Swords & Bones

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

.

Review:

Swords & Bones is an Action-Platformer released on PC in 2021 and ported to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2022. This game has you taking the role of a nameless knight fighting off a horde of invading monsters led by a wolf demon.

Before going on, I’ll take a moment that this game is yet another example of RedDeer.Games using their standard sleazy tactic to get a game in the eShop multiple times. That is to say, they published numerous versions of the game that are all packed with a different free DLC… but since the DLC is free, that means that all of these versions are functionally-identical, so if you want to get this, just get whatever version is currently on sale and download whatever free DLC that the game didn’t come with.

The presentation here is decent, using retro-style 2D pixel art visuals with decent animations and a few nice details, such as the background of the first stage being a town that was set on fire (reminiscent of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood’s opening stage). The sound isn’t anywhere near as inspired though, with unimpressive sound effects and forgettable music.

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.

In the end, Swords & Bones isn’t a terrible Action-Platformer, but it is a pretty mediocre one. Add to that a really sleazy sales tactic to try to trick people into buying it, and you have a game that you’re much better off skipping in favor of one of the many better options on the eShop.

tl;dr – Swords & Bones is an Action-Platformer where you play a nameless knight fighting through monsters to take down a wolf demon. The presentation has some good elements here, but the gameplay is mediocre and poorly-paced, and it’s all wrapped in a package that’s mired by sleazy sales tactics. This isn’t a bad game, but you have much better options on the eShop.

Grade: C

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}