will let you take down increasingly difficult foes.

10. Dark Raider

A 2D side-scrolling action game called Dark Raider is strikingly similar to the Soulsborne series. You are thrust into a sinister and ominous environment with undead warriors and demonic monsters in the game. Dodging, parrying, and having quick reactions are all crucial for surviving in fast-paced combat. The game's difficulty is high, but not punishingly so, and mastering its combat systems can be extremely satisfying.

The level design in Dark Raider is one of its best qualities. Each region has a complex layout with secret passages, obstacles, and other features to find. Exploration leads to the discovery of strong tools and priceless objects, which gives the game a strong sense of progression. The game's setting is also rich in lore, and the plot is gradually revealed as you advance.

>>> Read more: Top 5 Beginner Friendly Gacha Games To Play In 2023

Gacha Thursday is the weekly stream of Japanese developers on their new or currently-in-development title. And in their stream last Thursday, the developer P-Studio and Omega Force have given us a whole 20-minute look at the gameplay of its latest project - Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers.

Apart from the brief introduction at the exploration in the Sapporo city, the stream mainly focuses on its innovative combats, which has made a huge jump from the traditional turn-based style of the Persona series to the modern real-time hack-n-slash style.

You can see the trailer below for details:

What's new in this stream

We've given you a brief summary on the story of the game as well as some gameplay features of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers. You can check for it here for more information, but basically, it's the crossover of the Persona series from Atlus and Koei Techmo's top-seller Dynasty Warriors series, taking place in summer 6 months after the story of Persona 5.

Hence, it has packed in the story, characters and concept of Persona but portrays them like a Dynasty Warriors game. To be more specific, the trailer shows us a quick tour through the crowded city of Sapporo, where you can interact with a wide range of NPC. And suddenly, the main protagonist Joker received notification about the invade from the Other World, and it's time for the Phantom Thieves of Heart to make their strike.

The stream quickly switches to combats in the Other World. That's where the Dynasty Warriors-style hack-n-slash begins. The developer has done a great job making the movement of the characters look very smooth with eye-popping animation.

For example, Joker has a double jump and is incredibly fast, allowing him to perform a powerful ground-bash. Apart from that, players can also combine the light attacks with the strong ones to pull out satisfying combos. Last but not least. At the end of the mission around 9:00 mark, you can find the powerful Musou-like attacks as well, and it's very satisfying.

Release date and supported platforms of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers

We still don't have a specific release date of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers worldwide yet. However, Japanese players will be able to receive the game on February 20, so we should not have to wait much longer after that.

At launch, it's confirmed to support PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

We've seen a lot of games with helpful dogs, but none of them give the dogs a real chance to shine. So, with Hounds of Valor, they'll no longer have to be the trusty partners of humans anymore, as the canine dudes can save the world by themselves!

Hounds of Valor is an action RPG game from the indie developer DogAtWork Games, which has taken a lot of inspiration from the PS2 classic titles such as God of War and Okami. With that as a base, the game's hack-n-slash action is very smooth with detailed animation and a wide set of skills for humans' best friends.

You can see the trailer of Hounds of Valor below while waiting for the demo download to complete.

The concept of Hounds of Valor

Hounds of Valor doesn't have a special story of plot twist or something like that, since the life of a dog is much simpler and less scandalous than us. All we have to do in this game is stepping in the paws of a dog that has mastered the art of using a sword with its mouth. Heading to the vast green field, it will take on the battles with any weird things he deemed dangerous.

Inspired by Okami and God of War, the hack-n-slash action of this game looks more smooth and creative than I've expected. The swordmaster canine friend have a lot of moves to perform with his insanely big sword, including a normal attack, a heavy strike, a bash.

Furthermore, each of those attacks will have bonus effects and functions when you choose to hold the button to charge your attack. There is also an aerial attack, which you'll jump to the sky and glamorously slam the ground to feel like a grand entrance! The enemies are not going to be stupid punchbags, so you couldn't expect to get rid of them by just flailing your swords. Instead, you'll have to mix up those attacks for some good combos.

Apart from the melee strike, our dog also has some knives under its paws for the long-range attack. It doesn't deal much damage, but it's good for investigation on the enemies, and is suitable to keep some distance and buy time with them if your HP drops too low.

