Imagine if Dark Souls and Bloodborne had a baby, you’d probably be greeted with Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption. Loving the Souls series and Bloodborne this little indie game from developers Darkstar peaked my interest with its dark and mysterious artwork, Souls like influence and boss designs. Playing it on the PlayStation 4 it ran smoothly and without any issues.
The aim of the game is simple, defeat all of the bosses presented before you in any order you please. The player plays as Adam a man without memories of his past but by facing the bosses (that are incarnations of his greatest sins) you’ll be able to discover his lost memories and piece together his story but not before making a few sacrifices along the way.
Upon starting the game you are giving the shortest tutorial ever which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The game is easy to play, with the mechanics being simple. Though the big point with Sinner is the more bosses you defeat the weaker Adam gets… Confusing right? Well, this is where the challenge really lies because with every boss you go up against you’ll lose something, whether that be a portion of your health and stamina, weapon damage or even the amount of times you can use your items. It literally becomes crazy hard to fight these bosses. The level down mechanic as they call it is a nice element that makes playing Sinner stand out from other games.
Don’t worry, if you are like me and find it very challenging you can go back and get your souls. Though by doing this it will grant you your stats back it will mean you’ll have to fight the boss again if you had already defeated it. So all that hard work would go to waste.
I feel like it would have been nice to add more weapons to the game or even more items. I feel like it lacks a full RPG experience as you don’t get levels and experience for Adam and you don’t really get to change his equip. Though that is just me trying to compare it to the games it takes its inspiration from. A major tip for you all from me would be to STAY FULLY AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDING! There is nothing more frustrating than being so close to killing one of the bosses but rolling off the edge of the area or getting knocked off… it’s happened to me so many times.
I did like the fact that each of the bosses represents a different Sin for Adam and depending on which way you challenge them you could make it easier or hard depending on your stats you have at the time. I had to fight all of them a dozen times to try and learn their patterns and movements so that I could emerge victorious! Which is such a good feeling?
Graphically the game is pleasing as the character design for Adam and the Sin bosses really look awesome, my personal favourites would be The Boss ‘Lustful Chanel’ and ‘Envious Levin Undok’. This first one is a pure white female character who uses dual blades and ice arrows and the other is again a female but she is wearing a ball gown, however, this one has two personalities that change during the fight. The first side of her uses a rapier and controls weapons with telekinesis and the other uses lighting. It’s cool and I love the designs for them. The other bosses do look good but personally, don’t compare to these two. The main protagonist is simple but effective wielding a sword and shield or a huge great sword. The armour he wears is basic but he looks the part.
The soundtrack for the game is mysterious and dark, I like the fact that each boss has their own melody which in turn makes their fight more epic. You do have the overworld music playing when in the Hub area and just before fighting bosses but the fighting music is really where it’s at. It makes the whole experience feel like something truly incredible and you can feel the tension rise when in combat with the bosses.
In terms of replay value, there isn’t much to it. You get a few more game modes and the ability to replay parts but from the rate that you unlock trophies, you’ll probably be able to platinum it with ease. Though I can’t 100% confirm this as the trophy list doesn’t appear yet.
Closing Statement
Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption really packs a punch. The whole idea of making a Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls hybrid is a risk that this game nails without a doubt. Sure it feels like more could have been added like maybe some levels you have to go through to get to the bosses but it’s not the end of the world. Having a mechanic that makes you weaker, not stronger is a nice twist and certainly makes the boss fights more tense the closer you get to defeating them. I personally believe that the game took a huge risk releasing when it will and I feel like it might not get the credit it really deserves. That being said if you’re not really a fan of the Souls series or games like Shadow of the Colossus you might have missed it anyway. I feel like the developers have made it to fit a particular market and that demographic will be over the moon with this little gem. I would recommend getting this while you wait for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to hit the shelves as this will keep the hype train rolling with familiar gameplay. Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption is a game that shouldn’t be missed and deserves your time and for those reasons, I’m happy to score it 7 – 10.
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