man this game is good. amazing soundtrack, satisfying and crunchy sound effects, and beautiful artwork. the story is incredibly confusing, yet intriguing. gameplay is incredible, with one of the smoothest time-stop mechanics in any video game i've ever played. the boss fights are great, and because it works the death mechanic into the story, boss fights specifically feel like you can predict the future. the game is certainly difficult, but it rarely feels unfair and i never got stuck on a specific room or boss for too long. npc dialogue is funny and adds another layer of immersion to each room, and it often references itself over time (rip strong terry).
hard mode however, is absolutely brutal and i still haven't beaten a run on it. (EDIT: i have beaten a hard mode run now) i've attempted a few speedruns but never got that far, so the only two achievements i'm missing are the gold speedrun one and the hard mode one. (no longer the hard mode one)
it's pretty short, but including speedruns and secrets you could certainly stretch out the playtime quite a bit.
absolutely recommended.