Free demo available

Hounds of Valor is still under development, but you can already grab its free demo on Itch.io. This demo will give you around 15-minute of experience with almost everything you can ask for: near-finish visuals, full movement sets, ordinary monster, and bosses, as well as background music to enhance your experience!

If you love what you've experienced, don't forget to give the devs some feedback and credits for their work. That's the best gift for Christmas for them!

Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris has stayed in development progress for over two years now, it has caught gamers' eyes through its earliest images. It's a dark fantasy game where you'll take control of a mighty king desperately trying to save his kingdom from the edge of destruction.

And finally, after a long wait, the game is out now for PC via Steam! Personally, I don't like the game's dark esque at first, but through a range of updates, it looks gorgeous now. You can see the visuals and the gameplay of Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris in the launch trailer of the game below:

The story of Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris

Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris takes you to the prestigious role of the king of six fantasy kingdoms of Lera. Your kingdom is now suffering from an endless plague, devastating the life of your precious people, so no one else but you - Farren - will have to find a way to put a stop to it.

The only way for you to cure your kingdom of the plague is by adventuring in another country - Ena: The Kingdom Above All Kingdom. Your trusties regent - Gulbrand has somehow found a tale that brings the last hope to the country, requiring you to find the Spires and the unique resources in Ena. So, letting your country under the control of Gulbrand, you'll embark on your journey to the higher kingdom to search for the answer to this disease.

Through a long and dagưngerous journey, you've succeeded in opening almost all of the Spires, but something has gone wrong with the last one. After you reopened the last Spire, the entire world starts to collapse, the sky goes black and the oceans are evaporated. Every effort you've made is in vain, and now you find yourself stuck in a collapsing world, worrying about your kingdom.

It takes you three years to go back to your beloved land of Lera, but where is it? The kingdom you're seeing is not the one that you used to rule anymore. You soon find out that your Regent and the authorities have betrayed you, and you'll have to fight to regain the rulership of your kingdom and save it from the current wicked king.

Gameplay features

Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris is a horror game that you'll explore the dark fantasy ưorld of Lera and Ena through the first-person perspective. In the journey to recover your land, you can only trust yourself, as no one will give you support when you're in need. One against armies - will you be able to fulfill your task?

The world of Lera is experiencing its darkest era with a dense atmosphere and the light is nowhere to be found. And lurking inside those shadows are the horrors that are hunting for you. They are also much stronger than you as well, so you'll have to put your whole life at risk to find a looming chance of winning.

And when I said put your life at risk, I mean literally. Aside from your normal weapons such as swords, axes or starves, you also have the power of a magical weapon that will blow your enemies off quite easily. However, the cost for that is your HP, which means the more you use your ultimate weapon, the more your HP will drop. Hence, you won't want to use it excessively.

Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris is now available for PC via Steam at the price of $39.99.

After two initial reveals back in July and September at Tokyo Game Show, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 finally has an official release date. This announcement came out yesterday, and it's great news for the fans of two legendary franchises: One Piece and Dynasty Warriors.

Alongside this reveal, the publisher Bandai Namco and the developer Omega Force also dropped a trailer revealing the bonus costumes that will come out both freely on launch and if you opt to pre-order the game. This trailer also gives us a new look on the game's one-vs-all hack-n-slash gameplay, which you can have a look below:

The concept of One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 takes the settings of the Whole Cake Island, and will put you into the shoes of Luffy and his friends to beat-em-up to find the final boss - Big Mom. This arc happens from chapter 829 to 902, so if you want to ruin your funs and go see the manga first - those are the ones to search for.

Nevertheless, through the first cinematic part of the trailer, you can see Luffy unlocks his Gear 4 - Snakeman to punch his way through the land of Wano. It has gathered a lot of strong people, including Basin Hawkins, Shanks and Marco, and they're down to fight for the last showdown to find who's the crew to get the piece.

Who will Luffy and the members of the Straw Hat crew have to beat?

Gameplay features

We've covered in detail how One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 will look like, and you can feel free to have a look right here. In short, it's the splendid mixture of characters from the One Piece series with the hack-n-slash Musou-based combats of the Dynasty Warriors series.

The two have a lot of similarities, while the Luffy, Nami, Zoro and his crew all have their normal attacks, strong attacks, and special skills in the series, which makes them blend perfectly. Through this game, you can now feel the satisfaction of controlling Luffy using his elastic body to roll, punch and kick his foes to the ground.

