Every decade or so, a new genre takes the gaming world by storm. In the 1980s, Super Mario Bros. spurred on a love for 2D side-scrollers, in the 1990s, Doom popularized the first-person shooter genre, and in the 2010s, FromSoftware's Dark Souls birthed the Soulslike genre. Though the genre is still in its infancy, and as such has no solid definition, there are a few traits that make a Soulslike distinct from just the average third-person action RPG. A Soulslike often needs some form of stamina management system, puts an emphasis on slow and methodical combat, and has a dodge and parry mechanic. These mechanics are core to the Soulslike genre, and the upcoming Thymesia has them all.
Set to release in just a few weeks' time on August 18, Thymesia looks to be taking a lot of cues from FromSoftware's Bloodborne. Set in the Kingdom of Hermes, Thymesia puts players in a plague doctor's boots as he attempts to cure the kingdom of a monster-creating disease. With the power of alchemy on their side, and some trusty Soulslike mechanics, the player will have to dodge roll and hack their way through hordes of feral monsters.
Thymesia's Soulslike Mechanics
Much like Bloodborne, Thymesia will throw a variety of eldritch horrors at the player, ranging from corrupted villagers with pitchforks to hulking wolf-like monsters. The general gameplay loop of Thymesia follows the typical Soulslike formula. Players will lock onto their foe, strafe around them, dodge oncoming attacks, and deliver their own strikes when the opportunity arises. The general pace of these combat encounters looks to be slightly faster than the average Dark Souls encounter, but not quite as fast as most Bloodborne fights.
As players progress through Thymesia, they'll unlock a variety of weapons, each one with their own distinct set of animations, and stats. Weapon options range from long scythes, to broadswords, to dual-wield daggers. Some of the best weapons in the game will apparently drop from the game's gruesome bosses, each of which are visibly more plague-ridden than the last. As players level up in Thymesia, they'll start to unlock more abilities for their player-character, named Corvus. These upgrades can change how Corvus moves around an opponent, and how his weapons impact enemies. This could also be where Thymesia introduces its different build options, which will apparently greatly affect how the player approaches each combat encounter.
Along with his arsenal of plague weapons, Corvus also has various unnatural abilities. One of these is known as his "Raven Form," and allows Corvus to shift past an enemy's attack, or use feather-like projectiles. These projectiles, if timed right, can stop an enemy mid-attack, opening them up for a devastating riposte - a mechanic which bears a massive resemblance to Bloodborne's Quicksilver Bullet parry mechanic.
Though it doesn't have to be in every Soulslike game, a component that's often brought over from FromSoftware's series is a high level of difficulty. While most Soulslikes simply make their game hard for the sake of it, the best Soulslikes know how to create gameplay that's challenging, rewarding both skill and thought. Hopefully Thymesia can fall into the latter category, actually crafting some challenging but fair combat encounters. This is especially important when it comes to the game's boss fights, which are always a pretty big focus in a Soulslike game.
Thymesia releases on August 18 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.