This is a game best experienced going in fairly blind. I won't say it's perfect, but the experience is more than worth it, especially for the price.
The game is (mostly :3) very serious about what it draws from, and I believe it is mostly for the better. Whether in looks, musical identity, or overall design (eg. title cards, UI), it manages to improve upon what it references while keeping a wonderful distinct identity. This endeavor to keep and improve its source material seems to have come at a cost: including antiquated features and design choices for the sake of authenticity.
I adore the authenticity and immersion that this provides, but I'd be remiss to overlook the very real flaws. For instance, no control rebinds (which may just be an early access thing!) sucks. I had a fun time figuring 100% of the controls out, but that's still not good! Next, no map. I also had a fun time drawing out a map for areas I was exploring and backtracking, but it is absolutely a pain in the rear. Menus are clunky and slightly difficult to use effectively/efficiently, even more so as you get more items. Last and certainly not least on this unfortunate list is the combat. It's simple, and very easy to get a feel for. It is almost mandatory to kite enemies, blocking feels useless, and ranged weapons mostly dominate when you get a good one. I'm not sure if this would be better remedied by changing how the player fights, or how enemies... are. they are mostly extremely sluggish, which creates the other combat issues. I would not strongly recommend that be changed, I'm just noting it kinda sucks in practice. Most of this is an improvement on the older games it learned from, but seemingly refuses to learn why later games make some of the decisions they do.
It's worth noting that the game also feels... hard to traverse. I'm not referring to difficult enemies, or not enough crystals, those are fine. The world is just big, and you have stumpy little legs. Even after upgrading my stat quite a bit, using a certain weapon as a (very) janky movement tool, and using a spell, getting around within areas is a chore. It makes the exploring more sluggish, which can be slightly frustrating. You can argue that you can just put more points into it, but why? I don't want to. It feels wasteful past a certain point, and there doesn't appear to be any advanced movement tech
On to better things, there's a lot. It has sapphic vampire lore, a birb merchant, Snuggly Friend approaches, the LowTierGod spell, a great assortment of weapons, and too many secrets to find. The music fits everything perfectly, the sections that make you feel fear do so very effectively (i do not do well with that so uh, ye), I almost collapsed with relief every single time I saw a new save crystal, and went wild every time I found a cool new weapon. I gasped at some of the areas I found, and felt like I'd had water poured over me as I explored others. I could ramble on for hours about what I loved about this game, but much of it is better felt than heard.
The game is still in early access, and I haven't looked too much into its development, so some of this review may be false or misleading when or after it's posted.
TL;DR Fun dungeon exploration with some early access crust
Pros? 10/10 atmosphere and design, an explorer's wonderland, great music, stays interesting the whole way through (so far),Le Fanu, and it scratches that FromSoft itch.
Cons? King's Field combat limits it, big world teeny legs, no in game map makes backtracking suck, no key rebinding, and inventory could be less annoying.
The game is (mostly :3) very serious about what it draws from, and I believe it is mostly for the better. Whether in looks, musical identity, or overall design (eg. title cards, UI), it manages to improve upon what it references while keeping a wonderful distinct identity. This endeavor to keep and improve its source material seems to have come at a cost: including antiquated features and design choices for the sake of authenticity.
I adore the authenticity and immersion that this provides, but I'd be remiss to overlook the very real flaws. For instance, no control rebinds (which may just be an early access thing!) sucks. I had a fun time figuring 100% of the controls out, but that's still not good! Next, no map. I also had a fun time drawing out a map for areas I was exploring and backtracking, but it is absolutely a pain in the rear. Menus are clunky and slightly difficult to use effectively/efficiently, even more so as you get more items. Last and certainly not least on this unfortunate list is the combat. It's simple, and very easy to get a feel for. It is almost mandatory to kite enemies, blocking feels useless, and ranged weapons mostly dominate when you get a good one. I'm not sure if this would be better remedied by changing how the player fights, or how enemies... are. they are mostly extremely sluggish, which creates the other combat issues. I would not strongly recommend that be changed, I'm just noting it kinda sucks in practice. Most of this is an improvement on the older games it learned from, but seemingly refuses to learn why later games make some of the decisions they do.
It's worth noting that the game also feels... hard to traverse. I'm not referring to difficult enemies, or not enough crystals, those are fine. The world is just big, and you have stumpy little legs. Even after upgrading my stat quite a bit, using a certain weapon as a (very) janky movement tool, and using a spell, getting around within areas is a chore. It makes the exploring more sluggish, which can be slightly frustrating. You can argue that you can just put more points into it, but why? I don't want to. It feels wasteful past a certain point, and there doesn't appear to be any advanced movement tech
On to better things, there's a lot. It has sapphic vampire lore, a birb merchant, Snuggly Friend approaches, the LowTierGod spell, a great assortment of weapons, and too many secrets to find. The music fits everything perfectly, the sections that make you feel fear do so very effectively (i do not do well with that so uh, ye), I almost collapsed with relief every single time I saw a new save crystal, and went wild every time I found a cool new weapon. I gasped at some of the areas I found, and felt like I'd had water poured over me as I explored others. I could ramble on for hours about what I loved about this game, but much of it is better felt than heard.
The game is still in early access, and I haven't looked too much into its development, so some of this review may be false or misleading when or after it's posted.
TL;DR Fun dungeon exploration with some early access crust
Pros? 10/10 atmosphere and design, an explorer's wonderland, great music, stays interesting the whole way through (so far),
Cons? King's Field combat limits it, big world teeny legs, no in game map makes backtracking suck, no key rebinding, and inventory could be less annoying.