No Place for Braverystarts simply enough with the protagonist, Thorn, exploring the land with his son. Suddenly, a giant emerges, sending Thorn’s son away and creating a basic quest for an action game. Can players save Thorn’s son before it is too late or is there more at play here?
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FollowingNo Place for Bravery’sstory can be a bit of a challenge but all players have to know is that this indie game is swinging for the fences. Does it live up to the games it is seemingly trying to emulate likeDark SoulsandGod of Waror does this homage lack soul?
8Best: The Adjustable Difficulty Menu
Any game that allows players to change the difficulty settings at any time is great. A game gets bonus points if theyinclude assist optionsfor players to further customize their experience.No Place for Braveryhas both of these things as the difficulty settings can be adjusted with a slider in the menu. Some options include giving the player more attack power or defense in battle. More and more indie games are putting in assist options and the game industry is better for it.
This might not be a problem on the PC, but the Switch version of this game is quite buggy. The frame rate can take a dip while running through mundane areas like the hub town. Glitches might also occur in the story, like creating two Thorns in one area.Glitches are funny, sometimes, but then there are things that can soft-lock the game. The load times are also troubling but they are not long. The problem is their frequency which can become a bit of a pain to sit through.
6Best: Simple But Effective Combat
The combat in the game is not going to win any rewards. It’s a simplehack and slashgame with multiple weapons, a dodge, a block, and some special abilities. It’s simple but effective, creating some visceral kills thanks to the gore.
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It’s an achievement to create horrifying gore in a pixel game like this butNo Place for Braverypasses with flying colors. The executions can be over the top sometimes but the kills add to the game’s grotesque and otherworldly charm.
5Worst: Takes A While To “Level Up”
The aforementioned special abilities are great as they can add some nice flavor to combat. The spin attack for the hammer, for example, can absolutely devastate enemies. However, purchasing these abilities requires certain items and gold. Players will get more gold than they will know what to do within the game but the items are rarer. “Leveling up” by getting new abilities is a bigger deal inNo Place for Braverythan inother action games. It makes each ability more special, but it also makes the combat more boring because the unlocking process is a chore.
4Best: The Scale Of The World
The pixel art style in the game has been done before but it doesn’t make the experience any less cool. The best thing about the design is the scale of the world. Whenever the camera pans out to reveal something giant in the distance, it can create some horror vibes. Thorn’s world is not a happy-go-lucky place most players would want to live in. On the oppositeside of horror games, another great design choice allows players to pet dogs which is always an adorable option to include.
3Worst: The Story
The world may be bursting with detail, creating little stories for players to get intrigued by. However, the overall narrative is a snore which is not that uncommon foran action game. It is disjointed as time is played around constantly in a confusing manner.
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Characters will pop in and pop out or die without much fanfare. It’s one of those games where there is a lot to appreciate about the story, but it’s not one that can be followed easily.
2Best: The Music
The score is as haunting as some of the places players will travel to. The music adds to the ambiance of the entire experience. Most of the music is set to a lower background setting, almost as if it’s not there at all. It picks up during combat encounters, especially with boss battles, to invigorate the player to do their best. It’s a great mix of modern orchestrated music with some chanting as well. It may not be a soundtrack that will be fun to listen to outside of the context ofNo Place for Bravery, but it should still be applauded.
1Worst: The Pointless Beginning
The beginning of the game is an example of how disjointed the story can be. Players will get started with the adventure almost immediately, which is great foran action game. Thorn loses his son, resulting in a quest that could take as long as an hour depending on if players grind for gold or items. The bad thing about this beginning is that it is a dream and all progress made in this opening is lost. Gold and items will not transfer over, making this dream space feel like a cheat. Knowing this going in may not make the opener feel so bad, but it is still a dirty trick that needed to be pointed out the negative side of things.
No Place For Braverywas released on June 18, 2025, and is available on PC and Switch.
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