My review video on Bleak Faith: Forsaken


For a long time, I have wished for one game to give me a similar feeling of wonder and discovery as my time with Dark Souls 1. For years I have searched, and as the market filled with countless soul's-likes, I was still unsatisfied. Because they strive to fulfill different criteria of what makes a soul's-like truly great in varying degrees. Except for a single Indie RPG. Bleak Faith: Forsaken.

A unique soul's-like made by 3 developers. And one I feel has nearly enough to stand next to Fromsoftware's beloved Soul's games for an indie RPG. Yet, the recent release has been unjustly, unfairly, and unreasonably panned by many users on the web for bugs and an Epic controversy. The former has been hyperbolized beyond disbelief and gatekeeping, while the latter is a rabbit hole; I'm not going to discuss it here.

Despite, these major claims, I sought to review the game based on its own merits upon release. This is my review of Bleak Faith: Forsaken after 34 hours. For full disclosure, I did not ask the developers for a review copy since I wanted to experience it with everyone.


Primarily an open-world survival horror action third-person RPG. A cross between sci-fi and dark fantasy. A ‘Blame! By Tsutomu Nihei’ meets ‘Berserk by Kentaro Miura’ game. You will explore the omnistructure and discover the history behind this unforgiving world. Embrace the unknown and risk your life multiple times against powerful adversaries.

That’s the main gist of what I can glean. And for the most part, it is pretty true in exploring the omnistructure. It does share similarities as a souls-like. However, there is enough content here to differentiate itself from being another soul's clone.

You don't level conventionally in Bleak Faith. Instead, the game runs entirely based on the gear you find in the world and the equipment you earn from enemies. This is an interesting take on the gameplay formula since it eliminates the need to go to a stationary safe zone to allocate stats. Instead, it enforces a bold approach where players must venture to explore the Omnistructure.

A vast world full of verticality with medium-large levels. And where some can quickly become lost in the sheer scale of wonder and discovery. In my experience, I was captivated by the level design and appreciated the environments of sci-fi megastructures to the mix of fantasy elements of technomancy. I became lost in the narrow corridors while searching for better loot and taking in the sheer scenery of places. At times, you will need a mental map of the levels you encounter. Nonetheless, sometimes your curiosity might lead you to find a great treasure or a hidden shortcut to unlock.

I love your character abilities here and the perk system. They visually affect different playstyles to become extra powerful or subtly with stat upgrades. For example, I could pick the Vamprism perk, granting my character life steal. One perk: Increases the number of health potions on my belt, a passive chance to create illusions. Dual weapon & heavy weapon masteries to increase damage.

For bosses. They are threatening and do a fantastic job of giving you a good bit of trouble. But, not to the point of being insurmountable to defeat. Simply upgrade gear and weapons, and have enough items on your belt to increase damage, armor rating, and etc. Help immensely to turn the tide of battle. And for the most part that was enough for me. Attackers are also varied and I did not see a lot of copy-paste here and there. The whole world evolves in a way I didn't expect as I progressed deeper into the game, making new foes appear.

Speaking of epic. The soundtrack slaps. And I dearly want to buy the soundtrack A.S.A.P.

Now then, as much as I want to go on praising what works effectively here. There are some things I must critique. And granted, the developers have already fixed the controls and Giant's bug. Two major complaints I had, were gone. During my playthrough. This is very satisfying to hear and quickly resolved too. Instead, I’ll focus on other matters.

First. Inventory updates. Occasionally will not show what I acquired from an enemy or what item found. I had to check my inventory constantly and discover, “when did I get that item?” All items should pop up clearly. So I do not need to check my inventory and double-check.

Minor to somewhat troublesome bugs. Compared to the exaggerated claims by some users online panning the release as unplayable due to the number of bugs. Quite frankly, I didn’t encounter that many. And when I did they were largely fixed by the re-spawn mechanic you have innately. You can spawn one nearby when there are no enemies. Nonetheless, I did experience falling off the map, not intentionally mind you two to four times, getting outside level boundaries two to three times, and collisions with the enemy where I am stuck to them about three to four times. These all occurred throughout my thirty-four-hour playthrough and one crash to the desktop. And suffice it to say I didn’t lose a major amount of progress either. Granted my playthrough could be different and I’ve seen different reviews from other reviewers who have played to end credits stating different experiences with bugs. So this could be a ‘your mileage might vary’ type of deal. Be that as it may, most reviews on Steam still have negative thumbs-down ratings. When the developers have already fixed a good number of those complaints regarding the controls, floating while jumping, and instant death from climbing giants. This is a gentle reminder to read other reviewers' impressions of the game who have played extensively. And provide clarity and logical reasoning. There is a clear difference between ten to twenty minutes of playtime to two hours or less and then compared to those who played five, ten, twenty plus hours.


The next points I'll cover can be a hit or miss. Not a negative or a positive. All the same, I have decided to say here for transparency.

To start, hitboxes can be a hit or miss. Sometimes the weapon I am using is just a tad bit short. Other times it is great when evading an enemy. Could be better.

I wish there is a 'perk reset' button or drinking a unique consumable to revert perks. I made the mistake of clicking one perk thinking, "This will be good." Except it's not. And now I'm stuck with a perk for my whole playthrough. Granted, there was a warning attached of picking a perk being irreversible. So that's on me.

Has jank when it was good. But also jank when it is bad. Yet, I still had a lot of fun throughout my playthrough and didn't reach a point of frustration to the degree I wanted to gatekeep this indie RPG for good. In several cases, I had jolly good laughs on some jank occurring. Some of which work in my favor!

I wish there was more story here. Seems, the narrative can be vague at times. And while I appreciated the cutscenes greatly, more dialogue to explain some lore or more NPCs to flesh out the world-building could do wonders in immersing me further.

And that’s it. My final score for Bleak Faith: Forsaken is an 8/10.

So! If you are on the hunt, for an indie RPG souls-like in the vein of Dark Souls 1 just as I was. A mix of sci-fi and fantasy with a cross of Blame! & Berserk. And don't mind the occasional jank here and there. Then I recommend Bleak Faith: Forsaken. I have faith that the developers from Archangel Studios will come out with something great in store for us.