Thymesia borrows the best Soulsborne stuff for a winning combination – Review

gamepur.com:

Thymesia doesn’t hide its influences: it’s trying to emulate the atmosphere, exploration, and combat of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne series. In an era where fresh ideas are rare and combined ideas are common, it brings together the mechanics of Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It’s not always best to stuff a review with comparisons, but Thymesia’s design demands it — and it combines them all quite well.

Thymesia is set in the Hermes Kingdom, a land built into a giant tree. As you might expect, there’s a social hierarchy to how the citizens live on this tree, with the poorer folk relegated to the musty roots. The kingdom has been beset by a plague, wiping out citizens and forcing alchemists to conduct blood experiments to find ways to combat the disease. There’s an inescapable Bloodborne comparison there, but it serves as a fine setup for why this world looks the way it does.

You take on the role of Corvus, a mysterious individual who’s lost their memory. This is where Thymesia’s narrative stands apart from its influences: every level is presented as one of Corvus’ memories. Each time you dive in, you must reach the end of the stage and face a boss to recover a core memory, slowly filling in the gaps of what happened to Hermes Kingdom. Bits of lore are scattered throughout each stage: you’ll read a variety of journal entries, dropped letters, and public notices that tell stories of other individuals who tried to survive the plague. Each one also grants you Memory Shards, which serves as experience points. It’s a great way to merge the game’s story with its level-up mechanics. Not only did I get to learn about the king’s secret experiments or the mysterious circus that came to town,