- Variety in weapons and combat
- Compelling story and setting
- High-quality visuals and sound
- Repetitive and boring combat
- Poor level and enemy design
- Poor optimization and performance
Emotions
The game falls short of expectations due to repetitive and uninspired combat mechanics, poor optimization, and technical issues such as clunky controls and odd animations. Additionally, the story and character designs are found lacking, with many players expressing that the game's promise was not fulfilled, leading to a sense of letdown.
Players are frustrated by the game's combat mechanics, which are described as clunky, unresponsive, and poorly designed. Performance issues, including frequent crashes and poor optimization, along with confusing level design and repetitive gameplay, further contribute to this frustration.
Players enjoy the game's unique combat mechanics, large map design, and beautiful art direction. The adjustable difficulty and accessible gameplay, along with a variety of enemies and an engaging atmosphere, contribute to a positive experience.
Players are satisfied with the game's beautiful graphics, excellent map design, and good optimization. The interesting story, variety of weapons, and tactical combat also contribute to a fulfilling gaming experience.
The game's slow-paced combat and repetitive gameplay lead to boredom. Players find the combat dull and the enemy variety lacking, which makes the game feel monotonous and unengaging.
Verdict
Mostly negative
Summary
Positive 28% · Negative 72%. Score: 72 / 100
Verdict
Overpriced with Low Value Content
Summary
The game and its DLC are perceived as overpriced and not offering sufficient value for the cost. The necessity to purchase the DLC to achieve 100% completion and the lack of significant additional content in the DLC are major points of contention among users. Score: 60 / 100
Top points
- Day-1 DLC - High
- Overpriced Game and DLC - High
Verdict
Needs Improvement
Summary
The user feedback highlights significant issues with game mechanics, bugs, and the need for external guides. The complexity of the game mechanics and the presence of bugs are particularly severe problems that need immediate attention. Additionally, the reliance on external resources for understanding the game indicates a need for better in-game guidance. Score: 50 / 100
Top points
- Complex Mechanics - High
- Bugs - High
- Instructional Data - Medium
Verdict
Tinkering Required
Summary
The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals significant performance issues, including frequent frame drops, high VRAM usage, and ineffective upscaling options. Users also report noticeable input lag, frequent crashes, and various graphical glitches. These issues collectively indicate a suboptimal gaming experience on the Steam Deck, requiring considerable tinkering and adjustments to achieve playable performance. Score: 55 / 100
Top points
- Performance Issues - High
- VRAM and Upscaling Issues - High
- Control and Input Lag - Medium
- Crashes and Stability - High
- Graphical Glitches - Medium
Positives:
- Players enjoy the variety of weapons and combat styles available in the game. The combat system is well-tuned and offers diverse gameplay styles, making it engaging and fun.
- The game features an interesting and compelling story set in a unique and well-designed world. Players appreciate the historical take and the intriguing premise, which includes beautiful cutscenes and enjoyable characters.
- The game boasts good visual effects, stunning visuals, and beautiful graphics. The sound effects and voice acting are also highly praised, contributing to an immersive experience.
- The game is described as engaging and well-made, with a level design that encourages exploration. The combat is enjoyable and varied, adding to the overall satisfying gameplay experience.
- The game is considered a good starting point for beginners to the Soulslike genre. It offers adjustable difficulty settings and assist modes, making it accessible to a wider audience.
Negatives:
- The combat system is described as stiff, janky, clunky, and unresponsive. Players find it slow, easy, and not fun, with repetitive enemy designs and attack patterns contributing to a monotonous experience.
- The level design is described as flat, dull, unimaginative, and repetitive. Additionally, the lack of enemy variety and their repetitive attack patterns make the gameplay experience tedious.
- Many players have reported that the game suffers from poor graphics quality, bad animations, and terrible optimization. These issues lead to unattractive visuals and very poor performance, making the gameplay experience less enjoyable.
- The story is criticized for being uninteresting, boring, and lacking depth. Many players feel that it does not hook them early on, leading to a quick loss of interest.
- Boss fights are criticized for being uninteresting, monotonous, and boring. Players find them underwhelming and not very challenging, contributing to a less engaging gameplay experience.
Gameplay:
- Character and weapon upgrades reach their limits by mid-game, and early armor remains highly effective, reducing the need for further progression.
- The game features exploration mechanics and an open-world design, but some players feel there is no compelling reason to explore.
- The game offers a wide range of weapons, including heavy, light, ranged, and elemental types, each with unique abilities.
- The combat system is slow-paced but can be tense, with various animations and mechanics affecting the gameplay experience.
- Players have noted that the variety of enemies is low, making the game feel monotonous. This includes both regular enemies and bosses, which have few attack patterns.
Performance:
- Many players report that the game has terrible optimization and performance issues. This includes low frame rates, constant FPS drops, and overall poor performance even on high-end hardware.
- Players experience frequent crashes, hard crashes, and game freezing issues. This includes stuttering and instability even on high-end hardware.
- There are various graphical issues reported, including textures not loading properly, blurry visuals, and overall graphical fidelity issues.
- The game has performance issues on specific hardware configurations, including difficulties maintaining stable frame rates and performance drops on certain setups.
- Some players report problems with the camera causing motion sickness and issues with cinematic scenes being unwatchable due to black screens or other visual problems.
Recommendations:
- Many players suggest purchasing the game only when it is significantly discounted, indicating that the full price may not be justified.
- Several reviews recommend playing other Soulslike games instead, suggesting that there are better options available in the genre.
- A few reviews mention that the game is only recommended if you have high-end hardware, indicating potential performance issues on lower-end systems.
- The game is often recommended for those new to the Soulslike genre, as it may offer a simpler and less challenging experience.
- Some players highlight the game's atmosphere and gameplay as positive aspects, encouraging exploration and experimentation with combos.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players feel that the game is overpriced, specifically mentioning that 50€ is too much for what is offered.
- There are reports of translation problems in the Traditional Chinese version of the game.
- Some players have noted that the shift key and right-click mouse functions have been swapped, which feels unintuitive.
- Several reviews mention Bloodborne, likely as a point of comparison in terms of gameplay or style.
- Reviews mention the developer Spiders, possibly indicating recognition or expectations tied to the developer's reputation.
