This looks like it might check a few boxes. Pixel art? Check. Fantasy characters? Check. Noticeable nods to Gauntlet designs? Check! This one might be a winner! Known for their quantity-based approach to game publication, the cavalcade of releases from Ratalaika Games continues with Thy Sword, a pixel art fantasy platform action game developed by GamePhase.
As stated by GamePhase, Thy Sword draws inspiration from Golden Axe, Bubble Bobble, and Barbarian, just to name a few. It’s an obvious nod to a variety of classic arcade games, made even more blatant by the game’s continues where an animated coin is fed into a slot. That’s not a bad thing though. The appeal of those old quarter eaters was that they were both challenging and fun, and that’s obviously been the goal here with Thy Sword.
You play your choice of a Barbarian or a Valkyrie, and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. The Valkyrie starts with a bow, but less health points, while the Barbarian is stronger and has more health, but no ranged attack. There’s not much in the way of plot here other than the intro, just pick up an adventurer and begin! It’s a clean, fresh way to get things moving right away that’s surprisingly lacking in many modern games with their endless exposition.
Gameplay for Thy Sword is straightforward. There’s a main attack, a special attack, blocking, and if you have a bow, a ranged attack. Simply clear the screen of enemies and move into the opened door. There are five screens on each level, after which you move on to either fight a boss or unlock another area. Levels are set up very similarly to Bubble Bobble, although they seem to be procedurally generated, not static. Enemies are randomized as well, and each playthrough ends up feeling new, even if you’re playing the same levels over again. Overall, it’s a solid design with the level layouts flowing well and never getting tedious. Finish a level and you also get to visit an encampment where you can gamble, buy supplies, weapons, and armor. You’ll need it too, because the game is pretty damned unforgiving, assuming you can even manage to get enough coins to buy anything.
Every hit you take counts in Thy Sword. It’s difficult to regain life, either by chancing upon a life potion that restores a couple of points, or by buying more life at the price of 30 coins for two hits worth of health. You’ll find rather quickly that money is in short supply, especially if you choose the Barbarian. Randomly in levels a crow appears carrying a key and if you can pick him off before he spots you (much easier for the Valkyrie with her bow), he’ll drop the key which unlocks a plentiful treasure chest of coins and gems. This is really the only way to get enough money to upgrade at all, especially in the early levels, and if you spend it after your first five levels, you still won’t have enough to upgrade your weaponry and other more expensive options.
There’s definitely a bit of an imbalance between the money you get and the cost of items, although you can actually gamble in town as well, giving at least the potential to upgrade early. If you manage to survive a few sections, you’ll unlock optional side levels as well, offering access to massive, challenging bosses and the rewards you will reap if you manage to defeat them. And that’s no easy task because the bosses are definitely tough as nails here and mistakes will doom you.
Speaking of mistakes, you’ll likely make a lot of them, especially in the Playstation version of Thy Sword, which has some of the most bizarre button mapping ever. For some reason, your default primary attack is the R1 button and your special attack is the Square button, leaving jump mapped to X. This means that if you pick up and play Thy Sword (which has no configuration menu to speak of), you’ll instinctively start hitting special attack and think it’s the only attack, because other than FPSs, who maps a primary attack to R1? Your special attack is a spinning slash that decapitates even powerful enemies, but it has to be done from a distance and unless you time it just right, you’ll miss and dance right past them. It sounds cool, but mostly it’s frustrating to use as it’s difficult to estimate the distance required to hit properly. And if you think that’s the only way to attack because you embarrassingly (I am ashamed) failed to find the configuration menu, it’s so maddening that you want to toss your controller through the TV, especially if you have Thy Sword set to a higher difficulty level and only have a limited number of continues. AUTHOR’S NOTE: After the publication of this article, GamePhase and Ratalaika notified me that Thy Sword actually does have a configuration screen and that it’s in the pause menu which I failed to try during my time with the game! This makes a significant positive difference in the gameplay. My apologies for the mistake, and this review has been modified to correct it.
Thy Sword could also use some musical help. It’s a decent generic fantasy style, but nothing catchy or innovative and quickly fades into the background during play. Sound effects are decent, but nothing to scoff at. The variety of visual styles in the game’s levels are a nice touch though. Each area really feels like it has its own personality. It’s an excellent design overall and really manages to capture the arcade feel that GamePhase was shooting for.
Thy Sword is definitely a mixed bag. On the one hand, levels are fun to play and not outrageously hard. On the other, bosses are ridiculously tough and it’s difficult to upgrade your weapons and armor. The controls are on the PS4 are quite responsive and feel clean and tight. Load times are fast, as they should be for a game this small, and the overall vibe is excellent. But as with many indie titles, there’s still a bit less polish than there could be, and a few things could definitely stand to be improved, such as the music and the targeting for the special attack.
All in all, the good outweighs the bad in Thy Sword, and it is another pleasant surprise from Ratalaika. At $10, you’re getting a good arcade-style static platform game with some depth built into it and some decent replay value (as well as a local co-op mode that I didn’t play). Thy Sword is simply a fun game and a solid tribute to the arcade masterpieces of yore. It’s not full of complexity and depth, and it isn’t a narrative masterpiece, but it is a fun little game to while away some time with, and that’s certainly a good thing! Don’t hesitate to check it out!
This review was based on a digital copy of Thy Sword supplied by the publisher. It was played on a PS4 Pro using a 55” Sony 1080p LED TV. All pictures are actual screen shots. Thy Sword is also available for Playstation Vita, Switch, Xbox One, and PC on Steam and Itch.io.