Editor’s note: This updated review is based on the Summer Update, released 06/22/2018 and Timeless Update, made available 07/24/2018.
My return to Ditto is a welcome one. Since my last playing, onebitbeyond has taken player feedback to heart and released two major updates that bring a slew of improvements to the game, tightening the overall experience immensely. I have been curious about what these changes meant, so I went back to the island for more adventure!
A welcome sight comes on the title screen, as the game now offers save management! Players can start multiple saves and delete old games with ease now. Considering the previous version demanded going through game files to find and delete an old save to start a new game, this is a necessary quality of life improvement. Upon starting a new save, players can, again, choose their difficulty setting and adventure off to fight Mormo!
The team has streamlined the introduction and offers more explanation of the game’s core concepts. Quick information pop-ups come when certain new items or mechanics are introduced, lowering the barrier of entry the launch version struggled with. Players go through the same opening sequence, but the journey with subsequent Swords is now streamlined. Upon rebirth, the player starts at the grave of the fallen Sword, instead of running from their home EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. This takes so much of the wasted time from the game, and while it loses that sense of helplessness in a world run by Mormo for 100 years, the quick turnaround to get back into the meat of the game is the better choice for players.
When players begin their life in the second era, they will note another obvious change: the game’s core mechanic of managing time has, mostly, been done away with! In its place, onebitbeyond has introduced a level cap for the encounter with Mormo. Originally, players had three days, as detailed in the review below. Instead, players will see Mormo will be lingering in the bottom right with a level beneath her each time the Sword levels up. When players hit Mormo’s level, a countdown of 24 in-game hours begins, the end of which sees them waking from bed to trudge off and fight Ditto’s greatest foe a final time, one way or another. Personally, I did not mind the time limit of the previous system, though I can admit the tedium of collecting fragments, returning to the shrine to pray for more time, rinse, repeat several times did slow down the pacing of the game. Although this new update streamlines the process, a bit of what made Swords of Ditto unique amongst myriad other rogue-like RPGs is lost. That being said, onebitbeyond has detailed the methods online for players to restore previous versions of the game.
Finally, the last major change is the introduction of Badges. Strewn about Ditto in chests or as quest rewards are various Badges that offer players a pre-generated character to choose from each time a new life begins. Each of these characters begins with a Toy of Legend, a sticker, and some special stats, which can be improved as players devote to a specific Badge and level it up. It is a great addition, especially as players get to the higher levels of play and the grind against enemies, when starting from scratch once more, can be truly grueling.
Beyond these literal game-changing updates, the smaller fixes to the game’s overall quality of life are great. Like the more readily available lore of Ditto, found in the ancient tablets; these can now be obtained with most every treasure found, ensuring folks can glean the island’s dark and intriguing history. These tablets, and the stories therein, are the best part of Ditto’s story and I am glad the task of hunting them is a bit of a quicker process. That is not to say they are in every patch of grass, players will still have to delve many a dungeon to unlock the full story, but now not quite so many. As well, enemies no longer scale as dungeons are defeated, so players have the chance to take it easy with lower level foes in certain areas. Also welcome is the increased loot collecting radius, which, now that I have a comparison, was frustratingly small. Finally, the dash, spin and charge attacks, usually bequeathed through sticker application, can become permanent at certain levels, freeing up much-needed sticker slots for players. These are all the highlights, for sure, but myriad other minor fixes and touch ups are detailed on The Swords of Ditto’s Steam page.
It is heartening to see the team step up and continue to improve upon an already lovingly-crafted product. The devotion to their game, and to fans, is welcome in the current age of gaming, as developers seem to be increasingly putting consumers first despite the shortcomings of development. While it can be asked, “Why not just release the game when it’s done and perfect?”, it is clear there is no easy answer as to why that cannot be accomplished as stories arise of long hours and tight deadlines at studios worldwide. So, to see developers consistently returning to their projects, to refine and release free updates based on feedback is much needed, and a definite product of the internet age. It was not so long ago that when discs and cartridges were released, we got what we got. And sometimes what we got was E.T. for the Atari. Never forget that.
All that being said, if players wish a refreshing return to The Swords of Ditto, onebitbeyond has provided welcome improvements. The gameplay is largely still the same, so if the roguelike hack and slash adventure wasn’t to players’ tastes the first time around, then they will probably bounce from it once more. For new players, the vibrant world of Ditto is better and more approachable, the latest version offering a definitive way to play the game.
