2024 has barely begun and we already have two absolute bangers that feature time-travel shenanigans and a gorgeous Middle Eastern visual design. I’m still reeling after Prince of Persia’s brilliance but now I get to play Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, which is also excellent, despite its overly wordy title.
Lysfanga, which I’ll be calling it from now on, combines brawling action with time-travel puzzle mechanics in a weirdly wonderful way that shouldn’t work. As the name of the game suggests, our heroine Imë plays around with time to combat enemies that stand between her and her brother, who may or may not be leaning over to the dark side with the enemy forces - an ancient evil called the Raxes who are suddenly roaming the world after years of laying dormant.
To dive into Lysfanga and what makes it so great, we have to get a bit technical and break down the mechanics of the game. Essentially, the game is broken down into arenas that dwell within a wonderfully designed overworld. As Imë enters an arena the camera pulls back to show a range of enemies placed here and there, the aim is to kill them all. So far, so understandable. However, each area has a time limit until Imë is destroyed and the only way to defeat everyone is to use powers bestowed on her by a Goddess.
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These powers create ‘remnants’ or echoes of Imë who then venture through the arena together. So, for example, you control Imë and she kills three enemies on the left side of the arena, Imë then dies and you control a second remnant who kills enemies on the right side. These actions then take place at the same time to dispatch every baddie in the same timeframe. Sometimes it takes only two remnants, with later arenas it can take five or more. All performing different actions on different enemies to clear out the arena and allow you to move on with the story. Think of it like an army of clones.
It sounds a little more complicated than it actually is. As long as you’re storming in with Imë and destroying enemies, you’re golden. Of course, as the game progresses the fights get tougher, and more mechanics are introduced that seemingly turn this action game into a very fiendish puzzler.
While the combat starts out feeling pretty simple - attacks and abilities are focused on two buttons - it slowly expands bringing in more than just sword-swinging but introduces some lovely magic spells that can cause some chaos, or give you a little defence because Imë dies after a second hit, which adds another level of complexity, something that slowly drips in with each arena.
Lysfanga does a great job of slowly introducing new aspects to the combat and time travel remnants without overwhelming the player. An early enemy that appears is the ‘twins’, two enemies that are linked together by a faint blue line, but appear on opposite ends of the arena. This forces you to think outside the box and make sure your remnants attack with the right timing as they need to be destroyed at the same time or will regenerate their health.
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The same tactics go into killing larger shielded enemies so you can line up one remnant to batter away at the shield, while another remnant swings in behind and lands some killing blows.
In just the opening ten arenas you’ll find new enemies introduced, all with their defensive patterns or abilities, like spawning smaller minions, combining to lay out an intense set of challenges.
Once you manage to connect attacks with remnants - more of which can be unlocked by finding collectibles throughout the levels between arenas - the tactical plays become truly magical. Even before unlocking heavy-hitting abilities, or more ‘special powers’ from the Goddess of Time, piecing together perfect movements and attacks unleash wonderful waves of dopamine.
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For those who want to get super intricate, the arenas all feature a par time in which to beat and they aren’t easy. It takes a lot of experimenting with routes through the arena to each enemy, or which abilities to equip that might save you a few seconds. This par time doesn’t make a difference to the story or progress, however, you can expect each arena to go down in under a minute and a half generally, so everything plays quickly.
So, in between arenas, what can you expect? The story of brother and sister working against each other is interesting against a backdrop of historical mythology, however, it doesn’t break new ground. That’s not a huge negative but it feels like bland set dressing compared to the brilliant puzzle-based action at its core.
There’s little else between the arenas; while the scenery and architecture are beautiful, all it hides is the odd bit of lore delivered by robot-type NPCs, or collectibles that unlock magic powers or item colours and patterns for a bit of visual flair. You’ll discover some fast-travel portals, too, these take you back to a base of operations where you can talk to Grennos, the aforementioned robot-type NPC, or you can use them to travel to different areas in the world and replay arenas.
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It’s all in the arenas. After a few hours, each arena feels distinctly different, packed with a variety of enemies and environmental challenges to keep you on your toes or shake up your tactics. The challenge never feels insurmountable and everything feels fair, a failure just means a rethink.
Lysfanga is quite a special game. With combat that feels solid and impactful, time-hopping abilities that create a very unique set of puzzles; it’s the type of game that doesn’t come along too often - one that feels wholly original and intensely rewarding. A game that, when everything falls into place, can bring impressive levels of delight.
Pros: Ingenious puzzle-based combat, stunning visual design, fiendishly clever
Cons: Forgettable story, not much to do between battle arenas
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For fans of: Hades, Prince of Persia, Braid
8/10: Excellent
Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior will launch on 13 February for PC (Version tested). Review code was provided by the publisher, Quantic Dream. Read a guide to our review scores here.