Bryen Hume

My review? Probably a 7/10. It has its positives and its definite downsides, and it's very limited in terms of what I would deem as fair but brutal difficulty. The beginning sections of the game are certainly punishing, but usually fair- however, there are constantly situations where inconsistent hit boxes, unclear visual cues for both platforming and combat, and laborious challenges become overwhelmingly frustrating. Great example- the level design of the game is wonderful for the most part. Paths branch and meet in various areas to give a simple time going from point A to point B, and the platforming usually is what restricts you form progressing to certain areas too early (as is custom with Metroidvania style games). It works well for the most part, so long as you can avoid enemies (which is fair), up until the final platforming challenge of the game: The White Palace. The difficulty here is hardly even considerably fair, they just straight up went through a masochistic phase- but if you want to get the true endings and/or 100% completion, you'll need to power through it. Hit boxes seem inconsistent beyond belief, sometimes you can hit an enemy from a respectable distance and then fail to hit them up close- but the satisfaction you can get from combo-ing yourself around them and destroying your foes is incredible. The secrets are all well hidden, and usually very fair- you'll find plenty of them on a normal playthrough. Then there's some stuff that's absurdly hidden in a way you can only figure out if you get really lucky or look it up. It's such a mixed bag, that ultimately I enjoyed, but not without my frustrations pushing through and causing me to wish that there was just a little bit more balancing. I used several different play styles for multiple bosses and areas and having experienced pretty much a bit of everything (and getting over 100% completion) I can say that it's definitely not for everybody. The game is beautiful, the sound is great, and the actual gameplay is satisfying and fun, but it could've been so much more. It's a perfect representation of a Metroidvania, and it's great to see- I just wish it had a bit more polish. Admittedly still impressive for a team of 3 devs, especially with the level of polish it *did* manage to get.