Samurai Bringer

About

Samurai-themed hack n slash roguelite with procedurally generated levels

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 360 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a deep and customizable combat system, allowing players to create unique moves and combos using various scrolls.
The art style and graphics are charming, reminiscent of classic PS1 games, and the overall design is engaging and fun.
There is a significant amount of replayability due to the variety of characters, skills, and the roguelike mechanics that keep each run fresh.

The control scheme is frustrating, as players must reconfigure controls after each run, and the default bindings are not intuitive.
The game suffers from balance issues, with some bosses being overly difficult while others feel like damage sponges, leading to a lack of challenge in the mid-game.
Audio design can be problematic, with sound effects being too loud and music lacking variety, which can detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
5%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring a fun and customizable combat system reminiscent of classic hack-and-slash titles, but marred by poor tutorials and technical issues like a zoomed-in view that limits tactical options. While the core mechanics and combat are engaging, allowing for deep experimentation and a satisfying gameplay loop, many players feel the overall experience suffers from a lack of content and replayability after initial runs. Despite its flaws, the game offers a decent amount of entertainment for its price, appealing to those who enjoy roguelite elements and action-packed gameplay.
- “The gameplay is solid, the controls take a minute to get used to but not the end of the world (I recommend a controller, but you can play on keyboard and mouse), and the boss designs are super fun.”
- “Gameplay feels responsive, graphics/audio are a retro treat.”
- “The gameplay loop is simple but the hidden depth keeps the game fresh.”
- “I feel like some of the tutorials are half-baked and barely explain the actual mechanics of the game.”
- “The overly zoomed-in view and horrendous resolution is a big part of why I think this game was designed in the past for early television gameplay on the PS1, and so this view doesn't allow for much tactical gameplay other than responding to the pattern of enemies in the immediate area.”
- “The shallow and dated gameplay left me unimpressed, though I do appreciate what I perceived as a dev team doing their best to revive ancient code and do their best with it.”
graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
51%
5%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their charming and unique art style, reminiscent of classic PS1 and retro titles, which many players find appealing and nostalgic. The pixelated 3D visuals are described as vibrant and colorful, effectively complementing the gameplay and enhancing the overall experience. While some critiques mention minor graphical glitches and blending issues, the overall aesthetic and design are considered a strong point, contributing to the game's fun and engaging atmosphere.
- “The graphics are bright and vibrant, with a cute deformed design to its characters which highlights their iconic historic and legendary appearances, as well as a really great implementation of a pixel filter to really channel some old-school 16-bit vibes in tandem with the beep boop music and sound effects.”
- “The pixelated 3D visuals are charming and colorful.”
- “The art style is unique and reminiscent of classic NES titles, making it visually appealing and engaging.”
- “The graphics try to be a modern attempt to imitate PS1 era games, but it makes everything blend together and hard to see visually, unlike the older games that had less and focused on making enemies and objects stand out to the player.”
- “The pixel/voxel art style of this game is very pleasing to the eye, though the zoom/camera controls leave a bit to be desired.”
- “Graphics are retro, music is retro, vibes are retro.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
71%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it catchy and well-produced, evoking nostalgic vibes reminiscent of classic titles. However, many others criticize it as grating or overwhelming, particularly due to loud sound effects and issues with overlapping tracks. Overall, while the soundtrack has its fans, it appears to be a divisive aspect that may detract from the experience for some players.
- “The music is very catchy and well-produced.”
- “This game is pure fun, picking up combat skills to mix and match is very fluid and not complicated and its easy to pick up the combat is fun and the enemies are hard this is a great hidden gem of a game and I definitely love the art style and the music too; everything about this game hits all the right marks for me.”
- “Really cool skill building system with tons of options, amazing art style, killer music.”
- “Really fun and addicting to get all the sets, but the music is terrible and the sound effects are way too loud.”
- “I know this is a very subjective thing, but I really can't stand the music.”
- “The only downside is the music and sounds are kind of piercing, and I had to turn it way down. They have an old-school sound to them which is cool, but with a game where you are bashing hordes of mobs, it can be a little overwhelming.”