On the other hand, you can also explore the Whole Cake Island through the eyes of other characters as well. Their appearances will very likely to occur in certain quests, and if Omega Force keeps the free-play modes from the Dynasty Warriors series, you will also be able to bring your favorite crew members on every mission you want.

Release date and DLC costumes

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 will come out on March 26 2020. Western gamers will have to wait for one more day, but it doesn't matter too much.

At launch, the game will support PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch, and there's a special thing about this: Each console version will receive an exclusive set of costumes if you pre-order. PS4 or Switch will receive Zoro, Soba Mask, and Nami's costumes. Meanwhile, the Xbox One version will get all of the three previous ones plus a huge bonus bundle as well.

Are you excited to try the game?

Shooting and slashing don't often go together in a 2D platformer, but Black Future '88 is different. It does not only allows you to blast your enemies off with a series of upgradable guns but also requires you to use your melee moves precisely against hostiles enemies!

The game has been revealed for two years, and I'm completely shocked at how stunning the dark world full of neon light looks. And now, as the developer SuperScarySnakes and the publisher Good Shepherd has promised, Black Future '88 is now available for PC.

To celebrate this launch, the publisher has been running a 10% discount on the game, and also released another gameplay trailer. You can have a look at the beautiful fast-paced combats in Black Future '88 in the video below:

The story of Black Future '88

Black Future '88 takes the settings of a futuristic world, where the history was frozen at the year of 1988 due to a nuclear. To be more specific, Duncan - the tower maker - has dropped his first nuclear bomb in the summer of 1988, making the entire world suffer from major destruction. Even worse, by the end of that year, the sun has stopped shining, and the world only sees endless rain now.

As we don't have the sun anymore, the future of the Earth is now all black, and human history has stuck in the '88's darkness due to the inability to count days and night. Not only does humankind is struggling from this disaster, but their lives are also left in minutes, as the extreme floods are threatening to wipe out the last man standing on Earth.

The only hope for the human race now is somehow stopping the wicked architect - Duncan from his evil nuclear jobs. Stepping into the shoes of the last misfit survivors on Earth, you'll have to risk your life ascending his tower, just to find the only glimmering hope of killing Duncan.

In this scenario, dying is the only way to survive!

Gameplay features

As I've mentioned, Black Future '88 is a2D action shooting game with roguelike elements, which requires you to climb up the tower to fulfill your sacred missions of saving human kinds. Featuring insanely fast-paced gameplay, you will experience your adrenaline levels rising to the top with not only the combats but also the upbeat electrical music as well!

To be more specific, you'll choose one from 5 playable characters for this journey to death. Each of them has different skillsets and stats, which will decide how you'll approach this tower ascending journey. The tower is procedurally generated, so no second adventure is going to be the same.

Scattering over the tower are Duncan's machine minions, which will threaten you with their heavy firepower and numbers, so you'll have to put your dodging and fighting skills to a real test. The control in this game is quite simple, with the normal dashing and jumping moves, as well as a button to shoot using your gun and to slash using your advanced melee weapons.

Speaking about the weapons, Black Future '88 features over 50 types of weapons, including the handy slow pistols to the powerful laser gun. And don't forget your trusty laser sword which you can make use of in certain situations. Basing on your playstyle, you'll have to choose a suitable combination for better effects.

Last but not least, the game also features the blessing and curse elements, which empowers you with certain boosts while taking away some of your stats in exchange.

Release date

Black Future '88 is available for PC now via Steam and GOG.

The GOG version is DRM-free, which means you can download the game and try it everywhere even when you're offline. The Steam version is under 10% sale, which cuts its price down to $17.99.

Croixleur Sigma was launched initially five years ago for PC, PS4, and Switch by the developer souvenir and publisher Playism. The game has gained decent success due to its vibrant visuals, satisfying hack-n-slash gameplay, and especially - the four anime-style female protagonists.

Receiving positive reviews from the players, the developer souvenir has decided to add new content containing the DLC outfits for the girls. However, it has favored consoles over PC, only bringing those DLCs to PS4 and Switch. PC gamers are not happy about this, of course, so Playism has to make its efforts.

