Thymesia

Thymesia offers a fantastic combat system, which, however, can hardly unfold due to the short play time.

Thymesia is for anyone who believes that a game like Elden Ring is too accessible or that FromSoftware has lost its edge. It distills the Soulslike formula down to challenge and difficulty, adding a few new mechanics to the familiar staples. Yes, Thymesia is grueling and can be fun for hardcore fans of the genre, but it's also pretty highly derivative. Unless they're absolutely brilliant, copycat games almost always make you wish you were playing the original.

If you’re a veteran of soulslike games, you’ll find Thymesia enjoyable, yet frustrating at times due to some unfair mechanics. Unfortunately, this is not a welcoming game for newcomers to the genre, so you’ll want to skip this one if you’re finding games like Sekiro and Bloodborne too difficult.

Although Thymesia was a well-thought-out game, budget constraints and technical problems prevented it from fulfilling its potential.

Thymesia may be short, with repetitive levels and it’s not really great in terms of level design, but it more than makes up for it by including a combat system that follow in the best possible way the excellent one from Sekiro. That is no small feat, especially for such an only 7-member team.

Thymesia embodies the ever-rising popularity of the Soulslike genre incredibly well. As an indie Soulslike, it knows it can’t necessarily be as big and as bold as its source material, but it also doesn’t want to simply be written off as a sub-par copy of something that’s already been done. And the end result is something kinda-sorta in-between of those two things. I can appreciate Thymesia for what it does well—namely, its hauntingly beautiful visuals and fine-tuned combat basics—but its more creative endeavors felt more like the game trying to be different just for the sake of being different. I’m not sure that Thymesia is going to be at the forefront of its given genre, but it’s still a pestilence-ridden egg worth cracking open for those hungry for some new Soulslike action.

With a higher budget it might have been a game that could make a name for itself, but unfortunately it doesn't go beyond being a snack for Soulsborne veterans. Still, it's not a bad choice if you're a gamer who is keen on meeting this genre.

Thymesia is a solid Action RPG game at its core, but it fails to reach its full potential due to the scarcity of content and the application of some of its ideas.

Thymesia is a solid debut for OverBorder Studio. It has some rough edges, but it's still a good time thanks to a focus on core combat mechanics, aided by the versatility of its plague weapon system. It may not stand among the best in the genre, but it has enough going for it to see it through to the end.

Thymesia is a game plagued by its own potential and how high it could have soared. Even then, what we have left is a respectable Souls-like that, while not too difficult, provides an innovative spin on combat that captures a few flickers from games like Bloodborne and Sekiro. If you can tolerate the lack of enemy variety and samey level design, Thymesia may make you a little lovesick.

Thymesia sports fast 3D action combat that's engaging and unique to the subgenre, where flashy combos with multiple weapons lead to meaningful progression for skilled players. Unfortunately, the game does little else to separate itself from the soulslike pack.

Thymesia is an interesting action-RPG with good ideas. Unfortunately not all of them are developed properly. As the first game of Overborder Studio, it turns out to be a good debut, hoping that this experience will serve to smooth out all the edges on the narrative and game balance in the future.

OverBorder Studio is probably capable of creating a rival to Sekiro, but their first game is just an experimental try.

All in all, Thymesia is a mixed bag, but it scores where it counts. The tactical combat is a fun mix of BloodBorne and Sekiro that stumbles in several places. It's not distinct in its appearance, and it doesn't do as well in level and boss designs compared to other games of its genre. If you can look past that, Thymesia provides about 10 hours of content that won't shake up the genre but can entertain the right players.

Thymesia is not one of the best soulslike games, neither a very compelling one: it tries to overcome its technical limits with a good combat system, but it's not enough to encourage even the die-hard fan of the genre.

Thymesia proposes a soulslike formula with different ideas of value, but ultimately clearly shows the inexperience of a team at the beginning, which struggles to bear the weight of its ambitions. Although it has solid foundations, the formula developed by Overborder shows some lightness too much, in the frame of a product that fails to manifest a truly convincing stylistic identity. Although not particularly generous in terms of content, the work of the Taiwanese team still remains a fun title, able to offer fans a handful of hours of fighting fun.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when the imitation does little to add its own twists and ideas to an already established formula, it ends up as little more than a cheap copy of the original. For those desperate for Sony to finally port Bloodborne over to the PC, Thymesia might be a good stopover. Still, for anyone looking for a genuinely good Soulslike experience, your time is better spent elsewhere.

Thymesia is unlikely to blow anyone’s socks off, especially if they are a Souls veteran. A snappy, fluid, and visually striking experience doesn’t quite make up for the lack of character and purpose the game unfortunately suffers from. You’ll likely enjoy your time playing the game and fighting through the different locations and bosses, but Thymesia still fails somewhat to leave a lasting impression.

Thymesia understands the core of what makes the action genre so satisfying but fails to meaningfully execute on its ideas and world.

Thymesia is a nice diversion - something that can keep you occupied until the next great soulsborne game gets released. That is its curse. It's a good game, with fast and enjoyable action, but lacks the immersive story and atmosphere, as well as the quality of level design and combat finesse that is expected from such titles.

Thymesia is for people who cut their teeth on the soulslike genre, have a dozen free hours, and really want to see what it’s all about.

Thymesia’s aggressive combat can be enjoyable, but it's an adventure that's easily forgettable otherwise.

You can see the make-up of a good game at the heart of Thymesia, but it seems the team was only capable of delivering a prototype; the building blocks of something greater, before it tapped out. You can easily spend ten-ish hours with the game, and potentially longer if you decide to experiment with builds, but at $25 (or $22.49 with the launch week discount), it might be a hard sell.

Thymesia certainly isn't the worst indie Souls-like money can buy. Especially for its reasonable price point, players get a handful of really fun and challenging boss battles, but I wish the levels in between didn't come across as filler. Thymesia ends up feeling like Bloodborne's younger, less-gifted cousin -- he may not be all that great, but he still has some redeeming qualities.

Thymesia is perfectly serviceable for existing soulslike fans, but the many faults add up. Combat can feel like a clunky bore in one moment, a captivating dance of death in the next; and the game's close resemblance to Bloodborne invites comparisons it can't live up to.