This was great, but with a huge caveat.

Assist turned on was essential for me to enjoy actually finishing the game. Roguelikes are tricky because they demand continued replays to attain mastery of their systems, but for this one I just didn't feel a desire to do so.

Maybe I'm just growing old and impatient, but unlike with Hades and Downwell, I kept coming back to a feeling of "wow that was some bullshit" instead of "whoops, made a mistake there, I'll learn for next time." I recommend reading MagneticBurn's review about how the combat of this game sucks for a better explanation of the specifics, because I don't have much to add in that department.

Thankfully Assist exists, so you can make adjustments to your liking. Turning Assist on for everything except for hearts was a perfect difficulty for me, even if doing so defeated the point a little bit by making weapons more durable. If I went back and tried it again, I'd probably recommend only ticking the "make enemies weaker" box.

That said, it's impossible for me to hate this. Everything from the combat to the characters to the aesthetic presentation is so meticulously crafted to create a clear demonstration of how utter bullshit consumerism is for everyone involved, and I'll always back that sentiment.