No Place for Bravery review: Sekiro-inspired action RPG with unfair combat

Red is the color associated with the most heightened emotions such as passion, violence and pain.It also happens to be a hue no place brave It is frequently invoked in the most harrowing and most important scenes. Thorn, its unfriendly hero, frequently immerses himself in pools of blood and disembodied corpses, his blades stained with the entrails of his enemies. But such vignettes, interspersed with the game’s elaborate pixel-art environments, lush emerald forests, and desolate, rust-colored ruin sights, brimm with vivid detail and pristine textures. Every few scenes you’ll even come across a truly impressive sight, like the completely dried-out corpse of a giant dragon, whose remains tower over Thorn’s tiny figure.

That said, even breathtaking beauty can’t beat boredom. no place bravean action-RPG that chokes a harrowing tale of revenge and redemption in long-running bouts of relentless and painstaking combat.

As a battle-hardened ex-soldier and father named Thorn, a quiet, idyllic moment hunting in the woods with his daughter was interrupted when Warlock chased her away with the snap of his fingers. Ten years later, you stumble upon traces of the same Warlock and begin a relentless pursuit of her kidnappers.

there is a piece of sincerity no place brave It’s gut-wrenching and rocking at times. I don’t think I can move on easily when it comes to losing my own child. But just as it strives to be taken seriously in its ruminations on paternity, no place brave I also enjoy the violence and harshness of that fight. Most of the time spent here is hacking and slicing through waves of demons and humans, reducing them to sacks of meat during the slaughter. I spend hours in my life. Coins can then be twisted out of the body and used to purchase potions and small weapons. You can also unlock more abilities.

However, most fights, even bordering on unfair, are very severe punishments.stab wound from no place braveFor example, goblin-like demons may appear superficial, but these demons usually arrive in packs and usually carry crossbows that rain arrows even beyond the boundaries of the screen. It feels as if developer Glitch Factory drew a wrong lesson from the work of Dark Souls creator Hideki Miyazaki, who thrives on challenging combat. But it’s technically a fair game genre as a whole.no place braveof steam page It claims to have “brutal Sekiro-esque 2D combat.” )

Enemy projectiles also seem to pass through walls at times, making dodging them quite a challenge. It can be difficult to dash. One inaccurate move and you’re stuck in the chasm below. Additionally, save points are rare and scattered throughout the map. Efforts are lost if you die before reaching the next point. They bring back the old-fashioned rigmarole, which is more frustrating than inspiring.

Image: Glitch Factory/Ysbryd Games

Finally, there’s the game’s picky targeting system. This often locks onto off-screen enemies when trying to snipe them in the Arbalest. For a few precious seconds, the camera teetered between Thorn and his target, seemingly unsure which one to focus on. This is a recipe for disaster when a horde of monsters walks toward you, bow and dagger in hand, and you can’t see yourself on screen.

However, the most interesting thing about this game is the horrific urge to execution. Thorn can perform elaborate decapitation when an enemy is incapacitated, but if your bloodlust is still unsatisfied, the game sometimes requires you to tear apart the enemy’s corpse with your sword. Give it a few seconds — a brief opportunity. The camera gets uncomfortably close to pixelated guts. As far as I know, this move doesn’t give you any extra resources. It’s just a test of convulsive reflexes, and also a showcase for Thorn’s lust for brutality.

This is not to say that all this violence is meaningless. Embedded somewhere in these constant bloody battles is definitely Thorn’s villainous fatherly instincts and the actual twisted pleasure he derives from dismantling his enemies into a pulpy mash. The inner tug-of-war he experiences between his desire to rescue a child and the many Schadenfreudes due to the deaths of the enemies he kills is palpable.

But given how tedious, frustrating, and protracted these battles are, this statement becomes hollower the longer the game goes on. The characters are barely fleshed out, with villagers and soldiers alike rehashing their recycled dialogue checklists as they speak. When they meet a Warlock, they are somehow vaguely but very distressed, only muttering variations of “No, too soon!” After randomly materializing in front of you. Moments like that (and there are more than a few of them) carry little narrative meaning.

Image: Glitch Factory/Ysbryd Games

Perhaps the most glaringly confusing choice is the frequent offer to retire from murder. no place brave It also offers several times the option to simply give up on your quest for revenge and return to a mundane life as a tavern owner. This causes the game to end abruptly.it takes halfway no place brave It takes the story in a more interesting direction and weaves in a much-needed change of pace in that scene, hinting that Thorne isn’t just what he looks like.

What surprised me most no place brave It is the desire to overcome crude brutality, even as it clings to its own violence. Glitch Factory seems to be reaching for something higher than violence for the sake of violence. We’re making games that do more than smash skulls with giant hammers or stomp curbs as fallen enemies exhale their lungs. This is evident in the sepia-toned monologue and Thorne’s lengthy conversation about his decision to undertake this expedition.But in the end, all you have to remember is no place brave The bloodshed Thorne perpetrated by brutalizing his brutal enemies, the insurmountable pain of his cheap and repetitive deaths, and the great frustration of never seeing the game reach its full potential.

no place brave It will be released on September 22nd on Windows PC and Nintendo Switch. This game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Ysbryd Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.