Thymesia Plague weapons, stolen kills

Thymesia throws out the stamina bar. You can swing, dodge and parry as long as your fingers hold up, and the game expects you to. Damage works in two layers: your sword chips away a white bar, but the wound underneath only becomes real damage when you follow up with a claw strike. Hesitate for a few seconds and the enemy heals it all back, so every fight turns into a constant push. The parry is the heart of it: sharp timing, quick to come out, and the best way to melt a wounded enemy before they recover. It plays closer to a rhythm duel than a careful shield-and-poke affair.

The plague weapon system is the game's best trick. Beat a formidable enemy and you can take their signature attack for yourself: a giant hammer, a fast spear, katars, a bow. Each one slots into your combos as a secondary, so a boss that gave you trouble becomes a boss whose moves you now own. Giving them a taste of their own medicine is the only way to survive, and it is genuinely satisfying. On top of that, Corvus can shift into his raven form mid-fight, throw feathers like daggers to interrupt attacks, and finish enemies off with raptor-speed executions.

The look is dark fantasy with a plague doctor at its centre, and the bleakness is the point: sickness everywhere, blood on the cobblestones, hope of a cure long gone. The story comes to you in pieces. Corvus has lost his memory, and the truth is scattered through memories you dive back into across the world. Each dive uncovers more secrets, and the notes and letters you find are what piece the plot together. Skip them and the action still carries you; read them and the mystery opens up.