The Swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse

 Switch
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 28
  3. Negative: 5 out of 28

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  1. Manc_Prophecy
    Oct 18, 2019
    6
    The swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse is a visionary to behold.
    With a slight blend of pastel colours added to the aesthetics the colours really pop making the animations look really solid, from the basic movements, to the swinging of a sword the game is very easy on the eyes making you appreciate the finer details in the game itself.
    The basic mechanics are simple, you traverse around    The swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse is a visionary to behold.
    With a slight blend of pastel colours added to the aesthetics the colours really pop making the animations look really solid, from the basic movements, to the swinging of a sword the game is very easy on the eyes making you appreciate the finer details in the game itself.

    The basic mechanics are simple, you traverse around the map freely whist encountering enemies along the way which you defeat by the use of your sword which is unique to the character you control (more on that later), and you also have a vary of secondary weapons. There are multiple stores, one for toys (secondary weapons), one for items (health related) and another for stickers (power ups/abilities that you can equip to your weapons and armour), these require purchasing with the use of coins that you collect as you defeat enemies, cut grass or break pots (very Zelda-esque).

    Now for the grind parts, the aim of the game is to defeat the evil Mormo in a time limit of 24 hours, now there is a day and night cycle that seems to pass which has zero effect to the 24 hour limit and there is no indication of how much time passes in the game, so the 24 hour limit is somewhat very vague.
    In order to take on Mormo first you need to strengthen your hero before engaging in the final battle, this requires you taking on a vary of side tasks and defeating multiple enemies in order to level up your hero's sword which takes a considerable amount of time as the level up process is very long winded.

    The worse part of the game is the load screens, they are atrocious, like really bad. The only game I can think of so far for the switch with a worse load time is My Time At Portia. They aren't as long as MTAP, but they occur every time you enter a dungeon/cave or leave an area (which is extremely frequent). Load times vary from about 5-10 seconds at a time which at first isn't so bad but after an hour of gameplay you've spent around 2-3 minutes staring at a load screen which becomes infuriating.

    The one thing I did find intriguing (and as I mentioned earlier about unique swords) was that upon failing to kill Mormo your character is forever lost, time passes and a new hero is born once every 100 years... It's a subtle mechanic but one I actually enjoy.

    On a whole, The swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse is a fun game to play (ignoring the load screens) but they failed to reach the potential of what could have been a really good game.
    The grind can be tedious even with the array of weapons and power-ups you can obtain it can still become dull and flat, however still, the colour palette and design style is simply up there with some of the best I have seen in this genre.    … Expand
  2. Veeros
    Sep 27, 2020
    1
    Very shallow game with not a lot to offer. This game is not worth it on the Switch, really terrible performance and controls make this a hard pass.
  3. barneygumble
    May 18, 2019
    6
    Animation, Artstyle, Leveldesign, unique weapons ( Zelda with a Drone or a Record as weapon.. ) makes the game quite fun.

    However is far from perfect, first I hate "timelimits", a can bear with grinding for money, upgrades etc. but once you get the hang of your new weapons, explored a small or half of the map the timelimit forces you to get ready for the endboss battle (again). Also    Animation, Artstyle, Leveldesign, unique weapons ( Zelda with a Drone or a Record as weapon.. ) makes the game quite fun.

    However is far from perfect, first I hate "timelimits", a can bear with grinding for money, upgrades etc. but once you get the hang of your new weapons, explored a small or half of the map the timelimit forces you to get ready for the endboss battle (again).
    Also there is lots of backtracking ( bring item A to Location B .. get 25 or more batteries and go back all the way to the town to buy a new weapon... ) that most times doesnt even make much sense as you get another "Sticker " which you also need to bring back to another location ( stickershop in the maintown) to get an upgrade. Double-backtracking within a time-limited story is kind of overkill.
    For example "Dead Cells" solves the upgrading/grinding without much backtracking. Or at least
    clear waypoints on the map and more fasttravel spots would already be helpful here within Swords of Ditto.

