Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior encourages players to best themselves through each rewind of time which is challenging, rewarding, and fast fun.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior uses a unique gameplay mechanic that has you working with clones of yourself to take down the foes that stand in your way. A compelling story and addictive gameplay make this a must-play title!

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a treat, and a very pleasant surprise. Combat is slick, challenging, and thoughtful all at once, while the story, despite some obvious twists, is well worth experiencing.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is a great puzzle action game that plays out very differently than you might expect. Whilst it holds onto some of its best puzzle ideas until relatively late in the game, the layered time-shifted combat is very satisfying as you take multiple runs at each encounter, trying out new skills and approaches as you go. All in all, Lysfanga is a good time that offers plenty of repeat value.

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior blends together the puzzle and action genres, creating something that feels fun, fresh, and unique. Unfortunately, it's a little let down by aimless moments of meandering and a weak story.

Hack-and-slash games have evolved quite a bit since the debut of the genre and have gradually become more and more complex with the introduction of role-playing game mechanics that allow for greater character customization. The formula itself, however, wasn't looked at a whole lot, and very few titles introduced twists that changed it radically. Among them is Lysfanga The Time Shift Warrior, a peculiar game that sometimes feels more like a puzzle game than a pure hack-and-slash title.

For hack-and-slash fans looking for something a little bit different, there’s a hell of a lot to like about Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior. Its puzzle-like nature adds another dimension to the action, making you think before you charge headfirst into combat. It’s just a shame that the story isn’t a little more engaging, and that even with new mechanics and elements being added frequently, it still becomes a little repetitive after a while.

“Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior's time-bending combat hook is so smart, you'll want to show it to everyone you know.”

Lysfanga is Sand Door Studio’s first game in which you play Imë, the Lysfanga. In this top-down action, hack and slasher, Imë must fight back an old evil that has escaped and endangers the New Kingdom. Lysfanga caught my eye when I first saw the trailer during Summer Game Fest 2023. The assortment of magic spells, runes and weapons makes for many different ways to tackle and complete each arena. I love the use of remnants and how it adds a different layer of strategy to the game play.

The combat in Lysfanga really seems to do all the heavy lifting, and it’s unfortunate that the rest of the game leaves so much to be desired and feels like it’s just there as ungratifying filler. However, it’s a hack-and-slash game, and the fighting is what’s ultimately most important. For non-completionists, the game can be finished in about 15-20 hours, and most of that time will thankfully be spent in combat taking out bad guys.

However, many of those games are strengthened by their creative randomness, with a rotation of armaments, boons, and permanent upgrades to support individualized builds. In Lysfanga, it’s entirely possible to beat the game with the equipment found in its first hour. Runes and spells are not built equally, the majority of them are hardly worth the swap, and they don’t scale or evolve over time. Aside from the three weapons which unlock at key points in the story, no equipment can be hot-swapped once combat has begun, so players always need to commit to a strict loadout for each fight. It’s easy...