And now, we're receiving a brand new version of Croixleur Sigma for PC via Steam and Playism. Below is the trailer for this re-release, which you can have a look to see the changes:

The concept of Croixleur Sigma

The story of Croixleur Sigma rotates around four vibrant anime-like girls on their action. With their magical blades in hands, Lucrezia, Francesca, Katerina, and Sara-Anika will have to fight against hordes of wicked creatures to protect their friendship and... justice!

This kind of story is as old as my grandmother, but with cute girls with different personalities, fans are not complaining. Firstly, Lucrezia is kind of a bight active girl from the royal family. She was always straightforward with her decision and action, and people also knew her as the magic sword genius.

Joining Lucrezia is her childhood friend - Francesca, or Fran as Lucrezia loves to call. This girl is the model of tsundere - who is very cute and close to Luc when they were born. However, Fran changes her attitudes toward Luc after their teen ages as they have to fight in a trial to get in the Nito Towers. Fran is a genius, pure but reserved girl, which ends up giving her an unwanted embarrassing name: Princess.

The third one is an extraordinary member of the Royal family - Katerina. Even though she is the younger sister of the Queen, the virtue of this elegant world doesn't suit her well. Even weirder, as Kat doesn't like talking with girls with her age much, but prefer to talk to old people from other countries. But overall, Kat is very kind-hearted, as she'll fight against the guys she deemed "bad".

Lastly, Sara-Annika is a black-haired girl that's working as the Queen's teacher of sword and magic. She's a great shaman herself, but she doesn't acknowledge her power at all. Other people know that, but none have a chance to talk to her since she can't simply just chat with other people. Luckily, the playful Katerina comes to her and becomes her best friend after they first met.

Gameplay features

The story of the four girls in Croixleur Sigma will be gradually revealed through the Story mode of the game. Basically, you'll take control of one from four, choosing four swords from the lightest to the biggest to bring to each arena-like battle.

After choosing your weapon combination, you'll be taken to a round arena full of monsters from decently small to very big. Each of them will have certain stats and moveset, which you'll have to roam around to slay them down one by one and avoid being surrounded. The combat in Croixleur Sigma is quite responsive, with normal attacks, strong attack, and aerial attacks.

And if you're stuck in sticky situations, you can use special attacks that are unique to each character. If you finish the story and still don't get bored of the combats in this game, you can try with other play modes as well, including Time Attack, Challenge mode, and Dungeon mode.

Relaunching for PC

This new version of Croixleur Sigma will include every DLC that was previously bought to PlayStation 4 and consoles.

Croixleur will be available on November 19, and in the first two launch week, the game will be under 40% sale, which cut down the price from $19.99 to $11.99. Furthermore, people who own the first version will get a 60%-off coupon, which also stacks with the sale price.

Conan Chop Chop is a four-player co-op, hack-and-slash game set in a fantasy world created by Robert E. Howard more than 80 years ago.  The game is being developed by Mighty Kingdom and will be published by Funcom. You can check out the trailer of Conan Chop Chop below.

In the world of Hyboria, the wicked wizard Thoth-Amon has come up with a plan to bring the ancient monster, Xaltotun, back to life. With the help of it, he can easily put the entire world into never-ending darkness and enslavement. There is no other person than you, Conan the Barbarian, can stop him and save the world. But in order to do that, you must use all of your strength, intelligence, courage, and moreover, you must...Chop Chop!

Here are the key features of the game:

- You can play with up to 3 other friends.

- You can choose any hero from the Conan universe to play.

- There are 4 different worlds for you to explore, the desert of Koth, Hyperborea, the enchanted Darkwood, and Vanaheim. Each will have its own unique enemies and dungeons.

- Slash your enemies in pieces with anything you can find, even with a broom.

- As you progress through the game, you will unlock more astonishing moves.

- Watch out for giant bosses and their dealy skills such as Lava Reflux, Tail Whip, and Loogie Glob.

- The map is randomly generated with a variety of weapons and loots to make every game unique. Unlocking new weapons to try different styles in each playthrough.

According to the developer, Conan Chop Chop will be the most realistic stick figure game about Conan the Barbarian that people have ever played. That means you can totally expect that there will be a lot of gore and flying limbs waiting for you ahead.

Conan Chop Chop is supposed to be released on PC (Steam) and consoles in September this year, but it will be delayed to Q1 2020.

