Warning: I ramble.

On my 3rd run of this game now. Aesthetically, this hits the head of nail for me. It's spooky, grungy, and the atmosphere is stunning. The monsters, weapons, bosses, costumes designs are SO awesome. I knew I'd love this game just for vibes alone. Typically, I am not a Souls-type gamer. These kinds of games are usually too difficult for me, and I have little to no patience when it comes to trial and error as I just want to get through the story and progress. However, I really surprised myself when I was able to get through this one (with the help of a guide to help with bosses, but still), and for 80% of it, it was very enjoyable and fun in its own masochistic way. I've heard someone describe these kinds of games as "getting kicked in the balls a hundred times before you succeed," and they couldn't have been more right.
I only knocked off a half star because a lot of the times I was dying way more often than I was the rest of the game, and it was mostly the mini bosses that did me in or even the tanky regular enemies. That really was frustrating, and don't even get me started on Puppet Devouring Green Monster and Laxasia's boss fights. Lord... But I KNOW that's how these games are. This was my first time playing something like this and hey, I got through it.
That being said, though, at times the story was a little hard to follow. Mostly specific details of things. I wish P would talk or have more emotions other than a blank stare, lol. I feel like I would have cared for my own character a lot more in that aspect. Gemini didn't feel very necessary either. He says a couple of lines, but he has no significance. So, yeah, some of the story was a little weak in my opinion, but for a game to enjoy playing as you plow through enemies and want a challenge, great game mechanics overall. It was easy to use, and nothing felt too complicated or overwhelming. I didn't find myself using the Cube or Gold Coin Fruit too often despite it being a significant part of the story.

Anyway, TLDR; I enjoy this game despite being frustrated a lot of the time from deaths, story was a bit weak but was still enjoyable, good gameplay and mechanics overall, beautiful designs for characters and scenery.

I wanted to like this game so bad, but this is not the kind of game I thought it would be. I'm not into sandbox games like this. I need to have a clear objective and story. I'm not the biggest fan of "do whatever you want" games. I can see how this can be for someone who does like this kind of stuff, but it just wasn't for me at all.
I think I pictured like- Uncharted or something of that nature, and that's just where my disappointment came into play.

Not saying it was bad. I'm saying it wasn't for me.