Very unique styled and nice, even though not having headphones make it kind of hard(er) to recognize where the enemy is compared to you. Well, by the way, games lack hardcore style, and so it is a good thing this game isn't all easy and typical.
Reviews for "The Blind Swordsman"
There should be an option to mute!!!
(Kidding obviously)
I have three series in my games "favorites"
The impossible quizzes, the -Trapped- series-, the Alice is dead series, and now i have a fourth
This is incredible!
Evil-Dog responds:
lmao
i could listen all day to the voice acting....
This may be the best game I'll ever play where you play as a blind character; all the others that tried before screwed it up one way or another. This one was most certainly no screw up, otherwise I wouldn't have played through the story 3+ times: at least 2 times before the patches, and I just beat it again right before this review.
Sure, it's hard to learn and is unforgiving, especially back when there were no hints, but after playing games like Dark Souls, I got used to trying over and over 15+ times to figure something out (I might not have if the character didn't keep saying "this is not how it happened," so kudos for putting that in **to point out that the game is supposed to be playable**).
My main criticism atm is that parrying may not be working perfectly against the Knight (second last story fight), as I had to press the block key twice in order to make sure I actually defended. Took me about three hours of trying to come up with that and be able to win again, I could have beat him 70+ times in three hours before the patches...
Another issue is the hints. First off, is there a 360 mode hint that says if you were hit from behind? Never saw one myself after getting as far as the 360 mode archers (by putting my speakers next to my ears), so I'm just checking.
As for existing hints, the "you were struck in the [right/left/front]" or "you parried too soon" hints were very useful for knowing where I got hit, but not hints like "you can't attack and block at the same time" or "button mashing will be your cause of death 99% of the time" since I already got those ideas from playing so much (side note: I never mashed the buttons before the patches, lol). I also think the wrong hints are generated because I pressed the parry key but didn't parry, for example, pressing the key right when I hear an attack grunt...
My last bias is toward the male dagger users (on story stages 5, 8, and in survival). They don't have anything wrong with them in that you can block them like anything else, it's just that two of their attack grunts are shorter than even the Knight's attack grunts, which are already pretty short. Unless Dagger Guys are supposed to randomly give you half the time to parry successfully, allowing for parries executed a moment before those short dagger attack grunts would be good.
Another other cool change would be to make a separate hint window that shows/tells you where you got hit when you died, that would be awesome to see. Options that manipulate what hints you get would be nice too.
Also, I didn't hear the slower horse movement sound when the knight is circling you and you are parrying and counter attacking him, so I'd double check on how that's working.
Based on one of the review reposes, you're considering a sequel for next year! Update the hint system like I've suggested, and I'd more than gladly play that!
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As for those who may be blind of skill/perseverance/guidance, read on to find out how to make this game look easy.
**BEFORE PLAYING:
First thing's first: if your audio isn't working properly, such as your left speaker being a lot louder than your right, you're going to want to fix that. If this is the case, try searching for "realtek hd audio manager" if you don't already have that installed, and you can balance the amount of volume coming from your two speakers. I'm not a computer hardware expert, so you're on your own if that doesn't fix the problem. (also note: might take a few tries just to make sure its actually working)
This is critical, because if you aren't hearing things as they are, the game becomes almost impossible because you'll hear things in one way, but the enemy is attacking you from another way. Be absolutely sure that your audio is working right before playing if you intend to learn to win.
**GETTING STARTED:
Before talking about the fights, here's a few tips on how the controls and such works.
Left and Right are just that, you turn left and right when holding the respective keys. Note that you NEVER move from your current position, you basically stand in one place during your battles.
Attack and Parry happen once right when the key is pressed, so don't assume you auto attack or constantly guard when you hold the keys down. You also have to wait a moment before you can attack/parry again, so doing either properly can take practice.
Finally, the important part: knowing where the enemy is despite being blind.
***You ears are your eyes in this game.***
It will take quite a bit of practice, but once you master using your ears, you can almost "feel" where your foe is, hence the 200+ scores on the high scores list.
*As a reference, you know you are facing your enemy when you hear them from one side, turn that way, then start hearing them from the other side. It still takes practice though, so expect to fail a number of times.
Another important note: an "attack grunt" is what you hear right after they charge at you, and indicates the exact moment you need to parry. Remember this.
**STORY BATTLES:
Once you run into your first foe, the screen turns black, and you see the controls, your first battle begins.
1. First Swordsman:
The Blind Swordsman says "I would not die by his blade," but any first timer to this game sure does, including me when I first played this. For starters, just listen to him, and try to keep the sound of his voice in the center of your hearing.
When he runs toward you, if you know you are looking right at him, listen for his sword, because that's his "attack grunt." When you hear this, either parry to defend, or attack to win your first battle. I strongly recommend trying parrying first, because that's a little easier.
