I don't know how Round8 did it on their first try but I think they've knocked it out of the park and created something I'd say is on par with FromSoftware's titles.

Difficult but satisfying combat that rewards mastery, insane boss fights (seriously Laxasia almost made me cry), a good amount of build customisation provided in the various systems and a unique weapon system that can be mixed and matched. All of this is tied together in the brilliant re-imagining of a classic story in a beautiful setting with great music.

Only thing I can dock points for is enemy variety could be expanded a bit more and some weapons are so bad and have no upsides unless you are purposefully trying to make the game harder while others are just giga broken. It would be nice if everything was at least viable as a baseline.

That said, my complaints did not affect my enjoyment of the game in a major way so well done to the team. I'm looking forward to seeing how Round8 builds on this. I feel like it can only get better (hopefully).