- Overall improved game quality and combat
- Vast and rewarding exploration
- Exceptional atmosphere and aesthetic
- Pervasive bugs and lack of polish
- Clunky and unresponsive combat
- Confusing and empty level design
Emotions
Players felt satisfied due to the game's overall high quality, particularly its unique atmosphere, immersive world design, and rewarding exploration. Significant improvements through patches and engaging combat mechanics also contributed to a positive experience, often exceeding initial expectations.
Frustration stemmed primarily from numerous technical issues, including bugs, poor hitboxes, and unresponsive controls. Players also struggled with confusing level design, a problematic stamina system, and unbalanced enemy encounters, leading to a lack of polish and unfair difficulty spikes.
Disappointment arose from the game's perceived lack of polish, clunky gameplay, and unfulfilled potential, often failing to meet expectations set by trailers or the initial concept. Issues like uninteresting combat, empty levels, and technical flaws contributed to a feeling of low quality and a desire for a refund.
Admiration was largely directed at the small development team's ambitious achievement in creating such a unique and expansive game. Players praised the game's artistic vision, impressive world design, captivating atmosphere, and the developers' dedication to improving the game post-launch.
Excitement was generated by the game's immersive atmosphere, engaging exploration, and interconnected level design, which often led to a sense of addiction and a desire to uncover all its secrets. The game's unique blend of influences and its potential for future content also fueled enthusiasm.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 77% · Negative 23%. Score: 23 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly praise the game's overall quality, especially noting its significant improvements since launch due to consistent developer updates. Many consider it a hidden gem that offers a highly enjoyable and engaging experience.
- The combat system, while initially perceived as clunky by some, is now largely seen as responsive, engaging, and satisfying. Players appreciate its unique twists, tactical depth, and the variety it offers compared to other Souls-like games.
- Exploration is a core strength, with players commending the vast, interconnected, and non-linear world design. The sense of scale, discovery, and freedom to wander without strict guidance is a major draw, making exploration consistently rewarding.
- The game's atmosphere, aesthetic, and world-building are consistently highlighted as exceptional. Players are deeply immersed by the bleak, mysterious, and unique environment, enhanced by a fitting and memorable soundtrack.
- Enemy and boss designs are frequently praised for their creativity, visual appeal, and variety. Boss fights, in particular, are noted for being unique, challenging, and well-designed, contributing significantly to the gameplay experience.
Negatives:
- Players consistently report a high number of technical issues, including pervasive bugs, visual glitches, poor optimization, and unpolished mechanics across various systems. This leads to a generally 'janky' and unfinished feel, significantly impacting the overall gameplay experience and value perception.
- Combat is frequently described as clunky, slow, and unresponsive, with issues like floaty movement, input lag, and stiff animations. Players also highlight unreliable hitboxes and inconsistent enemy behavior, making fights frustrating and lacking impact.
- Level design is frequently confusing, monotonous, and leads to players getting lost due to a lack of clear direction or a map. Many areas are described as vast but empty, filled with filler, and lacking meaningful content or objectives.
- The game's visuals are widely criticized for being low-resolution, blurry, and lacking contrast, often appearing worse than advertised. This extends to poor texture work, unpolished animations, and a generally gloomy or monotonous aesthetic.
- The user interface is consistently criticized for being unpleasant, unintuitive, and messy, often appearing as a placeholder. Additionally, controller support is reported as severely lacking, making the game difficult or unplayable for some.
Gameplay:
- The game is widely perceived as a Souls-like action RPG, drawing significant inspiration from Dark Souls 1, particularly in its combat, exploration, and overall atmosphere. It incorporates elements like 'bonfires' and a focus on interconnected level design.
- Character progression is primarily driven by gear and a gem-slotting system for customization, rather than traditional leveling. Players can allocate points into four core stats and unlock various perks and abilities to enhance their build.
- Combat is described as slow, heavy, and strategic, requiring precise timing for attacks and parries. While initially feeling rigid or clunky, players note that it improves significantly once core mechanics like perfect blocks and combos are mastered.
- The game offers a challenging, unguided exploration experience with no in-game map or clear objectives, forcing players to discover paths and systems on their own. This can lead to initial confusion but encourages thorough exploration.
- A unique death mechanic means players do not lose experience or items upon dying, reducing the typical Souls-like penalty. However, there is a reported permanent character deletion after an extremely high number of deaths (around 400).
Performance:
- While initial launch optimization was poor, recent patches have significantly improved overall performance. Most players now report stable 60 FPS, though some still experience occasional frame drops in specific areas or when casting spells. Adjusting settings like V-sync or using DLSS can further enhance stability.
- The game supports DLSS, which significantly helps mid-tier machines achieve excellent performance and visual quality.
- Players generally praise the game's graphics and visual design, noting that it can look comparable to modern AAA titles.
- The game offers ultrawide support, though it may require a minor .ini file edit for optimal experience.
- Some players feel that the in-game graphics settings lack sufficient granularity for fine-tuning performance.
Recommendations:
- Overall, player sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with many recommending the game, especially on sale or for specific player types. However, a significant portion advises caution due to unpolished aspects or suggests waiting for further improvements. The game is often seen as a 'hidden gem' or a title that requires an open mind.
- The game is highly recommended for fans of the Souls-like genre, particularly those who prioritize exploration, atmosphere, and unique world design over combat polish. Many reviewers draw comparisons to Dark Souls 1 and the manga 'Blame!', emphasizing its appeal to players who enjoy getting lost in vast, mysterious megastructures.
- Players express strong support for the small development team, acknowledging the game's potential despite its current flaws. There's a desire to see the developers succeed with future projects, ideally with more resources and funding, and an appreciation for their commitment to patching and improving the game based on community feedback.
- Several players highlight the need for technical improvements, specifically mentioning graphics settings, combat mechanics, and controller support. These areas are seen as crucial for enhancing the overall player experience and reaching the game's full potential.
Miscellaneous:
- Players frequently highlight that the game was developed by a very small, three-person indie team. This context is often used to explain or excuse the game's perceived lack of polish, budget limitations, and ambitious scope, while also expressing admiration for what the team achieved.
- The game is consistently described as unique, niche, and not for everyone, often praised for its distinct atmosphere, world-building, and sense of scale. Its slow pacing and obscure narrative appeal to players who value exploration and immersion over traditional action or clear explanations.
- The game is frequently compared to and recommended for fans of the 'Blame!' manga due to its similar atmospheric and aesthetic qualities. While it shares some 'Souls-like' elements, players emphasize that it is not a direct clone and offers a distinct experience.
- Many players express a strong desire for future content, including DLC or a sequel. There's a clear hope that the developers will continue to build upon this foundation, potentially with more resources, to create an even more refined experience.
- The game faced negative publicity due to an issue with unknowingly using illegally copied animations purchased from an asset store. However, the developers have since addressed this by replacing the problematic assets with original ones, demonstrating their commitment to resolving issues.
