Dark Souls meets Ocarina of Time in Mouseward, a back-to-basics "soulslike collectathon" with sweet N64 visuals

Be wary of pre-alpha demo, retired now

If you miss the archetypal Dark Souls arsenic overmuch arsenic you bash the mottled writer textures of Hyrule Field, you volition possibly bask Mouseward, which is disposable present successful pre-alpha form. It's a "soulslike collectathon" from the radical down Void Sols, which Katharine (RPS successful peace) recovered to beryllium "an atmospheric and highly customisable Soulslike for radical who are rubbish astatine Soulslikes". Mouseward seems likewise forgiving, for each its grim speech of decease being "a lesson, not an end".

Yes, enemies respawn erstwhile you perish, but you get to support each your accumulated progression points and walk them close distant astatine the astir caller campfire, attraction of a Skyrim-style astral level-up menu. Yes, the satellite looks a spot similar New Anor Londo, nested astatine the bottommost of a good of Erdtrees, but it besides looks similar 1 of those N64 games you played, decades earlier you were exposed to the hellish clockwork of "deliberate, stamina-based combat". The visuals are astatine erstwhile chubby and cadaverous, similar a premix of Ocarina of Time and Medieval. Here's a trailer.

The premise is that a "calamitous starfall" has brought a kingdom to ruin. You are a rodent Chosen Undead, rising from your sedate to mend the satellite by tracking down each past scattered portion of star. Along the way, determination volition beryllium blocking, backstabbing, archers, ambushes, concealed entrances, plunging attacks, and melancholy, murderous badgers. In precisely that order, successful fact.

I've conscionable finished the opening bonfire loop successful the pre-alpha, and I soulslike this a lot. Simple, choky controls, bully atmosphere, and the enticing consciousness of a developer taking a genre backmost to look - and perchance taking it determination new, erstwhile the tutorial segments are past. I'm funny to observe however the Fromsoft template mightiness person to shapeshift to accommodate the collectathon absorption and nods to 5th procreation console action-platformers. Anyway, you tin find that Mouseward pre-alpha connected Itch.io. The crippled besides has a Steam page.