Bleak Faith: Forsaken, by developer/publisher Archangel Studios, is a third-person open world RPG, closely reminiscent of Dark Souls. They are both difficult titles with similar characters and challenges. Bleak Faith, however, is a confusing blend of Science Fiction and Medieval Fantasy.
The first area of the game is like Fire-link Shrine in Dark Souls, a ruinous place of stone and infested with hollowed out creatures. My only frame of reference is Dark Souls, and it operates a lot like that. You will navigate around an area and find ways to open paths, bringing you full circle. The setting design is well done but is undercut by the additional feature of a fast travel. Dark Souls has that as well, but not without putting in the work to make it possible. Here, you just have it, and you respawn from the same location.
Unlike Dark Souls, you can jump in Bleak Faith. This proves to be a beneficial trait throughout the journey and is incredibly useful in the first boss encounter. Enemies become predictable after fighting many of the same varient. Likewise, the first boss encounter with Konrad the Traitor will prove to be very frustrating. The hopeful part is that it is possible to learn their move sets and what they are likely to do. Konrad specifically has a jump attack that creates an area of affect. This is a good time to jump and get some hits in. At the time of me writing this, I am the only player out the 99.9% who own the game to have defeated Konrad, and that is incredibly shocking.
I am not sure what the story is, but there are hints of lore around us. Characters give off a Dark Souls vibe, like the Abandoned Soldier seems like the Crestfallen Knight. Items don’t have descriptions, so it is very limiting to learn about the world. The introduction does not give away much, just perhaps depicts the brutality of the world where the strong prey upon the weak, but at the end of the day it is the most tenacious who will survive.
Finding amor sets is relatively easy. Mobs have considerable drops and even provide crafting materials necessary for your survival. I learned the hard way that you can lose all of the healing items in your quick item slots – but they are easily replaceable. Just kill mobs and loot them and you will be restocked in seconds. The game is harder in some parts but ridiculous in others. There are no serious consequences to dying, just obstacles you can overcome with relentless retries and a lot of tenacity. I spent maybe 45 minutes just running straight from the respawn back to Konrad to make some sort of progress. Even my previous dead bodies piled up before I won.
This is not a bad game, however. I actually like it, despite being frustrated for nearly an hour. The world is atmospheric and eerie. The combat is pretty good. Customization seems to be lacking in the early stages, but you can unlock perks and develop how you want. The soundtrack reminds me of Dark Souls, but doesn’t quite get there on the same level. Overall, I would give this game a 7.5 out of 10. I can see myself diving deeper into this world and finally figuring out where all the Sci-fi elements are.
Bleak Faith: Forsaken is available for PC via Steam and GOG.
Related: Reviews by John Pruitt
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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