Despite being an unfortunate footnote in history, in the ancient eras of Egypt there were slaves. How the hell were they going to finish that giant lion/human/Michael Jackson cosplay monster without forced labor" Now imagine that YOU, filling the role of an endlessly incarcerated forced worker, were given the chance avenge the abused masses" In Pharaonic, the newest release from indie developer Milkstone Studios, players are cast into this very role. Now if only we could where the designers hid that third-dimension, because it’s AWOL, yet oddly better off because of it.
Death Dealer
The only mandate in Pharaonic is to bring the oppressors to their knees, and force feed them a steady diet of steel cutlery. What helps to set the game apart is its strict adherence to a two-dimensional presentation. That?s right. It?s only walking left and right, with an occasional doorway to punctuate the monotonous consistency. Thankfully, the navigation is actually the most minor of the game?s core elements, with the focus instead being on the hard as nails combat. If you were to take a Souls game (see: Demon?s or Dark) and reduce it into its most refined state, this would most likely be what?s left over. Featuring an extremely streamlined combat system consisting of a light and heavy strike, plus a block and parry, and you have uncovered a majority of player?s abilities. These core building blocks, and occasional magical shenanigans introduced later on in the campaign, ar...