As Farron West, a self-proclaimed adventurer who stumbles upon The Lost Valley of Acrea, you encounter an untimely demise in Stray Blade, a Souls-like RPG from indie developer Point Blank Games. Boji, a magical talking wolf companion, who has brought you back from the dead, has pushed a crystal into your chest and bound you to Acrea. Both of you set out on a quest to discover what mysterious power holds you captive in these lands.
The core mechanics of Souls-like this game are present: bonfire checkpoints, parrying, dodge-rolling, and backstabbing. Combat is enjoyable, but sometimes feels sluggish and imprecise because you have to wait for enemies to attack and react accordingly, rather than wading in with your sword swinging wildly. Knights swing swords, spiders leap toward you, wild dogs charge headfirst, and various other mystical creatures with extraordinary attacks will be facing you. Every foe requires a different approach to a takedown, making encounters even more exciting.
Blacksmithing stations allow you to craft weapons, armor, and ruins as you explore the cartoony open world. In addition, when you defeat an enemy camp of soldiers, you’ll receive a chest containing blueprints for new armour or weapons with better stats. There’s a good selection of weapons on offer, from swords and shields to spears and crossbows, each has its own stats determining its range, damage, speed, and control, so you can experiment. There’s nothing new here, but it’s always nice to have a bit of control over your character build.
Stray Blade is plagued by a bunch of glaringly obvious bugs. For starters, a statistics box stays open after closing the menu, blocking your entire screen. Another problem is the frame rate, which drops whenever you save, load, or enter/exit combat. Also, you need a magnifying glass to see anything on the world map.
A Souls-like RPG with an intriguing narrative and comical companion, Boji, Stray Blade is an enjoyable entry-level RPG with a beautifully built world to explore. The Souls-like genre is attractive, but Stray Blade has bugs and frame rate issues.
Pros:
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Combative core.
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Runtime is good, long.
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Visually cartoonish.
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An enjoyable story.
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Exploring the world.
Cons:
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Low FPS.
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Bugs.
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Minimalist.
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Poor enemy encounters.
7 over 10 for this game.
