Developer: goonswarm
Publisher: Black Tower Entertainment
Platforms: PC, Mac
Tested on: PC
Sin Slayers – Review
Some will say that the world is filled with corruption or even more, with sins. People are tempted to indulge themselves in wealth or others are envious by this sight. It’s also called the seven deadly sins and in Sin Slayers, this will play a major role. You have to take up arms against hordes of monsters in a way to escape from the clutches of evil.
Story
The start of the game shows the story of the Valley of Fallen Sinners. Here, people, who died because of their sins, roam freely as the darkness presses down hard on them. Regret is the only thing that’s left of them and they prey on living souls. There is only one sanctuary for wanderers who are stuck in this Valley, namely the Old Church. Upon entering, it becomes clear that the different heroes are stuck in this hellhole until the seven seals of the Portal of the Worlds are destroyed by defeating the guardians. Only then is when they’ll be able to get back to the land of the living.
As this is an RPG, you can expect quite some story elements. During your adventures, you’ll get more and more parts of the narrative to digest which will keep you engaged although the grinding might be a party pooper unless that’s your jam of course.
Graphics
Sin Slayers has a combination of several styles and it certainly looks rather nice. Don’t expect the crispest and most detailed graphics, but colorful sceneries where the characters stand out even though they’re pixelated. Every monster and playable fighter has its own particular characteristics, mostly fitting with the roles of the latter. For example, the Protector is running around in plate armor and a huge shield, while the priestess has a liking for robes and staff.
The battle screen is showing a 2D side-vision of the battlefield, with your characters on one side and ready to go at the monsters. Visual effects are similar to the graphics themselves and will take you away to a time where the consoles weren’t that flashy yet.
Sound
If you were expecting some more dramatical, classical kind of tunes, you’re spot on. Of course, the whole game isn’t filled with piano tunes but some parts are. Other parts, on the other hand, have more of a rock feeling with drums blaring through the speakers. Everything makes it feels rather gloomy, which is the perfect setting for this game. The sound effects add to the feeling but they’re not that special nor stand out. It’s basically some swords swooshing, spells popping, you know the drill. It would have been nice if there would be voice effects, but it’s just a small remark.
Gameplay
Sin Slayers is a strategy RPG with turn-based battles and roguelike elements, giving you that feeling of entering a JRPG. There are quests and events that cross your path, giving you new opportunities or allow you to progress in the story. You start at the Old Church and from here you can venture out to several parts of this dreaded world. Whenever you enter an area, the location is randomized so you won’t ever have the same map again. The area consists of different tiles, which you need to visit. Some of these are empty while others hold traps, chests, monsters or other possibilities. The choices you make whenever prompted will influence the Sin level of your party.
This Sin level is rather important as it has an influence on the difficulty of monsters in that area. Choosing for a ‘good’ option will reduce the Sin level while searching bodies or broken altars for loot, for example, will increase this threshold. Even more, each area has its own particular rules which also have an effect. Sometimes you can’t use items if you need healing, which will peak the level increase too. Thank goodness that there are several fountains or resting areas where you can pray and cleanse your soul.
Each character has a special skill that can be used on the map, and only charges again by discovering new tiles of the area. Do keep this in mind whenever you pop one of these abilities as it’s unavailable for a while after.
Whenever the inevitable hits you, namely fighting the enemies that roam these fields, the battle screen pops up. Sin Slayers works with a turn-based system, where the order is shown at the top of the screen. Your team consists out of three characters, which you can always switch up when you’re at the Church. Each has its own particular role and skillset, meaning everyone is valuable in the party. Before a special ability is available for use, you need to gain Rage. Just using the ‘normal’ attack will produce this or some types of items, giving you more powerful options after a few turns. Some of your party members or even the enemies will have armor that needs to be destroyed first before the actual health is being depleted. Don’t forget that sometimes some types of attacks are more effective against certain enemies, so keep that in mind whenever you face baddies.
Whenever you are victorious, you gain loot and experience. When a character levels up, this means that you can try to see for a new ability if possible. With the loot, you might be able to make elixirs or even craft new armor or other items, decreasing the chance for certain death.
At the start of the game, you might need to grind for a while as the difficulty is rather high for your starting squad. This will also persist even after the first boss, just to have an advantage over the monsters. This might make it all a bit more boring as some of the battles tend to take a long time too if you’re unlucky.
Conclusion
Sin Slayers will make you feel like you’ve stepped into a JRPG with turn-based combat, with luscious but pixelated graphics and fitting music. The game offers certain elements that might keep you engaged although there is a high need for grinding that might spoil the fun.
Sin Slayers - Review,
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