Strength of the Sword 3 has quite a different kind of combat system that combines action, strategy, and management challenges, centered on three types of resources and their offensive/defensive uses.

Stamina: a self-replenishing resource.

Mana: a player-generated resource.

Ammunitions and Shield: finite resources. Mastering this system means learning to juggle these resources and finding a flow of combat that suits each situation.

Strength of the Sword 3 is an indie title made by a huge team of two at Ivent Games which features a fantastic art design. The game is a simple arena-style title that will have you wishing you were playing Demon’s Soul’s. This thing is brutal and unforgiving, and I enjoyed every moment of it. The tagline for the title is “It never gets easier. You just get better.”

The gameplay is rather simple with two attack buttons a block and rush. Manna is used for spells and throwing knives and is accumulated by beating an assortment of enemies before the Boss appears or by employing a stationary charge move. You have a general swipe attack and a useful stab attack which can be repeatedly used on the enemy until you decide to break it or the enemy sends you flying back because of your greed. That is the formula for the entire game – kill bad guys, here comes boss, rinse and repeat.

The joy here is when you finally select the correct weapon layout and your timing is spot on enough to drop the set of bad guys. Each arena challenge holds that reward of “I did it!” moments that will keep you chugging on. The game begins challenging and simply gets harder.

The stylish artwork is worth mentioning. The game has a clean and fresh look to it and the animation when jumping into a slowdown effect is easy on the eye’s. I really wish it was in 3D as the design elements are just begging for it.

Fans of “Find the weakness” games will love this game. Upon completion you unlock the ability to face endless enemies with varying difficulties, none of which are easy. The adaptive AI is a pain in the rear. You may get away with mindless hacking and slashing for a minute, but the AI picks up on it extremely fast and sends you crying back to mommy.

I have been enjoying many Indie titles lately and encourage you to check Strength of the Sword 3 out and support these guys. They have a lot of potential and they could really use your money. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who are looking for some an easy game to play over a weekend, since this is geared more towards those who like a challenge. The combat elements are responsive, and you’ll never shout at the TV when you die while blaming the controls. The repetitive nature of the game will be a huge turn off for some, but fans of games like Demon’s Soul’s and Dark Soul’s will find a huge satisfaction in clearing each arena.

[review pros=”

Adaptive AI

Rewarding encounter’s

It does one thing, but it does it well

” cons=”Repetitive

Not for everyone

” score=80]