Guardians of Ember is a hack-and-slash MMORPG for PC developed by Taiwanese studio Runewaker, who is also the name behind Runes of Magic. The game was originally released on Steam a little bit over a year back but was later taken down. Now, publisher Gameforge has announced that it is making a comeback, with an Open Beta already available.

This re-launch has made several quality of life improvements compared to the original release, from gameplay, character customization to missions, UI optimization, and more. Over the last couple of months, Gameforge has also worked very hard to expand regional support for Guardians of Ember, adding more languages so as to bring the game to players from all over the world.

 
Guardians of Ember trailer

To show appreciation to its players, Guardians of Ember is currently offering many special items and freebies for both veterans and newcomers. Those who participated in the beta test will receive a unique in-game to acknowledge their part in helping the developer polish the game. Players who had bought the original Steam version of the game (when it was still under publisher Insel Games) will be eligible to be included in the Veterans’ Reward program, which gives them many valuable items for free when they come back.

Guardians of Ember is an action-focus multiplayer game which delivers an intense adventure to veterans and newbies alike. Like other games of its kind, players will be able to choose from 4 races (Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and Naia) and 6 different classes (Knight, Dark Knight, Mage, Priest, Ranger, and Engineer) to create the character that most suits their playstyle. There are tons of options for skill optimization as well.

The combat is brutal, requiring players to calculate their attacks carefully to maximize damage. The game takes place in the vast and beautiful world of Olyndale, which has more than 60 challenging randomly-generated dungeons spread across 58 regions, as well as numerous tough foes for players to overcome.

RemiLore: Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore follows a motif very often seen in anime: An unlikely hero (or heroine in this case) gets delivered into a magical world and embark on a mission to defeat tons of mechanical creatures using bizarre weapons. And don’t forget that these foes will drop snacks upon slain. It has everything an anime fan would love, and it would have been a great game without a totally out-of-place feature: Roguelike permadeath.

Currently available on PS4, Xbox One and Switch, with a PC version coming soon, RemiLore I an anime-inspired game that tells the tale of Remi, a normal high school student who accidentally gets teleported into a magical realm by a living spellbook known as Lore. This realm, Ragnoah, is swarmed by vicious mechanical beings, and now, Remi must fight her way past them to find the portal that’ll take her home, armed with Lore’s magic and tons of wacky weapons. Basically anything could be used to beat up the machines in this game, from a broom or a golf club to a hockey stick.

The action of RemiLore is admittedly very satisfying. Depending on the weapon you have equipped, Remi either overwhelms enemies with a flurry of blows from a fast but low-damage sword or brings them to their knees with sheer brute force from a slow, high-powered hammer. Enemies’ attacks are pretty telegraphed, so combat is all about timing your strikes and dodges well. The game also allows for some strategic options by letting you combine the skills of your weapons with Lore’s collection of spells. For example, a slow spell makes for a great combo with a weapon that deals increased damage to slowed enemies. Still, the core idea of the game is just all about getting lost in the mindless hacking-and-slashing.

 
Satisfying action

Publisher Nicalis describes RemiLore as a “rogue-lite”, suggesting that it has some with the roguelike genre. All the levels in the game are procedurally generated, so every time you come back to the four regions of Ragnoah it’ll be a whole new adventure. There will be different weapons, enemies, and bosses. And these roguelike aspects aren’t too bad.

The problem here is when Remi dies, that’s it. There is no respawn. You must restart again from the beginning of the series of levels that you are currently on (For example, if you’re on level 2-3 then you must start again from 2-1). Alternatively, you can start a new game altogether, but any upgrades that you’ve unlocked with “dessert points” will be carried over.

In roguelike games, this serves as a way for players to power up until they are strong enough to progress further into the story. But with RemiLore, there are so many random factors at work here that planning ahead is very difficult. Finding a bad weapon at the beginning or getting trapped up in a small room full of dangerous enemies can totally ruin progress.

And that’s frustrating. The characters are well-designed. The dialogue (fully-voiced in Japanese) is entertaining. They make players want to progress to know more about the realm, about Remi, Lore, and other characters. Being stopped dead in their tracks and having to start over and over again from the beginning just because of bad RNG is just simply disheartening.

To make matters worse, the game only has one save slot for all game modes, meaning if you want to switch to co-op mode, everything is reset again.

