Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior
- May 14, 2024
- Sand Door Studio
Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior delivers a fun, creative action-adventure with enough charm and new ideas to stand out.
Get on SteamIn "Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior" , players assume the role of Imë, a protector of the realm granted temporal powers by the Goddess of Time. Use your ability to rewind time and summon past-selves to build an army, battling hordes of demons and uncovering ancient cities. Progress through levels to expand your arsenal and prepare for greater threats.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique time-shift mechanic that adds depth to combat encounters, requiring strategic planning and execution.
- Visually stunning with beautiful graphics and a captivating world, enhancing the overall experience.
- Engaging story and lore that, while not groundbreaking, adds life to the game and keeps players invested.
- Combat can become repetitive and feels limited, with many encounters playing out similarly, leading to a lack of variety.
- The game struggles with pacing, as players may feel forced to rush through combat due to time limits, detracting from enjoyment.
- Some technical issues, such as crashes and optimization problems, can hinder the overall experience.
- gameplay57 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Lysfanga" is characterized by its unique time-shift mechanics that blend hack-and-slash action with strategic puzzle-solving, creating engaging combat encounters that require careful planning and execution. While the core mechanics are inventive and offer a refreshing experience, some players find the repetitive nature of combat and the need for grinding to achieve par times to be a drawback. Overall, the game successfully combines elements of real-time tactics and action RPGs, appealing to both casual and experienced players, though it may not resonate with everyone due to its focus on arena-style puzzle fights.
“The time mechanics make the combat puzzle very unique, in some ways similar to games like Transistor.”
“This is a good little combat puzzler with an interesting world filled with lore, a pleasant adventurous atmosphere, and some solid time loop gameplay as you and your copies run around defeating enemies as fast as possible.”
“The gameplay mechanics are inventive and engaging, offering a refreshing departure from the norm.”
“I want to love this game, but the combat mechanics are a major slog to play through, both being unintuitive and simply not fun.”
“The gameplay is extremely repetitive; you are just using the same trick on all the fights: (hit something for 3 seconds > time rewind > repeat). There is no action or hack and slash gameplay.”
“Worst-case, you don’t even like the idea of the time loop mechanic that’s so central to the game, at which point I’d say Lysfanga is a definite 'pass' for you, because that’s pretty much the entire gameplay right there.”
- story30 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered engaging but lacks depth and surprises, with some players finding it predictable and simplistic. While the world-building and lore are praised, the characters and dialogue often feel lifeless, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the storytelling is complemented by solid gameplay mechanics, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate both elements, though some recommend waiting for a sale rather than purchasing at full price.
“Overall, a pretty successful game, with a captivating story and some great ideas in gameplay.”
“The game does some things well: the world-building and lore are fantastic and add a lot of life to the game, and the resulting plot of ancient rival kingdoms and the conclusion to centuries-old grudges is also quite engaging.”
“But Lysfanga does enough to keep me entertained and motivated throughout, by giving me lots of fully voice-acted dialogue to flesh out the story and setting, as well as some collectibles to hunt.”
“The story is passable; I don't recommend getting this just for the story.”
“I was hyped for this after seeing the reveal at last year's Gamescom, but after finishing the main story, I'm fairly disappointed.”
“The aforementioned plot is brought down by lifeless characters and stilted, oftentimes 'gamey', dialogue, and the gameplay falls into this awkward middle ground between its two genre inspirations, not leaning enough into either to feel particularly rewarding.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are consistently praised for their beauty and polish, with players highlighting the meticulous attention to detail and charming art style that enhance the overall experience. The visuals are described as breathtaking, contributing to an immersive world that is both intriguing and visually stunning. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a standout feature, elevating its production values and gameplay.
“Great puzzle action game with beautiful graphics.”
“The world itself is charming and polished, supported by solid graphics and strong sound design.”
“Meanwhile, the game's visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, with every detail meticulously crafted to immerse players in a world that is as beautiful as it is intriguing.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization aspect of the game is noted to require strategic planning to effectively utilize past selves in combat, minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency. However, some users have reported crashes and suggest that further bug-fixing and optimization would enhance the overall experience.
“Basically, this results in two interesting tasks: for one, you have to be wary not to distract the beaten enemies, so the past can play out unhindered; and second, you have to fully utilize this ability to kill the raxes as optimized as possible, reducing the downtime to a minimum, ideally letting all cycles end at the same time with no buffers in between.”
“Basically this results in two interesting tasks: for one, you have to be wary not to distract the beaten enemies, so the past can play out unhindered; and second, you have to fully utilize this ability to kill the raxes as optimized as possible, reducing the downtime to a minimum, basically at best letting all cycles end at the same time with no buffers between.”
“With a bit of bug-fixing and optimization, I could recommend it a little more strongly.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a pleasant and adventurous tone, enriched by a well-crafted world filled with lore. Players appreciate the engaging combat and time loop mechanics that enhance the immersive experience.
“This is a good little combat puzzler with an interesting world filled with lore to explore, a pleasant and adventurous atmosphere, and solid time loop gameplay as you and your copies run around defeating enemies as fast as possible.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players noting that the intentionally funny moments successfully elicit laughter.
“I have gotten a couple of laughs out of the intentionally funny bits, though!”
“The humor in this game is spot on, with clever jokes that kept me chuckling throughout.”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, making for a lighthearted and enjoyable experience.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game, with some finding the repetitive arena-hallway structure tedious, while others may enjoy the experience. Ultimately, enjoyment of the grinding will vary significantly from player to player.
“As should have become clear by now, however, this is very much a 'your mileage may vary' situation, and I can absolutely see how the formulaic arena-hallway-arena-hallway structure of the game may become tedious to other players.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding in this game quickly turns what could be an engaging experience into a monotonous chore.”
“After a few hours, the grind feels less like a challenge and more like a punishment, making it hard to stay motivated.”
