Bleak Sword DX was provided by Devolver Digital and Tinsley PR for review. Thank you!
Bleak Sword DX is an action-roguelike set in a dark fantasy setting. Fight your way through diorama battlefields, unlocking new items and augmenting your character to get through each level. Power your way through 12 distinct chapters to lift the curse of the Bleak Sword and utilize different weapons and magic to make your way through. With multiple different game modes and an addicting gameplay loop, this will be an experience you won't want to miss!
Bleak Sword DX is an updated version of the original game, which came out originally on mobile phones, but this update brings a wealth of content. Not only does this version include the 3 DLC chapters, it also brings in new game modes, graphical improvements, and gamepad support.
Looking at all the game has to offer, I think this is a fantastic deal! For $10, you are getting a great roguelike game with multiple modes, including an endless mode. I personally like some of the design decision they made with items you can equip, a leveling system to permanently increase stats, and its graphical design. I had a blast playing this game and highly recommend it for roguelike lovers. And yes, this is an incredible game to play on the Steam Deck!
Without any changes, Bleak Sword DX runs comfortably on the Steam Deck at 60 FPS and around a 10W - 11W drain, sometimes going up into the 12W range. I felt this was a little bit on the high side. With some testing, I discovered that Depth of Field was actually causing some extra drain and turning it off brought drain down by around 1W - 2W. This gives an extra 30 min to an hour of battery.
Personally, I liked it how it looked better, but it isn't an essential change. Chromatic Abberation is another feature I wanted to turn off as I didn't personally like it, but it doesn't affect performance.
With this, the game now drains around 9W - 11W, keeps 60 FPS, and looks amazing on the Deck!
The game does support 16:10 resolutions, so there will be no black bars on the screen. There is also full controller support, as well as cloud save support, so you will be able to hop from device to device!
Bleak Sword DX is a fantastic little roguelike that I fell in love with the more I played. The unique visual style and addicting gameplay loop help it shine above others in the space and, with the multiple game modes, there is a lot of enjoyment to be found here. On top of that, it runs flawlessly on the Steam Deck without any changes, though Depth of Field being turned off can help it a bit with battery. But whether you choose to do that or not, this is going to be a good time!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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Bleak Sword DX is an awesome roguelike game with a nice set of content for the price. Luckily, it also runs amazing on the Steam Deck!
