Players must juggle between dodging an archer while battling a big axe wielder, so choosing who to take out first is key. Each area will have you battle 2-4 enemies at once before it allows you to progress further. You don’t just fight one enemy at a time and as many do in Dark Souls, you cannot pull one at a time. Mastering all of these techniques and enemy patterns can be overwhelming once the difficulty curve spikes after receiving your bow and arrows. There’s even an Estus flask-style health system where Redgie carries a bottle that can be refillable and used multiple times throughout his journey between save points. Your health bar does deplete fast when hit so players still need to be wary of the fight. The fighting is very challenging, especially with the boss battles which gives it the element of a souls-like without losing all your gear or currency. For example, many bosses have an AOE attack that can really hurt and stagger Redgie. There are some, however, that are unblockable and cause massive damage, so rolling away or past them helps. Hit the block button at just the right time to stagger them, leaving them open to attack or to counter their special moves. Players must pay attention to enemy/boss attacks and patterns very well to precisely dodge-roll, block, or parry them.

Redgie can use a variety of techniques to gain the upper hand. Bugs will sometimes burrow beneath you and strike from underground while others shoot projectiles or rush towards you in a flash. Some frog soldiers carry spears, while others use bows and arrows, axes, or swords. It’s not a large variety of creatures but many have their own styles of combat. Redgie battles frogs, bugs, and even zombies. Sword fighting mechanics are slow, methodical, and decisive. The story is complementary to the gameplay. I was absolutely shocked and entertained with how real it all felt to me given the way the art and characters are presented, then BAM, Red Wedding. The action does not shy away from the blood, guts, and graphic display of medieval war. Watching the violence felt like an episode of Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, he and his city were attacked by a long warring Frog Clan and their leader Greenwart. This is no fairytale! Players follow the experiences of Redgie, prince of the rats as he is well on his way to prove himself worthy to sit next on the throne of his kingdom. As childlike as it may seem, it is far from it. The most cliché of stories is given a unique interpretation and life with its storybook-esque art style and anthropomorphic animals. This game has given me enough to write about and I truly recommend it to anyone who likes hack and slash, RPGs, and souls-like games as well as adult, dark story and atmosphere. When I was first given the opportunity to review Tails of Iron, my first thought was that it would be a simple, quick, cute hack and slash game with an artistic storybook feel.

Tails of iron bloki magu