He's not so hard, so you should get to round 2 once you get the hang of seeing with your ears.
2. First Mace man:
As The Blind Swordsman suggests, you need to block that mace. Once he charges you, get ready to block twice in a row, and the counter attack right after the 2nd block to win. If you attack after the first block by accident, he'll dodge the attack, but at least nothing else happens, so just block and counter again like nothing happened.
Keep in mind is strong accent. You'll want to be able to notice this for stage 8 later.
3. Dagger Woman:
Once she charges you, block and then counter attack straight away. If your counter doesn't hit, see will move far to either side of you and you'll NEED to parry the next attack, because she'll evade and counter (and virtually always hit you) if you try to attack again right away. Block and counter her first hit of her 2 hit combos, and one of your counters should eventually land on her.
4. Three Wolves (only occurrence):
Kill them just like the first swordsman, attacking just before they attack. Also remember that there's three, not just one. Simple concept, but landing a kill three times in a row can take a few tries.
5. Four Archers:
Here's an interesting one that takes a number of attempts. You have to face the sound of arrows being fired at you, and block once you hear the sound of wind (if you don't face the arrows, they will hit you). After blocking 4 arrows, they'll move a little and shoot 4 more arrows, then charge in with knives *which you will hear being unsheathed*.
As they dagger charge you, get ready to turn, listen for the attack grunt, parry, counter attack, and repeat 3 times. The whole process takes a while, so expect having to retry a few times.
6. Swordsmen (11 total):
Going from 4 to 11 is quite a leap, but swordsmen are idiots, so you'll read them easily compared to the archers you fought a moment ago.
To kill them, listen to the voice that's charging you, get ready to guard, and then counter attack for the kill. If you hear him guard your attack, you just need to wait a quarter second or so longer for your next counter attack so he doesn't guard your attack (but he might re-attack pretty fast, so landing the first hit is important).
[Stages 7 and 8 are, in essence, repeats of stage 3, then stages 2, 5, and 6 all at once, so I'll skip to stage 9. Refer to the respective tips on those past stages if you're having trouble with either 7 or 8.]
9. ****The Knight**** :
This guy is by far the toughest single foe in the game. As I said earlier in the actual review, it took me about 3 hours to re-learn how to beat him after the patches, so you may call yourself a badass once you win this fight.
Even if you could see, this fight would be TOUGH. Not only is he riding on a horse so that he can go so far away that you can barely hear where he is without turning the volume up a bit, but you have to hit him multiple times before you land a killing blow.
You can either wait for him to charge at you before turning, or try to listen to where he is going to know which way to face (the second choice is more successful if you hear where he's going). After that, get ready to block, and then attack immediately just like against the Dagger Women. If you hear him compliment you or chuckle, repeat this step until your counter attack hits his armor or you hear a second attack grunt (which will come VERY fast).
Once you hear that you've hit his armor *he will attack you relentlessly*. You will have to keep turning (*in just ONE direction, I assure you. The death hints might be off for this battle*), parrying, and counter attacking until an attack kills him. You may have to **press the parry key twice at once** to make sure you actually parry, because you sometimes won't if you push the key just once (must be a bug that you don't parry on the first key press...).
You will have to retry a number of times just to know which way you should turn after your first counter attack (listening to the sound of hitting his armor should give a decent hint), so several tries should be expected.
10. The Warlock:
The patch notes spoils that you fight him, so yes, I'm telling you that the Warlock that The Blind Swordsman is looking for at the start of the game is also a fight, but also the last fight in the story. He moves around by warping, but just listen to him during the opening, and you'll have him figured out by the time the fight starts.
He's like the Archers in that he has a ranged attack, but the trick is when to parry. It's all about how loud he is when you hear fire (don't forget to be facing him). If he is slightly quiet, wait about half a second to parry. If he is somewhat loud, you should parry right away.
After he flings 2 or 3 fireballs at you, he will warp towards you (pointed out by crows or lack of fire sounds). After his loudest warp sound, he will be right in front of you, so if you are facing the right direction and you attack (might take some luck), you will have won the story mode!
**OTHER STUFF:
Survival mode is just like stage 8, so you'll do fine in survival mode if you do well in stage 8.
360 mode is different from 180 mode is that things sound quite different when they are behind you. Also, you turn quite a bit faster. Try it out if you want, but be prepared for some things to be a bit harder than before, especially with just left and right speakers
After reading all of this, all you have to do is keep trying to win, and you'll be noob proof for this game.
Good Luck!
Hell of a work, this game is brilliant, helps you with your reflexes and helps you to develope a better auditive sense, the voice acting, art and concept are outstanding I just love it.