replayability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players enjoying the depth of customization and varied gameplay mechanics. However, some critics note that the experience can become repetitive after a limited number of hours, suggesting that while initial replay value is strong, long-term engagement may suffer without additional content updates.
- “This game is absolutely worth the money as there is a lot of replayability in essentially programming your own movesets.”
- “This game is astoundingly polished and has a significant amount of depth to it, with nearly endless replay value and cosmetic stuff too.”
- “Really solid roguelite experience, solid graphics, a lot of replayability, combining moves to make new moves is extremely fun!”
- “I think both balance and replay value suffer due to this decision to let so much carry over.”
- “Maybe in a few months or even a few years they will add actual sustainable content, but currently it is fun for 10 hours and then good to never touch again. I can't see myself touching the game again in the current state it is in; there is 0 replayability. Every run starts the same, every run proceeds the same, and every run ends the same.”
- “The systems are smart, the style is awesome, but the balancing and replayability aren't great.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The story in the game is generally considered minimal and rushed, lacking depth and development, with many players feeling it serves merely as a backdrop to the gameplay. While some appreciate the art style and find the basic narrative charming, overall, the consensus is that the story does not significantly enhance the experience, often feeling like an afterthought amidst the action.
- “Art style, graphics, gameplay, and a cute little story to boot!”
- “I get a lot of Final Fantasy Adventure/Mystic Quest vibes from the soundtrack.”
- “Don't let the game's prologue chapter fool you though, the story is borderline nonexistent.”
- “The story is very rushed; in that it proceeds very fast and doesn't give you much of a window to take it all in as it charges through dialogue.”
- “The story is basic and just kinda there.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the cumbersome character navigation and clunky menus. While the character customization and move-building features are enjoyable, the endgame becomes monotonous as it revolves around grinding for achievements and weapons. Additionally, the slow character movement and limited visibility during combat detract from the overall experience, making the grinding feel more frustrating than fun.
- “However, the endgame is quite monotonous since it's all about grinding achievements and weapons.”
- “It's not bad, I just find it a bit tedious for a game that's all about creating your own attacks; they don't make it easy to keep them, so I keep taking screenshots of specific loadouts I make so I don't forget them by the next run.”
- “You play the slowest, clunkiest character ever born in a game where you have to farm enemies to progress. Farming in a hack and slash type of game is fine, but when your character swings and moves at such slow speeds, it is hard to enjoy, especially when you can't cancel your attacks.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability, performing well on the Steam Deck with only occasional frame rate dips in crowded scenarios. Players report minimal bugs, primarily minor graphical glitches, and have experienced no significant issues on PC with controller use.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck, although big crowds will cause the FPS to suffer, dipping to 30-40 FPS briefly until enemies clear.”
- “Zero issues on PC with controller; looks and runs great.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response to the game is largely negative, with players expressing disappointment over its lack of replayability and depth. While the initial gameplay may be enjoyable for a short period, the repetitive nature and absence of sustainable content lead to a sense of disillusionment, making it unlikely for players to return after their initial experience.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with users reporting zero performance issues and smooth gameplay, even during intense moments with heavy particle effects.
- “Zero performance issues on my end; the game runs and plays great.”
- “Performance is great even when I expected it not to be. Sometimes the particle effects can get pretty wild.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is present but minimal, with some players finding it engaging alongside the puzzle-solving elements of the game.
- “The character development is engaging and adds depth to the overall story.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making each decision feel impactful.”
- “The growth of the characters is well-crafted, allowing players to connect with their journeys.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find that as they develop their decks, the humor in the game emerges through creative experimentation, leading to amusing and entertaining outcomes.
- “Once you've built up a decent deck of effects, you can start doing some really funny stuff, and it's fun experimenting with.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch; I found myself laughing out loud at the clever dialogue and absurd situations.”
- “Every time I thought I had seen it all, the game threw another hilarious twist my way that kept me entertained.”