Reversary gives you control of a giant boss, having you fight a persistent warrior who keeps leveling up and coming back stronger.
Being a gigantic boss seems like it has its perks, at first, You’re huge, have tons of health, and can smash any warrior who comes your way with a few swipes of that colossal sword of yours. You can even fling a few magic beams to catch an opponent who’s far away. So, when a warrior shows up, you stomp them flat pretty quickly. However, like most video game warriors, with every defeat, they toddle off somewhere to grind enemies and come back a tiny bit stronger. So, it gets a little tougher to clobber them every single time. Eventually, those scales will tip. You just have to last as long as you can.
Your enemy, Paige, is a bit more fun to interact with than your average video game character who silently throws themselves at a boss over and over again. As you repeat the fight (and your pre-fight dialogue, as any boss loves to do), you start to actually talk with Paige. Get to know one another. Discuss why you’re protecting an evil being and fighting Paige to begin with. You can’t help but start to look forward to Paige coming by and having a little chat. I mean, what else does a stationary video game boss do with their life besides sit there and wait for a fight? Isn’t it nice to have someone to talk to for a change?
Reversary is a quick, but pleasant look at the everyday life of a video game boss, capturing that sense of power, but also the loneliness that comes with it. It’s a strange thing to look forward to having someone show up to start a fight with you, but here, you can’t help but smile when your opponent shows up.
Reversary is available now on itch.io, NewGrounds, and the Ludum Dare site.
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