It has been seven months since the announcement of OverBorder Studio’sThymesia, a game that was immediately labeled as aSouls-like with stylish combat; likeBloodborneon PC. These definitions can help when it comes to categorizing games, but are not necessarily good for games themselves because of how much more they might have to offer beyond being a “clone” of another title. Such is the case ofThymesiawithBloodborneand, more specifically, with theDark Soulsseries as a whole that spawned theSouls-like genre.
Comparisons are not always bad, andThymesiais not designed to be a complete revolution of systems introduced by other classicSouls-likes. In fact,Dark Soulshad a huge impact on OverBorder Studio’s work. That’s whyThymesiatakes those similarities and transforms them into something unique, changing the formula enough to ask the question of what it means to be aSouls-like. Game Rant spoke to OverBorder Studio about what makesThymesiastand out from the crowdof similar titles that came after the enormous success ofDark Souls.
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How Thymesia Differs From Dark Souls and Other Souls-likes
One of OverBorder Studio’s biggest challenges while working onThymesiawas dictated by the developer choosing not to include a stamina bar. Resource micromanagement has always been one of the factors that madeDark Soulsan inherently difficult game, since it adds an extra layer that players have to keep an eye out for. However,Thymesianot featuring stamina at all is a small evolution that doesn’t take away from the difficulty of the game, as it instead provides players with more agency in their approach to combat.
“You can approach each enemy differently and wait to react to their attacks, or you can attack first, forcing them to counterattack and opening them up for a parry. Corvus’ build can be customized in order to suit different playstyles or to prepare for the enemies and bosses the player encounters.”
Still, there are some special attacks that players can’t stop as they would normally, instead requiring them to either dodge or spend a feather attack to interrupt them. There is also no classic spellcasting inThymesia, as the resource that’s commonly addressed as mana is replaced by plague energy, which is used to manifest plague weapons. Regenerating this resource is not something that happens passively, rather players can harvest plague energy when they damage their opponents - though potions do exist and some talents change the way resources or actions work.
“There are also different talents, for example, you can chain together longer combos to deal more damage, regenerate feathers faster, use ranged projectiles that can interrupt enemies and keep them at bay, or even replace your parry with a defense buff so you don’t need to worry about timing.”
Speaking of plague energy and plague weapons, these magical tools of destruction are something players unlock temporarily when defeating specific enemies, but they can also be permanently unlocked, according to OverBorder. This happens via checkpoints, which are likely going to function in a way similar toDark Souls' bonfires; much like howThymesiahas a progression system based on memory shards, similar to how Souls work in FromSoftware’s games. Regardless, these manifestations are what allowsThymesiaplayers to “change weapons,” considering the game doesn’t come with a variety of inherent weapons to choose from.
Ultimately,Thymesiais not designed to be as challenging as some classicSouls-likes, and OverBorder Studio wanted players to be able to finish the entire game with a naked, level one character. This goes to show how impactfulDark Soulsand otherSouls-likeswere during development, but also how the games across this genre can differ from one another.
Thymesiareleases December 7 on PC.
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