The Swords Of Ditto Review: How I Plunged An Innocent Village Into Centuries Of Darkness

The game is not over, of course. 100 years later I wake up in a bed that is in a small house, I am no longer a robot, but a girl with blond, curly hair. Puku reappears, who admits that last time he said too little, I had to prepare much better. First of all I have to get my sword back. I should find this in the cemetery, after all, Ditto's last sword failed bitterly.

So I'm on my way - and find a dark world. It is raining, the meadows are no longer lush green, but slightly purple. Houses have holes, the population, which was so positive before, seems to be a bit crumpled. 'Don't worry,' I think, 'I'll definitely make it next time.' Despite everything, Ditto is still incredibly cute, it looks as if the world came from your childhood dreams: the music is reminiscent of old 8- and 16-bit soundtracks. You will find delicious food everywhere, the characters look almost childish, instead of weapons you use toys to defeat your opponents.

First of all, I should make a detour into the city. In a kind of town hall I meet an old man whose only destiny is to show me the way. He explains to me that legendary toys are hidden in dungeons across the island that I can use to destroy the anchors that hold Mormo in this world. If I do my job, the final fight against Mormo is much easier.

Preparation is the be-all and end-all - and at the same time becomes fatal

This time, I am not completely unprepared for my adventure: In the toy store, I first equip myself with toys that can do no harm, but are ideally suited to solving puzzles in dungeons. I also receive food in the form of chocolate, donuts and burgers, which I can use to heal myself, as well as stickers that change the status of my equipment, such as fire damage. And with the Kazoo toy, I can call the Air Kazoo, a kind of flying flute bus that allows me to travel quickly from one place to another.

Well equipped and full of hope, I'm off to the first dungeon. After a short time I meet the first large group of opponents - and I am mercilessly overrun by them because I have used up my food within a very short time. So my second sword falls from Ditto and the darkness spreads further.

I wake up again in a new body after a hundred years. First, I look scared in my inventory: crap, my items and stickers that I've found so far are gone. Fortunately, money, progress in the form of levels and status changes as well as the three elementary toys that I need to solve puzzles and travel fast are still there. So although I have to start over, I didn't fight for nothing, but made my way considerably easier.

Centuries of darkness

The map shows that Ditto has changed, Dungeon and Mormo can be found in completely different places than before. I make my way - and pass a shrine to which I can sacrifice crystals. I am told that maybe I can change the time if I sacrifice enough items. This is good for me, since I only have four days per hero to destroy all anchors. So I go on a search - and unfortunately it takes far too long.

Time is running out and I am confronted with Mormo - although I am by no means sufficiently prepared. The sword falls again - and I learn: Larger explorations, which are not expedient, bring bonuses if I should put them in the back, they can doom me. That doesn't seem unfair to me, after all The Swords of Ditto is a rogue-like and they are crunchy by definition.

It is a disastrous time for Ditto: I keep waking up in a new body, getting my sword, equipping myself, heading for the legendary toy - and dying. Sometimes because I get hit badly while leveling in combat, sometimes because I overuse myself with the number of opponents, because I miss a trap, because I take too long in the dungeon, have too little food in my luggage, get lost, and so on.

From death to death, the city grows darker, it seems to me that the houses keep falling apart, the people become more and more depressed. While the mayor initially left encouraging messages for the citizens on the bulletin board, the citizens organize themselves from a certain point, at some point the messages even fail to materialize. Because I just can't bake saving Ditto on my own, I get help at some point - in the form of a second teammate.

Everything works better in pairs

The Swords of Ditto has an optional couch co-op mode. Your second teammate can get on and off fluently, your progress is not affected. The multiplayer is definitely a highlight, puzzles are easier to solve, you can tact and even stay alive a little longer. The Swords of Ditto is still not easy. With my game partner, I actually made it through the first dungeon in which the legendary toy is hidden, but we failed due to the bosses who protect it.

Later we got hold of it, but later the boss in the anchor dungeon was doomed to us. And so Ditto remains shrouded in darkness. Surely this will not be our last attempt to free Ditto from the clutches of Mormo.

My test conclusion to The Swords of Ditto: An almost endless journey

Of course, The Swords of Ditto also has weaknesses: Due to the time limit you can never fully open up the world, completionists are bitterly disappointed. Fighting is also very simple, you hit with one key, avoid with another, toys suitable for combat serve as a special attack. But maybe that's a good thing if The Swords of Ditto would only be more difficult than it already is due to a complex combat system.

Do you want more challenges? These games are at least as difficult as The Swords of Ditto:

Start photo gallery (31 photos)

Otherwise, The Swords of Ditto offers you numerous options. Not only does the world transform with every run, depending on which items you buy and find, the gameplay, the tactics available and your chances of winning also change. Each run takes one to four hours, so The Swords of Ditto is a pretty short game in itself. However, you will definitely play it numerous times - the developers have managed to create an almost infinite gaming experience with relatively little effort.

If you lose, it doesn't feel like you're stuck, it's just part of the game. Even if your death is permanent, you don't lose any progress. This keeps The Swords of Ditto constantly motivating. Although I don't have much else to do with rogue likes, The Swords of Ditto manages to keep me from feeling depressed after each of my numerous deaths, but continues to believe that I can do it at some point - and that Ditto shines in new splendor.

You will like it if you like cute comic graphics and nerdy gags and a co-op partner is available - because the Swords of Ditto is even more fun in pairs.

You will not like it if you are a completionist, expect a complex combat system or shy away from challenges.

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Scoring

8 /10

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