The one way in which Stray Blade strays (pun not intended) from the genre’s usual fare is that it’s not nearly as grim or dark as so many of its contemporaries. Couple that with a generous supply of healing berries that are scattered all over the world, and you can see why this isn’t the most challenging Souls-like – and, what’s more, why I suspect that if someone like me can get decent at it with minimal practice, more seasoned Souls veterans will find themselves bored to tears. It merely asks that you occasionally try to dodge or parry in between hacks and slashes, and in return it makes it so that as long as you do that, you can take on plenty of enemies. While Stray Blade doesn’t exactly reward that kind of approach, it doesn’t really punish it, either.

I much prefer games that allow me to go in, hacking and slashing and hoping for the best. As I wrote a few weeks ago about Strayed Lights, that’s far from my favourite genre, in part because I don’t have the patience for timing my dodges and waiting to strike when the opening presents itself.

See, it’s yet another Souls-like game, with all the trappings you’d expect (except for one, which I’ll get to momentarily. Here’s how I know that Stray Blade isn’t that good: I’m half-decent at it.

Download stray nintendo switch for free