    One more problem of the game ( for Switch ) is the far too long loading times, not only on game start, but each time you enter a new location, map, room : saving, loading, 5 or more seconds black screen.
    I hope it still gets some patches in the future (especially the slow loading times ) and I would be glad to rate the game much higher.    … Expand
  4. StrikerXL
    May 6, 2022
    10
    This game is an absolute must have on the Nintendo Switch. The music, art style, but also the gameplay is top notch! It has some rogue-like elements, but I would say it reminds me of a good topdown Zelda game, but more cute and lighter. I recommend it to anyone that loves well crafted 'indie' games!

    PS: It runs really smooth on the Switch in handheld and docked.
  5. KetchumAlmond
    May 7, 2019
    7
    It's difficult to rate a game that I find delightful in its art style and use of creative weaponry but tedious when it comes to grinding, and frustrating when it comes to the randomly-generated world map. Discovering the toy dungeons and anchors takes quite a bit of time, but add in the task of leveling up, completing quests, and collecting items along the way, it just gets too rushed toIt's difficult to rate a game that I find delightful in its art style and use of creative weaponry but tedious when it comes to grinding, and frustrating when it comes to the randomly-generated world map. Discovering the toy dungeons and anchors takes quite a bit of time, but add in the task of leveling up, completing quests, and collecting items along the way, it just gets too rushed to be really satisfying.
    Spoiler Alert: Mormo's Curse is an even more restricted time limit to explore after you've beaten her for the first time. She curses you to only 5 days before battling her again (and time goes really fast). In my opinion, that doesn't let you truly enjoy the quirks and exploratory aspects of the game. So far, the thing that I've enjoyed most is trying to collect the character badges, which you just kinda stumble upon randomly throughout the game. I've found about 10 so far, but I'd love to get more, just to have the option of selecting one of the animal characters I've not played with yet. But even that is frustrating since you literally have to be killed by Mormo (or defeat Mormo) to choose a new character. This aspect seems a little odd.
    Lastly, leveling up can be an unrewarding grind. On the first playthrough, it's easy enough to level up and be way ahead by the time you need to fight Mormo. The next time you play though, you'll still be well below the enemy level. So once again, you'll need to grind hard.
    The game as a whole is cute, funny, enjoyable, and addicting. It's worth playing for sure, I just still feel like its quirky level-up mechanics and surfacy story aren't quite as satisfying as they should be.    … Expand
  6. arrgh
    Jun 1, 2019
    4
    Horrendously long and frequent loading screens, 5 seconds every time you enter a new location. It's simply unacceptable. But that's not the only issue.

    Controls for single joy-cons are a nightmare, items from "quick"-access are not really quickly accessible, so good luck quickly switching from torch to bow in coop-mode. And the most annoying, even infuriating thing is intro. It's    Horrendously long and frequent loading screens, 5 seconds every time you enter a new location. It's simply unacceptable. But that's not the only issue.

    Controls for single joy-cons are a nightmare, items from "quick"-access are not really quickly accessible, so good luck quickly switching from torch to bow in coop-mode.

    And the most annoying, even infuriating thing is intro. It's 20-minutes long, and the game drags you by the hand this whole time, constantly interrupting you with "witty" monologues and loading screens. TES: Morrowind has less talking and more action in its' first half an hour of game time than this one. And this is not even an RPG. Like, do you really think I care that much about game's world and it's problems in a cartoonish casual 2D-roguelite that I've never ever played or even heard of before that I'm willing to sit and read this so-called "lore" for 20 minutes? How about you let me play it first and THEN throw all this stuff at me?

