Swords & Bones 2

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Swords & Bones 2 is an Action-Platformer released on PC in 2022 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2023. This game has you taking the role of a warrior princess fighting off a horde of invading monsters led by a demon.

As this is the sequel to the original Swords & Bones, I have good news and bad news for you. First, the good news: This game does not, as of this writing, suffer from the sleazy sales scheme RedDeer.Games often uses to keep re-publishing the same game repeatedly with different free DLC The bad news is that otherwise, this game plays pretty much identically to the first Swords & Bones, and suffers all of the same problems. As such, I will be copy-pasting much of that review here.

The presentation here is decent, using retro-style 2D pixel art visuals with decent animations (though a bit more bland than the first game, I’m afraid). The sound is similarly uninspired, with unimpressive sound effects and forgettable music. This is not a game that’s likely to stick out in your memory.

Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn’t do much to impress either. This is mostly a bog-standard Action-Platformer with slow, predictable enemies that will only pose a challenge if you’re careless. The game is split into stages that each have a secret chalice hidden away, though “hidden away” often just means “you’ll need to come back when you’ve unlocked an upgrade, and then it’s obvious how to get it”.

Sadly, these upgrades don’t make the game much more interesting. They’re purchased using in-game currency, but the rate at which you acquire this currency is far too slow compared to the costs of the upgrades, making the game feel like a grindy slog at times. I suppose I should note that some of these upgrades are different, but most are only useful in specific scenarios the upgrades are made for and useless at all other times, and the one truly new element here, a shield you can raise to protect from damage, seems superfluous and does little to enhance the strategy of combat in the game.

In the end, Swords & Bones 2 once again isn’t a terrible Action-Platformer, but it is a pretty mediocre one. And while it doesn’t have the sleazy sales scheme of the original game, it’s also in many respects a lesser retread of stuff we already saw in the first game, which wasn’t that great to begin with. You’re much better off skipping this game in favor of one of the many better options on the eShop.

tl;dr – Swords & Bones 2 is an Action-Platformer where you play a warrior princess fighting through monsters to take down a demon. The presentation has some decent elements here, but the gameplay is mediocre and poorly-paced, and this game doesn’t fix any of the issues that were present in the previous game. This isn’t a bad game, but you have much better options on the eShop.

Grade: C

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