There’s a chance Guts might be overcompensating with that sword.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
Omega Force’s Warriors series has been around for
a long time, and has proved successful enough that
the format has been adapted to suit a multitude
of franchises. There’s Koei Tecmo’s own Dynasty
Warriors and Samurai Warriors series’, but we’ve also
seen the likes of Dragon Quest and Zelda get the
Warriors treatment, along with anime adaptations
like Arslan and Attack on Titan. Now Kentaro
Miura’s longrunning Berserk series has gotten the
Warriors treatment, and not since pineapple and
pizza has a pairing felt so right.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk adapts the Golden
Age story arc, as depicted in the recent trilogy of
Berserk films, along with some other content from
the manga and current anime series. Primarily the
game casts you as protagonist Guts, a soldier for
hire who joins up with a large mercenary band, led
by the enigmatic Griffith. The plot will, of course, be
familiar to those who have seen the anime or read the
manga, but I won’t spoil it here for those who haven’t.
The game doesn’t assume any prior knowledge,
thankfully, but fills in the story with liberal use of
anime cutscenes and narrative sequences. Suffice
to say it has plenty of dark twists and packs a hefty
emotional punch at times.
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Theres no shortage of gore on offer. Literally, its
everywhere.
The core of the Warriors formula is here, so you’ll
be battling scores of nameless footsoldiers, taking
out lieutenants and captains to capture strongholds
as you progress, and squaring off against powerful
boss type characters. Characters level up as you go,
unlocking broader move sets and new equipment to
upgrade, and there’s the typical Omega Force barrel
of content, with eight characters to unlock and three
main game modes to try. There’s little new here
however, and the game never quite reaches the highs
of Hyrule Warrior’s innovative mission design, but
what’s here works well enough, even if it probably
won’t hold your attention for too long.
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