Bleak Sword DX Reviews
That’s not to say there’s nothing good here, however. It’s a solid foundation, but where other games would strive to build something on that foundation, Bleak Sword DX unfortunately just leaves it as a slab of concrete.
However, for all the good, the reality is that Bleak Sword is in serious need of substance, and the novelty of a “lo-fi Soulslike” on mobile is lost a little on a proper console.
Bleak Sword DX falls short of greatness due to its questionable adherence to minimalism. It comes close to being interesting, but the lack of variety keeps it boring. Bleak Sword DX‘s strengths are its low barrier to entry and how it pushes the player forward with its casual design.
It’s tight in execution, just like a noose, but without the satisfying release after you say the safe word. It’s as grim as it should be and unapologetic, and that’s admirable.
Bleak Sword DX is a good challenge with a wonderfully designed retro 3D aesthetic, a steadily paced, increasing difficulty of enemies to keep the content feeling fresh, and some nice gameplay changes to ensure you’ll stick with it through the fun times and the rough. Odd disconnection issues, combat and control repetition and responsiveness do add to the frustrations a bit, but not enough to deter you from this satisfyingly savage slasher.
Bleak Sword XD is a tense and unusual journey of action. The focus is on complicated combats through compact arenas full of dangers and enemies in which any mistake is fatal. The clashes are intense and difficult, requiring precision and observation to survive, and the fun is precisely in mastering all the nuances to overcome adversity. The intention is clear in offering a campaign of heightened difficulty, but some choices leave things frustrating, such as lack of visual clarity, unbalanced challenge and limited variety of situations. At the very least, there's plenty of content to explore and the striking setting has its charm. Those who like to overcome tribulations will enjoy the brutal world of Bleak Sword XD, just be prepared to face its rough edges and frustrations as well.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Bleak Sword DX is all about sword fighting, dodging, suffering and advancing. It is perfect for your Switch or your Steam Deck.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Bleak Sword DX is a fun game to play 10 minutes before your online meeting, right before class, or while waiting for a friend to play with. Despite its flaws, you should give Bleak Sword DX a chance.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Bleak Sword DX is dedicated to anyone who wants a Dark Souls-like experience in 2D, delivered in small chunks, with good mechanics, hard difficulty, and a grimdark setting and presentation. Fights are very quick, which means it’s easy to play a few in a session just to decompress, without the pressure to make progress or explore some complicated narrative thread.
A minimalist souls-like game that adds more content and polishes even more of its sidequests in the DX version for Switch and PC. A game partly short, but that can be extended as long as everyone is willing to challenge the numerous enemies that appear in the diorama-like levels.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Bleak Sword DX provides an enchanting experience that will keep you engaged throughout your journey. It may not be for everyone, but if you're up for a challenge and appreciate artistic pixel graphics, this indie title is well worth your time.
Bleak Sword DX is the rare instance where it does overstay its welcome, but if played in small bursts, is brilliant. While it doesn’t run out of new ideas, it does drain the player through its numerous arenas and modes, it’s an exhaustive amount of content that it never runs dry on. Playing something so challenging that originated on Apple Arcade, but now expanded and reworked for PC and Switch shows that it has a home on these new platforms. The dioramas that encapsulate the arenas to fight on are some of the more unique elements, to include its visual and enemy design, makes Bleak Sword DX easy to recommend.
Fun minimalist bite-sized Soulslike journey on Nintendo’s console
Bleak Sword DX is a tough sword-slashing adventure that stands out thanks to its interesting visuals and standalone levels. Although this exciting outing feels fresh and looks great, the difficulty level may be too high for some players.
Bleak Sword DX is a pocket-sized roguelike adventure that has you battling horrifying creatures across an oppressive lofi world, wielding fierce weaponry and powerful magic.
A surprisingly solid Soulslike, Bleak Sword DX does exactly what it sets out to do and nothing else, which makes it hard to fault. Once you get the timing down on the limited actions at your disposal, you’ll find the monsters full of character even as they try to beat you to death. You’ll die often but the game does a great job of making each death feel like a learning experience rather than a punishment. Short and sweet.
Bleak Sword DX could be deceiving with its "mobile game" air, but underestimating the merits of the experience it offers would be a mistake. Frustration is real and there are some limits, but when the essential is so clearly visible to the eye and fascinating, it becomes easy to accept them and enjoy what is there.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Bleak Sword DX thrives on its bosses, its laser-focused design for the classic campaign and its moody atmosphere. Sadly, the DX version adds three new chapters that overstay their welcome and some of the “visual improvements” end up cluttering and creating unnecessary visual noise. Still a solid game overall.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Certainly not for those lacking in skill and patience, Bleak Sword DX distills the likes of Dark Souls into a lo-fi and brutal arcade-like action game
So, what do we take away from Bleak Sword DX? We're not going to lie, this game probably won't make the end-of-year lists as the best game of the year. With titles like Resident Evil 4 Remake, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and even Spider-Man 2 due out at the end of the year, how could it be otherwise? Despite this, I can tell you that Bleak Sword DX will probably be the game I mention the most. And why is that? Because, first and foremost, it's original in its presentation, offers a very good challenge and excellent value for money, despite its length. Unless you don't like games that require perseverance to complete, I strongly advise everyone to give it a try. They'll be pleasantly surprised, I'm sure.
Review in French | Read full review