parrying Archives

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Peak Sekiro-like Nine Sols gets a 40% price cut ahead of its 1-year anniversary, and if you’ve ever liked parrying in a videogame, you need to play this thing

Nine Sols is an indie game developed by Red Candle Games, released in May 2024. It combines metroidvania elements with parry-timing combat inspired by Sekiro. The game is currently available at a 40% discount until May 12. Players are encouraged to experience the gameplay before exploring supplementary materials like the prelude manga.

AppWizard

April 23, 2025

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review

Clair Obscur is a JRPG set in a dark version of Belle Époque France, featuring a countdown marked by a figure called the Paintress that signals doom for certain individuals. The gameplay combines traditional turn-based mechanics with real-time challenges, requiring players to develop characters into powerful allies to prevent an apocalypse. The battle system includes quick-time events and real-time shooting, which can lead to frustration due to its demand for precision. Character diversity is a highlight, with each member of Expedition 33 offering unique abilities, but the game often lacks meaningful feedback on strategies. Exploration is streamlined, allowing players to avoid excessive grinding, with a total playtime of around 20 hours. Inventory management is simplified, focusing on combat and storytelling. The game features strong voice acting and vibrant visuals, though its combat mechanics can overshadow the narrative.

AppWizard

April 23, 2025

10 tips to conquer the continent in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a French JRPG-style game featuring real-time combat mechanics similar to rhythm games. Players engage in exploration, which reveals lore, powerful items, optional bosses, and quests. The game includes a lumina mechanic that enhances combat effectiveness by activating additional pictos. Combat features an elemental weakness system, requiring players to adapt their strategies based on enemy vulnerabilities. Quicktime dodging, jumping, and parrying are essential skills, and Gustave's gun offers versatile combat options, including targeting weak points and dismantling enemy shields. Many exploration upgrades are optional and require engaging in side quests. Building relationships with expedition team members unlocks new abilities, and managing action points effectively is crucial for maximizing damage output. Each character has a unique playstyle, encouraging players to experiment with combinations for optimal effectiveness in battles.

AppWizard

April 14, 2025

My biggest pleasant surprise of 2025 so far has been the free prequel to one of my favorite indie RPGs, made with FromSoft’s 25-year-old game making toolset

Lunacid, a first-person RPG inspired by the King's Field series, was released in 2023 by Kira LLC. A prequel titled Lunacid: Tears of the Moon is set thousands of years before the original game and was developed using the Sword of Moonlight toolset. The game features user-generated dungeon crawlers and has drawn comparisons to atmospheric exploration titles like Thief and System Shock. Players engage in melee combat without blocking or dodging options, and character progression occurs automatically upon leveling up. Mana regenerates through successful melee attacks, and health is fully restored at the home base. The game lacks a tutorial, prompting players to refer to a classic-style manual. Players must locate five shards of a legendary sword while navigating a world filled with secrets, including hidden doors and challenging enemies.

AppWizard

March 24, 2025

The First Berserker: Khazan review

The First Berserker: Khazan is a cell-shaded soulslike game set in the Dungeon Fighter Online universe, where players control Khazan, a fallen general seeking revenge after being exiled and mutilated. The game features linear missions with checkpoints called Blade Nexuses and offers a diverse arsenal of three weapons, each with its own skill tree. Combat involves accumulating Spirit points through attacks and deflections, with a strict stamina system that allows for combo execution. Players earn Lacrima by engaging with bosses, rewarding them for learning and adapting during encounters. The game includes mechanics like timed deflections and unblockable attacks, with alternative skill paths for those who prefer dodging. However, the missions between bosses can feel repetitive, and the environments may lack diversity. The game showcases an anime-inspired art style and runs smoothly, but some areas may appear drab. A demo could help potential players understand the game's mechanics and narrative better.

AppWizard

March 7, 2025

Rise of the Ronin PC review: an engrossing action-RPG plagued by technical issues

Rise of the Ronin has transitioned from a PS5-exclusive title to a PC release, featuring enhanced frame rates, support for DLSS, XeSS, FSR upscaling, ray tracing, and ultra-wide support. However, it struggles with optimization on PC, leading to inconsistent performance, frame rate drops, stuttering, and muddled textures. Koei Tecmo plans to release a day-one patch to address these issues. Performance problems are linked to heavy VRAM usage, even on powerful graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super. The core gameplay includes a combat system focused on parrying and stamina management, with engaging encounters and exploration. The game features impressive draw distances and a dynamic day-night cycle but suffers from visual shortcomings, such as less polished character models and animations. Its file size is 143 GB, which may deter some players. The game is available at a discounted price of .99 on PC, appealing to those interested in the Souls-like formula and Japanese culture. Players prioritizing performance and visual fidelity may want to wait for optimizations.

AppWizard

November 22, 2024

Gacha games are bigger than ever before—here are the best you can play right now

Gacha games have transitioned from mobile platforms to PC, enhancing gameplay complexity. Genshin Impact, released in 2020 by Hoyoverse, features an expansive open world and unique character combat systems, with the latest update introducing the Natlan region. Wuthering Waves, set to release in 2024 by Kuro Games, captures Genshin Impact's essence with engaging combat and parkour mechanics, though its narrative may be convoluted. Honkai: Star Rail, released in 2023 by Hoyoverse, offers turn-based combat and an auto-battle option, appealing to players seeking a lighter experience compared to Genshin. Reverse: 1999, released in 2023 by Bluepoch Games, features a painterly art style and time travel mechanics, allowing players to pull for a dog named Pickles. Nikke: Goddess of Victory, released in 2023 by Shift Up, is a rail shooter with a strong narrative and generous player rewards, though it includes fanservice elements. Honkai Impact 3rd, released in 2019 by Hoyoverse, offers hack-and-slash gameplay and received a significant expansion in 2024. Upcoming gacha games include Infinity Nikki, set for release on December 5, 2024, which will feature open-world exploration and outfit customization, and Arknights: Endfield, scheduled for mid-2025, which will introduce an open-world RPG format with base-building elements.

AppWizard

October 15, 2024

Tron: Catalyst Announced For PC & Consoles in 2025

Big Fan Games has announced the development of Tron: Catalyst, set to launch in 2025 for PC and consoles. The game is developed by Bithell Games and takes place in the Arq Grid, featuring a protagonist named Exo, who possesses the Glitch power. Players will engage in melee and ranged combat, using techniques like parrying and Disc kicks while riding Light Cycles. Progression involves collecting Data Shards to unlock new abilities. The storyline follows Exo, a courier whose life changes after a mysterious package detonates, granting him powers and putting him in conflict with a program named Conn. The game emphasizes exploration and combat within a richly imagined narrative. A trailer showcasing the game's action and visuals is available.

AppWizard

August 24, 2024

Sekiro was so influential, even the next big BioWare and Obsidian RPGs are adding parries and stagger meters

FromSoftware's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has influenced various titles by introducing innovative combat mechanics, particularly its parrying system. BioWare and Obsidian are incorporating elements inspired by Sekiro into their upcoming projects. BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature a parry system that leads to counterattacks and allows for character class-specific experiences, while Obsidian's Avowed will include a stagger mechanic. This marks a shift in both studios' approaches to action RPGs, moving away from previous sluggish gameplay styles. The integration of Sekiro's mechanics is expected to shape the future of action RPGs.