⚔️ Decay Of Logos - REVIEW "trailers may make it appear to have Zelda: Breath of the Wild qualities" ⚔️ #IndieGames #GameDev

Decay of Logos is a good game but it’s a good game for a very specific type of player. 

Whilst trailers may make it appear to have Zelda: Breath of the Wild qualities, the ‘reviewer’s guide’ included with the review copy (genuinely well-written, succinct and handy) paints a truer picture of the game in that it has more in common with the Dark Souls series in its design and approach.
Incremental, timing-based one-on-one battles are the way forward here, with weaponry always getting damaged and careful choice of your mode of attack is paramount to success. 

I have never liked Dark Souls games, punishing difficulty floats my lilo not, although the fragmented narrative of exploring a ruined landscape did get me twitching, as did the lulling music and sparsely told tale, the scenery and emotions unveiling the larger world that the silent protagonist resides in.

I also was a fan of the scattered NPCs to assist and the secret areas that contain all-important new weapons and potions that are especially effective against specific enemies, making those tense encounters that much easier.

Although the rolling landscape of Breath of the Wild (another game that didn’t grab me at the time, I think I was all ‘open-worlded’ out) felt completely accessible and explorable, limited only by the level of your stamina bar, Decay of Logos feels slightly arena-like and sectioned off, which is fine.

I liked the thought that I could clear out and whittle my way through a section of enemies, snatching away what pick-ups I could scavenge before taking the time to explore the lush expanses and secret areas...but the absolute deal-breaker for me was the full re-spawning of enemies after death. It instantly negated any progress I felt I had made.

Inching my way through slightly clunky combat /platforming sections felt completely redundant when I saved/rested and the same enemies reappeared in the same positions, it feels absolutely counter-productive to the design in a very strange way.

When facing off against an enemy (almost all of which can kill you after a couple of hits), circling and waiting for that perfect moment to attack, it’s genuinely exhilarating to take them down, so for me, it just felt a bit thankless when those enemies re-spawned after my next rest.

Also, if more than one enemy approaches you, it is a pretty much a death sentence as they will NOT stop searching for you, hunting you down in Terminator-like fashion throughout the map.

I also noticed that the lock-on in combat is very temperamental which caused some further issues and also, the game froze on a few occasions, requiring a re-start although these points can be patched out, hopefully.

It could be that I’m just not designed for this style of game but I really wanted to like Decay of Logos more than I do.

I like it’s bright, sunlit world and purposefully weighted (and slightly clunky) combat has real threat. I genuinely felt like a young warrior trying to carve their path in a world.

It feels like an underdog that deserves to win but it like it takes too much from Dark Souls for my personal tastes; the repetition, awkward save/restore system and the ever-present Elk that exists to make irritating noises, serve very specific puzzles and is as controllable and as fun as the girl from Ico.

Summary

If you are reading this review and thinking, ‘pussy’, by all means dive into Decay of Logos but if you are on the fence about ‘Dark Souls’ type games, this is too reverent in its willingness to make the game feel like a sigh-filled war of attrition to twist my arm and make me want to stay with it to explore its intriguing world. 

💧❄️ RATING: MELTING ❄️💧

Ratings Explained

ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)

MELTING (Recommended with reservations, one to consider if you are a fan of the genre)

MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase)