Ahead of the Game - Blade of Shadows is unforgiving roguelike dungeon crawling, because life is hard
No sitting around idly here
- Loot and upgrade to go loot some more
- Fight through dark dungeons against unforgiving foes
- Procedurally generated runs up the ante even further
It's all about living a difficult life in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you all about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
Things aren't looking good for you in Blade of Shadows - for one thing, you've just been in a terrible caravan crash en route to slavery, and for another, you're now lost in an unknown land filled with the walking dead. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh?
This dungeon-crawling adventure will have you starting off as exactly that - a defenceless slave that's been thrust into a dangerous mountain where monsters lurk around every corner. Thankfully, you've got plenty of moxie to help you survive - you really have no choice when you don't even have the right equipment to protect yourself from the horrors of the night.
That's where things get interesting, though - you'll really have to time your strikes perfectly if you want to hit back using whatever stick you find lying around. While you can attempt to block attacks, doing so with a blunt club can only go so far.
Eventually, you'll be recruited to fight for a nearby town, where you can stock up on supplies and - for the love of the gods - find a decent pair of boots. It'll all depend on the loot you grab from the dungeons, though - if you don't die, that is.
Perishing within the dungeons will take a significant chunk out of your loot, but you can always run away from a fight (I know I did) if you ever feel like you're in over your head. You can still clear the dungeon and flee for your life with all your loot intact - you can, after all, use that to buy gear and come back stronger the second time around.
What I love about this is that you can't blindly hack and slash your way to victory here - every move and every blow feels calculated, and if you manage to reach a save point, you'll only restore a portion of your health. You do get to pick a random boon though, which can come in handy for the fight ahead.
It's a refreshing take on your average dungeon-crawler in that the difficulty levels are pretty high here - and since the dungeons are procedurally generated, there's really no way of telling how every new run will go.
So, how do you play Blade of Shadows?
One more thing I appreciate about this beta version is that the devs are actively trying to improve on many aspects, depending on community feedback. Now, I did encounter a couple of bugs myself - both literally and figuratively - but the beauty is that you know the development team is watching closely and is doing their best to shape it up into the best form it can be at launch.
Until then, though, you can give your own survival skills a go by checking it out on Google Play today!
