Bleak Sword: Tips to help you in the challenging dark world
Traverse, hack, slash and win
Bleak Sword is a challenging dark fantasy RPG that takes place in a pixelated world where danger is everywhere. It's a fantastic offering that's on the Apple Arcade and is certainly a thrill for hack and slash fans. Your goal is to lift the curse of the Bleak Sword and in order to do that, you need to traverse several different environments, each with their own unique enemies
The concept is basic in that it's a level-to-level with several different areas. As soon as you hope into the diorama-like world, you will be attacked by enemies and it's your job to fend them off. It's a fast-paced experience with great music and satisfying combat.
But any time you have a Dark Souls kind of game like Bleak Sword, you know there will be hurdles you'll have to jump at points. And so, to help you get through this fun, but increasingly challenging game, we'll give you some tips to give you feeling confident. Luckily, there are a couple of difficulties to choose from so it doesn't have to be super hard but here are some things you should know for your journey.
Never stop moving
Movement plays a big role in Bleak Sword, with the game being as fast-paced as it is. Enemies come at you quickly, so it's best to keep moving. By hardly doing so, you're leaving yourself vulnerable for attacks and most enemies deal a solid amount of damage.
And of course, by dodging, you'll have an opportunity to go in for some quick blows and finish them off. Your character moves very quickly which helps when avoiding attacks. And after going in for some hits of your own, make sure to back way and move a bit, then strike again.
If you go straight in and just whack away, you'll run out of stamina which prevents you from hitting. Besides, just standing there smacking your enemy will send you a quick ticket to the grave. Bleak Sword has a hack and slash vibe to it, but that doesn't mean there aren't any strategic elements to it.
Power-up your sword
There's a cool feature in the game where you can power-up your sword in the middle of battles. You essentially build it up holding down the left side of your screen (depending on your settings) and then attacking. This move will let you deliver a powerful blow to foes. The cool thing is that you can do this without limits.
You don't need special items nor do you have to fill up a meter of some kind. Just wind it up, and strike. The only catch is that you need to swing right when it reaches its peak. If you hold the screen for too long, then it will just reset, only giving you a small hit.
So you do need to time it right to get the perfect shot in. And if you do, it'll do some nice damage, destroying some enemies in one hit. This also comes in handy during boss battles which are pretty tough in Bleak Sword. If you aren't comfortable with it right away, then feel free to practice in early levels and you'll be a pro at it.
Use consumables if needed
Playing through levels in the game will give you drops at random after completing them. Sometimes, that could be consumables such as bread or potions. If you survive through a level without dying and you lost some health, that's what you'll start within the next level so it's a good idea to use a consumable if you have it.
If you die, your health will replenish but at the expense of losing the items in your inventory including attribute boost charms. In order to recover them, you'll need to complete the level that you died in and your items will be restored. If not, then you'll lose them, and will have to hope that you score some more items as you progress.
Another to keep in mind is to try to use your consumables at the right time. Don't try to use when you have 75% health or so. Your best bet will be to use when at 50% or lower. This could really help you in boss fights. And I say this because, if your health is low because you've been aggressive, then that means the boss's health is also getting low. So eating something will instantly give you the confidence to finish the boss off.
Watch your stamina
Stamina is about as important to winning as anything. If you've played games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Nioh, then you should be aware of stamina's significance in these challenging games. You're going to lose some of your stamina; that's a given. But how do you best manage it?
The easiest way to keep things balanced is by getting a couple of quick hits in, then stopping and then heading in again. By stopping for a second, you'll replenish your stamina. And don't worry, it recovers immensely fast so you can get back to slapping monsters around again.
But this strategy is even better to utilize when taking on bosses. This is basically because you're going against one big enemy so you have more room to work with. On regular levels, you have swarms of monsters coming at you so it's different. Although boss battles are much harder, having the space to replenish your stamina greatly helps. Once filled back up, get in there, charge up that sword and go for the kill.
