The Swords of Ditto does not offer players anything new. It is heavily inspired by modern roguelike games and classic Legend of Zelda titles. At no point did I find myself feeling like I was experiencing something new and ground breaking in my time with the game. And I did not care. The Swords of Ditto is packed with so much personality and a surprising amount of depth that I can easily see past its lack of ingenuity to find a great deal of enjoyment.
The land of Ditto is plagued by a menacing witch named Mormo. The game’s antagonist has imprisoned this quaint island in darkness and bringing gloom and despair. Monsters, zombies, and possessed animals have infested Ditto and haunted its inhabitants. However, every 100 years, the Sword of Ditto rises, giving the land one opportunity at salvation. If Mormo is slain, peace will reign over Ditto for an entire century. If the Sword fails, the witch will drag Ditto further into darkness and despair.
Taking control of this newly awakened Sword of Ditto, players are granted 6 days in game to muster their strength and weaken Mormo’s power. The more the sword can accomplish in their short time means the less strength Mormo will have in the final battle set to occur when the timer runs out. Accompanied by your guardian dung beetle named Puku, the Sword can roam the open world map and use their time however they like. Dungeons are the key to progression and can be unlocked as soon as the player achieves the predetermined level for entry. These dungeons hold new “Toys” that are required for the Sword to progress as well as “Anchors” that can be destroyed in order to weaken Mormo and give the player an advantage in the final showdown. 
On the surface, the game can appear as a simple and “cutesy” hack and slash dungeon crawler. However, developer onebitbeyond has cleverly woven in several RPG elements that give The Swords of Ditto a welcome layer of complexity. Players can take advantage of several in game RPG mechanics to make their Sword their own. Experience is gained from defeating enemies and is used to level the character to access new areas and get more HP. Stickers can be applied to different armor slots to add buffs and inflict differing status effects on enemies. Items and abilities can also be acquired and upgraded from the Toy Shop to bolster The Sword’s arsenal. Players can utilize burn, poison, ether and other effects to gain an edge in tackling enemies throughout the open world and dungeons.
The Swords of Ditto is bursting with personality and charm. Using a hand drawn art style, the game has an undeniable level of vibrancy and flair that helps it pop off the screen. It can seem a bit juvenile at first, but it wasn’t long before I was swept up in the charisma and subtle humor that this game has on offer. The music adds to the appeal of the art style and is able to use synth tones (and a kazoo) to create both upbeat tracks, and somber melancholy to compliment the dreariness that Mormo has brought to the land.
The enemy variety is another one of The Swords of Ditto’s notable strengths. At any given time, whether in open world or in the depths of a trial dungeon, upwards of four different enemy types are commonly found on screen. These monsters vary between floating flower husks that don’t attack and only inflict damage when they collide with the player to an aggressive sword wielding knight that will hunt The Sword down relentlessly from any part of the room. Bats use sonar attacks to put the player into a frenzy inflicting damage over time, and ghosts can use ether attacks to freeze the player in place and drain their HP. A duo of teleporting cat enemies can be found randomly bursting through dungeon floors to hurl bombs and a menacing battery enemy (yes, a D-Type battery is an enemy in this game) pops out of hiding to drain item energy from the player. There is little rhyme or reason as to why these baddies appear the way they do or how they have their powers. But you can’t help but smile when they fill the screen.
Replayability and value is aided by the roguelike element of randomly generated levels and worlds. As mentioned at the outset, The Sword of Ditto is given only 6 days to accomplish their ultimate goal. Should the player fail, the story resets 100 years later. The entire world will rearrange with enemies lurking in new corners, dungeons with completely different puzzle and room layouts, and even secondary characters in new spots. While the main story can be completed in around 5 hours, subsequent play throughs have added legitimacy as no two lands of Ditto are the same. The entire game can also be played using local co-op as a friend can join in as a second Sword of Ditto to take down Mormo.
There are some minor annoyances at play here. The puzzles found within the dungeon can be simplistic and a bit too easy to overcome. I never found myself wondering how to use my arsenal of Toys for too long as most solutions were quite obvious. The placement of map assets can obscure certain areas to make them appear as though they are inaccessible when they are in fact reachable – usually just by approaching at the correct angle. Lastly, I found myself having to grind enemies in the open world at one point in order to achieve the next character level required to gain access to a dungeon. I’d classify all of these as minor wishes or inconveniences and did not impede the overall enjoyment of the game.
Simply put, the Swords of Ditto is a great micro RPG experience. What it lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in character, complexity, and downright fun. It won’t cost you much and will keep you coming back to play time and time again.
The Swords of Ditto, from developer onebitbeyond and publisher Devolver Digital, releases on Steam and Playstation 4 on April 24th.
This game was provided to the reviewer by the publisher but this fact did not influence the opinion of said reviewer.
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