If only RemiLore had been a simple hack-and-slash title or an Action RPG. The story is intriguing, the combat is excellent, yet the roguelike elements are redundant and does nothing but holding back the game.

The first thing that capture players’ interests when they hear about Immortal Rogue from solo developer Kyle Barrett aka Foolish Mortal Studio is its unique narrative system. When they actually start playing the game, though, it is its gameplay that keeps them hooked. Sure, the retro art style is lovely and the soundtrack is solid, but the true beauty of Immortal Rogue comes from its difficulty and unforgiving nature. Granted, not everyone can enjoy games that challenge them to their limits, but those who do is going to absolutely love Immortal Rogue.

Before we go deeper into the details about mechanics and controls, let’s look at the first two things that come to our attention: Graphics and sound. Right off the bat we are put in the middle of an ancient battlefield. Amidst the ruins stands a lone figure clad in a purple cloak. The entire scenery is eerily beautiful and serves to establish the atmosphere (and the narrative to a certain extent). As you click “begin”, the music rises – a mournful, reflective melody that cements the theme. This is the game telling you that this is not a tale of heroes, valor, or wisdom. It is entirely about an immortal predator trying to find its way to survive through the ages.

The game then officially begins and you are given some instructions on the basic controls, which is, indeed, quite basic. You tap to execute an attack, dash with a swipe, and perform a heavy attack by holding on the screen a bit then swipe to the desired direction. Overall they feel smooth and responsive – except for the heavy attack, which will take a little bit of time to get used to. Sometimes you might find yourself performing a dash instead of a heavy like you intended to, or vice versa, getting a heavy out when all you wanted was to simply attack. For the most part this is not a big issue, but it could actually prove fatal when you are surrounded by a mob or in the middle of the boss fight. Luckily, this problem only occurs pretty rarely. Still, builds that focus on using heavy attacks and constantly moving around a fight might be somewhat hampered.

Getting used to the basic controls and surviving is relatively straightforward. Mastering them and actually thriving, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. All the attacks have a feeling of impact behind them and overall feel great. The first few levels feel like a chaotic and hysterical bloodbath, and that the core, they are. While the game does not have any visual animation such as blood spraying to emphasize the point, jumping on top of enemies and hacking them to pieces truly does make you feel like a ravenous predator ruthlessly feasting on its prey. It is possible that this was intentionally included by the developer because the thrill you get upon defeating the first mini-boss is definitely going to stay with you for a long time.

With experience and mastery comes wisdom, however, and in this case it tells you that there is a safer and more effective playstyle: Dashing between attacks. Every weapon has a combo, which could include anywhere from 2 to 4 hits. After you execute that combo, you must wait a little bit before you can do it again. And here is where the trick comes in handy: you can reset this delay simply by dashing or performing heavy attacks. This will allow you to chain multiple combos back-to-back, which means your opponents will never have a chance to counter-attack. When you master this technique, you will no longer feel like a mindless bloodthirsty animal, but an experienced and deadly hunter stalking his prey from the shadow.

As a newborn vampire (“newborn” as in, you just got turned into a vampire, not that you are a baby), you will slumber for centuries at a time, waking only replenish yourself. Each time you wake, you can choose your prey from a collection of notable figures, and the future of the world will progress in different directions depending on who you kill. This is Immortal Rogue’s narrative structure, and it promises a brand new mechanics: You, the player, will have the ability to shape the in-game world and determine how it develops. This sounds wonderful, especially for those who love to choose their own adventure. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really deliver on this promise.

Yes, for your first playthrough – and second, and maybe even third or fourth – it can be pretty intriguing to mess around and play with all the options you have to see how the world will change. However, there will come a point where it gets… stale. Maybe it’s just because you are tired of beating the game again and again and again, but eventually your choice starts to feel meaningless. You still go from centuries to centuries with the only difference being which enemies you will encounter. But why does it matter whether you are fighting barbarians with spears or high-tech cyborgs wielding grenade launchers? While this might have been the developer’s way of simulating the tedium of immortality, it is still pretty disappointing, especially considering that one of the advertised features of the game is that you can “guide the development of a world.”

