I wonder if there has been any other point in video game history where a new genre was introduced and did it so well the first time that nothing after it could meet the bar that was initially set. There have been many games since the release of the Soulsborne games that have tried to find success in the formula. In every other genre I can think of – platformer, FPS, RPG, Shmup, etc. – games have improved over time and expanded on the original formula. However, just about every one of the “Souls-like” games seems to be an imitation, not an innovation of the genre. SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption, however, comes close.

Developer: Darkstar

Publisher: Another Indie Studio

5 Hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $18.99

In SINNER, you play as a warrior on a quest to rid himself of his sin. There is a short cutscene about this at the beginning of the game and one before each boss, but there is little else in terms of story. It is a shame because I like the idea. Each of the bosses you face represents one of the seven deadly sins. You need to beat the physical representation of the sin to cleanse it from yourself. It is a cool concept and I would have liked more to the lore and worldbuilding around that idea.

The game does draw a lot of inspiration from the Dark Souls games, both in style and gameplay. The setting is straight out of dark fantasy, complete with weary knights, crumbling castles, and evil abominations. The art style is great. The in-game graphics and animations are a bit cartoony and a little coarse, but that doesn’t take away from how gorgeous the environments and enemy designs are. I especially liked the moon-lit lake fight against Lustful Chanel. Also, the story segments use great artwork and are all told in static images with text below them. These black and white etchings are equally, if not more, fantastic. At times, they reminded me a bit of Gustave Dore’s Paradise Lost illustrations.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

The gameplay also takes a page from the Souls book. The punishing difficulty and traditional controls will make you feel right at home if you are familiar with these types of games. Timing is key, and there is no poise-like stat, so you’ll almost always have your attack animation interrupted when getting hit. Once I was able to familiarize myself with the flow of combat, I found it to be satisfying. Each boss has their attack patterns that you can learn and these change with their phases throughout the fight. The hitboxes are good for the most part. I only encountered a few instances where I felt I should have hit or shouldn’t have been hit. What SINNER borrows from the Souls games, it does fairly well.

Bring it! I’m ready to atone!

Fortunately, this is not just a clone of the Souls games; the developers do try different ideas to set it apart. For one, this is a boss-rush game. There are no levels to traverse. You are able to pick between any of the seven bosses right after the short tutorial, and those are your only primary enemies. There is no character progression, either. You do not gain any experience points, new skills, new weapons, new armor, or anything in that vein. Instead, the game implements a mechanic they call “level-down” gameplay.

Instead of becoming more powerful, you have abilities removed or reduced as you progress through the game. Before each of the boss fights, you have to agree to remove some of your abilities. This makes it more difficult to beat the boss but also causes you to adapt your playstyle to fit the restrictions. Do you like to retreat back to a safe place to allow your health to refill? Well, you can’t do that when facing Wrathful Angronn because the self-heal ability is removed.

Notice the health and stamina bars are capped early – this is a result of the level-down mechanic.

These restrictions are permanent. However, when you beat a boss, you get something increased as well. For example, when you fight Greedy Faiz Tilus, your health and stamina bars are reduced. When you beat him, the reduction to the health and stamina remains – this change is persistent – but you also get more health. I like the idea here. You may want to tailor your path based on what you need the most. In a way, it reminded me of Mega Man, since you get to choose your own route and there may be an optimal one for you. You’re also not forced to bash your head against a boss over and over again, like in a more linear game. Do you tank a lot of damage? Maybe don’t fight Greedy Faiz Tilus first, so you don’t have to fight everyone else with lessened health. However, some of the choices for a reward are weird. Why limit my health bar and give me more health? Seems counter-productive.

Beyond the level-down restrictions and rewards for beating a boss, there is little change to your character in the game. You have a variety of items at your disposal, such as healing potions, throwables, and weapon buffs. You also have two main weapons: a smaller sword with a shield, and a large, two-handed sword. There are no additional weapons, armor, or items to change up. I do love customizing and leveling up my character, but due to the level-down system, this purer approach to the formula feels like the right one. There is no min-maxing allowed; you have only your skill and strategy to get you through.

Off to fight another sin.

I like a lot of the ideas present in SINNER. They are taking a newer, difficult-to-implement genre and trying new ways to keep it fresh. Not everything lands as solidly as one would hope, but if you need to scratch the Souls itch, this isn’t a horrible game by any means. It just still wasn’t able to beat the biggest boss yet – moving the bar that the genre creator has set.

As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments! If these types of punishing games are not your cup of tea, check out our reviews of Tricky Towers and My Brother Rabbit. If you want to keep seeing ad-free content like this, please consider donating via Ko-Fi and Patreon. As volunteers, we appreciate all the support! To discuss these games and more, come find us on Discord, Twitter, and our subreddit!