The increasingly prolific ChiliDog Interactive bring us another lo-fi treat, this time in the form of Glittering Sword. It’s an action-adventure game in the same vague area as Legend of Zelda and Ittle Dew, and it’s just as colourful. Glittering Sword is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC.
We think that ChiliDog Interactive are lowballing this one a bit. “Not every game can be rated solely by screenshots”, the press material says, yet there’s a crispness to the visuals, and some solid character design. By zooming out to take in a much wider view than your traditional Legend of Zelda, it also manages to achieve a uniquely dense visual style, and we’re on board.
It’ll be a test of the gameplay to see if it can dodge-roll out of Legend of Zelda’s shadow. Nothing we’ve seen so far points to originality, as you’re doing the same sokoban-style pushing of rocks, hitting switches, gaining keys, performing in simplistic combat, and defeating occasional bosses that up the ante. We’re optimistic, though, as Xbox isn’t exactly overflowing with Legend of Zelda games, so a strong example of the genre might just be enough.
There’s clearly a lot of love for the genre, as we’re promised references to the many games that have influenced it. At a bargainous £4.19, there are few reasons not to invest and see if it gets anywhere near Link’s high bar.
Glittering Sword is out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and starts at £4.19 from the Xbox Store. It’s also out on Nintendo Switch and PC through that old favourite, Steam.
Game Description:
Not every game can be rated solely by screenshots. It’s like a human’s essence that can’t be measured by a staged photo. And thus Glittering Sword is not that kind of game that some may think judging by screenshots or trailer. On the first glance it looks like typical action-adventure, like many other classic titles from the 90’s. Glittering Sword is full with the spiritual references to these classical gaming brands, and it’s shiny and balanced graphical setting helps the player to dive into the memorable adventure. Best way to describe this game by phrase: «fantasy adventure set in a cozy world with Sokoban-style puzzles». Here, each screen is the individual location with traps, enemies, portals and switches, and the player needs to learn the exact order of completing things the right way. The more you play Glittering Sword, the harder it gets with traps being more and more deadly, and the enemies become tougher. We hope that players who are addicted to adventure games will fall in love with this small but very entertaining game.