If you’re going to include an auto-play function in your mobile game, you damn well better make the graphics and art style really pretty to back it up. This is exactly the case with Dark Sword 2, an action RPG game that blends tag-team combat with the all-too-familiar grind found in so many mobile RPGs. Once it ramps up, Dark Sword 2 is a dazzling display of colorful attacks and parries and will check a lot of boxes for specific gamers.
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The story here is entirely removed from the original Dark Sword, but the developers have carried over the silhouette art style which looks even more polished. The juxtaposition between the black silhouette of the character sprites and the colorful and detailed backdrops is gorgeous. The game is set in a dark future world where mechanical menaces are threatening the human race and the only hope is an elite squad of female cyborgs, known as Fatima. Each Fatima has its own unique weapon and skillset and you’re able to control them all with quick and responsive touch screen controls.
Dark Swords 2 draws you in with its beautiful silhouette art style and then hooks you with the familiar mobile RPG elements.
There are ten levels that consist of ten three-minute missions staggered by difficulty. The first has you control one Fatima at a time, tagging in fresh fighters as needed through each level. The second mode, unlocked by completing all 10 missions, is Squad which has all three squad members fighting an increased number of bad guys. The last difficulty is called Impossible and that’s an apt description — you’ll need maxed-out characters to stand a chance here.
The game features auto-play, which basically has the characters act on their own. That means you will win or fail missions depending on how beefy your character stats are rather than by your compact skills. I’ve never been a fan of developers implementing this feature as I feel it cheapens what should be the main aspect of the game itself. Of course, you don’t have to use the auto-play function, but it’s always there if you want to passively grind through levels and collect loot.
For RPG fans that love to grind for loot and upgrades, Dark Swords 2 offers a ton of different ways to improve each Fatima’s skills and weapons. You’ll need to continually upgrade your characters after each mission to be certain they will be up to the task to complete the next. There are also time-based Recon missions which you can set your squad to complete while you’re not playing the game.
Dark Swords 2 is free to play and is ad-supported with in-app purchases available for getting more in-game currency. This is one of those flashy games that will eat up all your free time if you let it.
Game of the week
Dark Sword 2
Free w/IAPs at Google Play Store
Dark Swords 2 features outstanding graphics and dazzling animations. It’s a very polished mobile RPG that delivers hours of gameplay across over 100 missions.
