![]() Instead, players simply run right or left, depending on the area, until they encounter a ramp or staircase that gives a choice of continuing on the current plane or going up or down a level and running left or right some more. Twisted mazes that take interesting routes through tangled areas are nowhere to be found. While enemy variety may be lacking, exploring the world of Watcher Chronicles is, for lack of a better phrase, as two-dimensional as can be. The hero will return to the blacksmith frequently during their adventure. Players earn Ascension points when they level up, and these can be spent on four different character parameters, enabling character builds more focused on defense, melee combat, or even magic. Different weapons offer unique combos, timings, and hit zones, and can be upgraded, with secondary ranged weapons also available. Additionally, all weapons and armor are displayed on the character model, which is a nice touch of detail. While there are no dedicated classes to choose from - players can only pick their character’s gender when starting out - there are many weapon types to purchase or find, ranging from one- and two-handed swords to spears, axes, katanas, and many more. There’s a decent amount of ways players can customize their character via equipment. It’s not unusual for a boss to require a good number of attempts many hit like trucks and have limited windows of opportunity for counter-damage, but they by and large feel balanced, with only a few pushing the envelope in terms of fairness. While normal cannon fodder enemies offer little difficulty for seasoned players, bosses have unique attacks, combos, and telegraphs to come to grips with. Blocks and dodges use up stamina, but pulling them off at the critical moment of attack actually recovers lost stamina, enabling the player to go back on the offensive far more quickly than they otherwise would be able to.īosses present unique challenges, and are overall a joy to go up against. Bosses, particularly later ones, can be quite difficult to best, and all but require mastery of the game’s stamina recovery system. Stamina management is extremely important as attacking, blocking, and dodging all eat up large chunks of the bar. ![]() Essentially, the game ticks every box in a list of combat tropes from the Soulslike sub-genre, from a first boss that feels nigh-unbeatable to new players to the need to reclaim your lost currency - here dubbed Umbra - after death before it’s gone forever. Though its aesthetics won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, Watcher Chronicles fares somewhat better when it comes to its bread and butter: combat. One of the game’s less common enemy varieties. Eventually, other enemies and reskins do get shuffled into the mix, but the skeleton grunts are a mainstay for the game’s duration. Players need to be prepared to cut down a veritable army of skeletons of different types, certainly for much of the game’s early stages. This is noticeable early on in the limited selection of enemies. Environments have a similar look, giving the game an odd, inscrutable manufactured look, though they are at the very least colorful.īeyond that, the game struggles to deliver much variety. That’s not to say it’s poorly done, but those who dislike the slick-and-glossy appearance will have a bad time here. The game sports a cutout animation aesthetic, meaning characters appear to be assembled out of individual limbs and pieces that pivot and rotate around to produce movement (which frequently fly around the screen as slain enemies explode into boney bits). That’s about the extent of the plot, and armed with this knowledge, players set out on their quest.Ī city in the clouds is one of the game’s more exotic locations.Įven a cursory first look immediately reveals Watcher Chronicles ‘ love-it-or-hate-it graphical presentation. After leaving the crypt they wake up in, they are informed that leaving this place requires defeating four so-called Watchers located in the far-flung corners of the world. Players assume the role of a soul, either male or female, who has died and is now stuck in a kind of purgatory. There’s very little narrative to set up as the game begins, and it doesn’t make an effort to dole out additional story as it progresses, either. Though Watcher Chronicles is a decent foray into well-charted territory, though not particularly groundbreaking, and it’s impossible to not feel underwhelmed by its shortcomings, chief among them a bland sense of exploration, such a vital staple of this sub-genre. But subtracting a dimension while making sure the formula continues to pay dividends comes with its share of challenges. Such is the case with Third Sphere Game Studios’ inaugural offering Watcher Chronicles. The Soulslike phenomenon has already transcended the boundaries of free-roaming 3D worlds and is now regularly used as a template for 2D action RPGs as well.
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