Libra: The Swords of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse (Switch)
Libra is a series which provides first impressions of games before their full review. These are generally spoiler free, however some base plot points – as well as some mechanic/system reveals – could lurk ahead.
When I was a kid, I had all sorts of crazy video game ideas. The Swords of Ditto is kind of like the culmination of all those thoughts, but in an actually clever, cohesive way rather than being the scatterbrained pipe dream from my own adolescent mind. Make no mistake though – behind the cutesy veil here is a rogue-lite experience that can test your mettle.
The Gist
Every century, diabolically opposed entities – one of light and one of darkness – are born into the world of Ditto. The darkness takes the form of Mormo, a psychotic sorceress obsessed with global domination while the light chooses someone to be its champion – the Sword of Ditto. This cycle is neverending, however defeating Mormo means that the lands will know a time of peace while failing not only leads to the Sword’s early demise, but an inevitable era of oppression for its citizens as well.
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- Every run is randomized, down to the layout of the town, which actually plays well with the century that passes between each run.
- As is the case with rogue-lites, some progress carries over across multiple runs. You never have to start completely from “square one”.
- Unique, cartoony art style and matching sound design that looks (and sounds) quite nice.
- Dungeon design reminiscent of early 2D Zelda titles, complete with puzzles and some locations that require certain tools to progress.
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- Puzzle variety can lose its luster after you’ve seen them all, even if they are partially randomized across runs.
- Takes a while to figure out the best course of action, leading to many moments of “I wish I had known then” after the fact.
- A game-breaking bug is possible in certain scenarios, but has been resolved in a patch that is already in queue (pending Nintendo’s approval, but delayed due to holidays).
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Be on the lookout for my full review of The Swords of Ditto: Mormo’s Curse soon!