Despite these shortcomings, the idea is still an innovative one that could be expanded on in later titles, and the combat as well as difficulty are extremely well done. It provides everything you would expect: An intense, fast-paced, and difficult hack-n’-slash roguelike. The early part of the game is not too tough (in fact, it could use a boost in term of challenge), but it quickly evolves into a graceful yet deadly dance. You will have to pay careful attention to ranged enemies while at the same time manage hordes of melee bruisers. There is one minor complaint in this aspect though: You might swipe out of the game by accident, especially if you play on a device that has a home bar. However, this is more of a personal experience than anything else.

Barring those minor hiccups, Immortal Rogue is still, without a doubt, a title worth trying. The game clearly shows that a lot of effort has been put into it, and it’s amazing to think that all this work was done by just one person. Hopefully this developer will have more in store for us to enjoy in the future.

Smash TV was a popular arcade game way back in the early 1990s. If you have not heard of this game, it was a dual-stick shooter based loosely (and unofficially) on The Running Man, a 1987 action-thriller classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Basically, in this game, you participate in a futuristic game show and move from one room to another killing wave after wave of enemies, earning cash, prizes, and fame in the process. This top-down hack-and-slash style was actually featured in another famous arcade game called Gauntlet several years earlier, but unlike the futuristic theme of Smash TV, this game went for a fantasy setting. The levels were also larger and more complicated compared to Smash TV as well.

But where are all this leading to? Why should you care about some 30-year-old games? Well, the reason we spent all that time describing those games is to paint you a picture of how they were like, because if you combine the fantasy setting of Gauntlet with the structure of Smash TV, you will get an idea of what Plastic Cow Games’ upcoming mobile game Smash Dungeon is going to be. Check out some of its early gameplay footage below for a visual demonstration:

From what we know so far, Smash Dungeon will have procedurally-generated levels, skill sets that you can upgrade as you go, several boss battles, as well as tons of items, unlockable characters, and more.  It drew its original inspiration from Gauntlet, but the gameplay then ended up more similar to Smash TV.

One cool feature here is that different enemies will have different abilities and attack types. For example, the Mutant will explode upon being killed, while the Dancing Plan will constantly spawn new enemies if not dealt with quickly.

 
The Mutant will explode upon death

It will probably be quite a while before we can get our hands on the finished game, considering that Plastic Cow Games is just a one-person studio. However, even in this early stage of development, Smash Dungeon is still looking very solid. The developer also said that that they would be looking for beta testers in the next couple of weeks, so if you’re interested, be sure to keep yourself updated!

 
The Dancing Plant will keep summoning enemies if you don't deal with it quickly

Gameforge Relaunches Guardians of Ember.

We have just received the news from the European game publisher Gameforce that they will relaunch their PC MMORPG action title, Guardians of Ember. But this time they will make it follows the Free-to-Play model which is trending nowadays. Previously, the game was released as a Steam Buy-2-play game, and the outcome was not very pretty.

But generally speaking, Guardians of Ember was not a bad game at all. With this comeback, the game goes together with a variety of upgrades and improvements from Runewaker - a developer from Taiwan.

Guardians of Ember is an action-packed game set in the mythical land of Olyndale where players will explore the game world and destroy the evil doers. It also has a unique and interesting combat system, many options for character customization and huge open world multiplayer.

MMORPG and "hack and slash"

Guardians of Ember is an attempt to combine the MMORPG genre with the "hack and slash" into an action-packed online multiplayer game. The result is a game which will satisfy both the newcomers and hardcore fans.

In the game, you will get to choose from 6 classes and 4 races and later on, you can customize your character's skillsets with many options. The combat mechanic is not so easy though, you will need to calculate all the attacks to optimize the damage to your opponents. The realm is immense and full of challenges with 58 regions and over 60 dungeons, so go and explore it.

Here we list some main features of Guardians of Ember:

• Team Combat “Hack and Slash”

Go into battle with a group of up to 4 friends - mixing up brawn and magic to fight against the endless evil force that is trying to invade Olyndale. The dungeons will also have various PvE challenges.

• Arena of Honor

This option is only for the bravest Guardians, you will enter the arena and fight off the others until you are the only one left standing. These are modes for 5vs5, 3vs3, 1vs1 matches.

• The Immortal Guardian

Choose your character from the unique classes from all corners of Olyndale.

• Dual Class System

After reaching level 15 you will be given the ability to choose a secondary class for yourself with new abilities and skills.

• Endless Challenges

More challenges with 100 quests and missions.

• Make Your Mark

Leave your mark in the game with customized weapons and personalized home.