Developer OneBitBeyond’s upcoming micro-RPG The Swords of Ditto was one of the most pleasant surprises of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
The Swords of Ditto reminds me of Pendleton Ward’s bizarro animated science-fantasy series Adventure Time in the best way possible. But underneath its cutesy exterior beats the heart of an action role-playing experience that marries depth and accessibility.
Frisbees, magic stickers, and peasants with wi-fi passwords. The humor is clearly intact from the very opening moments of the trailer — in which a ranger drops her hot dog outside a Ditto Mart in response to an oncoming horde of zombies, then proceeds to slay them with sword and a vinyl record in hand — to the generational gameplay compressed into two-hour chunks of slapstick high adventure.
You are the one destined to saved Ditto. Or you’re not, and you’ll perish at some point along the scant hours of your character’s life. If you succeed, you will bring peace to the kingdom for 100 years. Fail, and the world will be swallowed by darkness. But either way, you’ll wake up again, as another chosen hero, and make another randomly generated journey through a world that has been changed by the actions of your heroic ancestor. Every outcome adds to the legend and the lore of your world.
But you’re not the only one on the hook for the fate of the world. The Swords of Ditto has been designed with co-op in mind, allowing you to pull in a friend for the fun. Gameplay that is amusing for one looks to be exponentially more so with an ally in tow.
The Swords of Ditto compresses the RPG experience into just a couple of hours. Story, experience, leveling, and loot are all here, reduced into a concentrated experience that seeks to provide all of the highs of high adventure, without the grind. Essentially, it’s a role-playing game in which you play only the best parts.
Wrapped up in a light-hearted family-friendly style, there’s a whole lot to love for kids of all ages. I’ll be excited to pick it up and save Ditto with my children when it releases in 2018.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
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