PAX Australia 2017 — Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption impressions
Repent your Sins the hard way
The moment I laid eyes on Dark Star’s Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption, I was hooked. The crisp, clean animations of the game’s enormous bosses and the comparatively tiny player character were impressive enough to make it impossible not to line up and give the game a try; when my turn was up, it was an absolute pleasure to experience the game’s advanced combat system, which requires deep thought and strategy as well as a level of mechanical skill. On top of that, I had the opportunity to speak to a member of Dark Star’s seven-person development team and was absolutely blown away by his unbridled passion for his — and his team’s — work, which is always an absolute joy to see.
Considering that the game is being developed by a team of just seven people, it looks and plays almost exactly like the hit game series Dark Souls, which is very, very high praise. In fact, the playable demo felt considerably more difficult than the notoriously-hard Souls titles due to its unique and innovative “level-down” system; instead of becoming stronger after defeating one of the game’s bosses, players are forced to select an attribute to debuff. Players are given the option to decrease their health, stamina, defense and more all at once at the beginning of a boss rush, or after each battle within said rush. This aspect of the game is sure to make Sinner an incredibly replayable title, with every playthrough being as difficult as the player wishes it to be.
What’s most impressive about Sinner is that Dark Star appears to have studied Dark Souls’ combat mechanics, figured out what makes it so great and harnessed it perfectly into its own game. Each of the many times I died during the demonstration felt like my fault, not the game’s; be it because I mistimed a dodge, got a little too trigger-happy with my attacks or simply moved into the wrong positions, I always knew exactly why I died, rather than worrying about a bug or glitch. Just like Dark Souls, players will continue to get better after every death and the feeling of joy that overcomes them when they finally defeat a boss that they struggle with is always worth the absolute hell it took to finally beat it.
Scheduled to be released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the second quarter of 2018, Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption is definitely an indie game to watch in the new year for both fans of From Software’s Dark Souls series and any players who wish to challenge their skills with every subsequent playthrough. With a pre-release build that looked and played as beautifully as it did, as well as the opportunity to get an insight into the development team’s incredible passion for its work, Sinner was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the ever-growing Indie Showcase.
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