    And when it finally gets to the action it's just... swinging your sword in a most boring and dull fashion you can imagine. In short, this is by far my most disappointing purchase for Switch.    … Expand
  7. x519MaLoNeYx
    Apr 3, 2020
    8
    I’ll start off by saying this game, The Swords Of Ditto is essentially a beefed up version of Ittle Dew 2 in every way. That’s NOT a negative statement by any means...if you’ve played the Ittle Dew games you’ll know how charming & engaging they are and this game has that vibe. I honestly can’t think of any other way to describe this game without comparing it to Ittle Dew becauseI’ll start off by saying this game, The Swords Of Ditto is essentially a beefed up version of Ittle Dew 2 in every way. That’s NOT a negative statement by any means...if you’ve played the Ittle Dew games you’ll know how charming & engaging they are and this game has that vibe. I honestly can’t think of any other way to describe this game without comparing it to Ittle Dew because EVERYTHING...from the art to the movement to the plot to the characters etc are obviously lifted from Ittle Dew. I’m actually assuming the main developer, creator or team made Ittle Dew 2 for or with Nicalis and then expanded exponentially for this game here. It’s isometric/top down view of a cartoon styled game world where you assume the role of ancestors of a family destined to defeat the evil witch that lords over the town etc. When you die at the start you skip forward in time and are told you are needed to take up arms with the sword of ditto and defeat the witch. It’s a fun melee/hack n slash focused game. Lots of weapons fun NPCs to interact with.… Expand
  8. d4rt
    Sep 16, 2019
    6
    There are people who this game is made for, I however am probably not one of them. I have given this game a shot twice. Once on steam and the second time on switch. I played the switch version for around 10 hours now and I must say while the game is absolutely charming it suffers a lot from how little explanation you are give. Now some might say no explanation is good, and it is, in someThere are people who this game is made for, I however am probably not one of them. I have given this game a shot twice. Once on steam and the second time on switch. I played the switch version for around 10 hours now and I must say while the game is absolutely charming it suffers a lot from how little explanation you are give. Now some might say no explanation is good, and it is, in some games. Not here however. Not explaining anything in this game just leads to frustration due to the game not being difficult enough to suffice the boredom while trying to figure out how to solve a puzzle or open a door or what not. In conclusion more explanation of game mechanics could surely help.… Expand
  9. Simoss13
    Jul 17, 2020
    5
    I saw a review and since the publishers are Devolver Digital I thought it would be great to try out.
    The art style and music I found had a childlike charm and really suits a theme they were going for. I also like the idea that you can play 2 player couch co-op at any moment. Great to help kids though it as the boss battles are unbalanced compared to the rest of the game.
    the controls are    I saw a review and since the publishers are Devolver Digital I thought it would be great to try out.
    The art style and music I found had a childlike charm and really suits a theme they were going for. I also like the idea that you can play 2 player couch co-op at any moment. Great to help kids though it as the boss battles are unbalanced compared to the rest of the game.
    the controls are mapped well and the characters move as expected. Not great but nothing notably bad.
    There are a few issues I had to give such an average score.
    First was the procedural generated world. Amazingly, I haven't played a game that procedurally generated. After this game I may never again. It lacks a polish and structure to the world and the dudgeon are weak because of the procedural generation. In fact there was two times I could not access treasures as they were completely surrounded by walls.
    The combat is very basic, basically mashing one button. You can do a roll and use "toys" (gizmos or items) but found these toys to be far weaker in combat compared to the sword.
    Finally the load times. These and not awful but it is twice as long as what they should be and breaks immersion. Especially in a dudgeon full of small rooms waiting 3/4 seconds in transition.
    The potential and what it could of been was laid out. It didn't need to be a Zelda clone, just a Zelda-like (if that makes sense) and would be leagues better.
    The game took about 12 hours to beat which includes most bonus caves and exploring the below average procedurally generated over-world.
    Sadly won and done, may not play it again.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Most Shared Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 27, 2020
    70
    Smash pots, light torches, find secrets and open treasure chests, all in a procedurally built "rogue-lite" world that remakes itself after every era. [Issue #40 – July/August 2019, p. 27]
  2. RPGamer
    Jun 19, 2019
    70
    As a Nintendo Switch title, The Swords of Ditto hits the mark of being a game you can play for five minutes or five hours and feels right at home in handheld mode. Aside from a mild fatigue from repetition near the end, occasional long load times between zones and the frustratingly designed Nemesis curse, everything about The Swords of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse comes together in one strongly designed package.
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  3. Pure Nintendo
    Jun 5, 2019
    95
    The Swords Of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse a very fun RPG that’s well thought out and excellently put together. For RPG and Zelda fans, this is a must-have for a modern take on a retro theme.
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