Heavenly Sword’s Thematic Resonance

"Whereas Enslaved was a thematic mess that couldn’t follow through on any of its set up (a post-apocalyptic, savage land, philosophical journey, relationship metaphor) and ended up with a muddled pile of unfulfilled promises and pointless distraction, Heavenly Sword is a streamlined, compact piece of work with all the pieces (a revenge and redemption story set in the mythical iron age in the style of a wuxia movie) going in the same direction. Ludonarrative dissonance (Though Enslaved was more of a case of ludonarrative-who-gives-a-shit .) is a term that gets thrown around a lot – most of the time misapplied – to the consternation of many, but its opposite, ludonarrative resonance, is an apt term for Heavenly Sword. It is a combat heavy game where its elements not only work well with the combat they demand it."