- Addictive, fun bullet-hell roguelike gameplay
- Excellent co-op experience with flexible difficulty
- Charming art and innovative monster taming
- Repetitive and shallow gameplay loop
- Artificial difficulty scaling, tedious map
- Homogenized mounts and limited bullet variety
Emotions
Players felt satisfied by the game's high quality, polished presentation, and appealing art style. The engaging gameplay loop, including monster collecting, varied mechanics, and well-balanced difficulty options, contributed significantly to their enjoyment. Many also appreciated the game's value for money and its suitability for casual play or co-op experiences.
Disappointment stemmed primarily from the game's perceived repetition, especially in the late game, and a lack of depth in gameplay and creature variety. Players also expressed frustration with the plot, limited co-op experience, and features like base building not living up to expectations, leading to a loss of motivation for continued play or 100% completion.
Excitement was driven by the game's addictive gameplay loop, particularly the unique monster riding and collecting mechanics. Players were thrilled by the depth, replayability, and the discovery of new biomes and powerful combinations, often leading to extended play sessions and a strong sense of engagement.
Frustration arose from various gameplay issues, including repetitive grind, cumbersome pet catching, and difficulty spikes. Players also experienced annoyance with input lag in co-op, slippery controls, and quality-of-life issues like limited fast travel and collection limits, which hindered their overall experience and progression.
Joy was frequently expressed regarding the game's charming aesthetic, cute critters, and overall fun gameplay. The addictive nature of the game and the positive experiences derived from playing with friends or family members were significant contributors to this emotion.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 74% · Negative 26%. Score: 26 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game for its engaging and addictive core gameplay loop, highlighting its high replayability and overall fun factor. Many found it surprisingly deep and enjoyable, offering excellent value for its price.
- The game offers robust and flexible difficulty options, including a casual mode for new players and multiple 'Hard Mode' tiers. This allows players of all skill levels to find a suitable challenge, making the game accessible yet engaging.
- The game is highly recommended for co-op play, particularly local split-screen. Players find it a great experience for playing with friends or children, enhancing the overall enjoyment and accessibility.
- The game's roguelite progression system is highly lauded, with players appreciating the constant sense of progress, permanent unlocks, and varied meta-progression. The exploration, collection, and map randomization contribute to its high replayability and appeal to completionists.
- The game's art style and creature designs are frequently described as cute, charming, and visually appealing. Players enjoy the unique and adorable monster designs, which enhance the overall aesthetic and appeal.
Negatives:
- Many players found the game's core loop to be highly repetitive and lacking in depth, leading to boredom and a feeling of staleness after only a few hours of play. This issue is exacerbated by the perceived lack of meaningful progression and variety in gameplay, making extended sessions or 100% completion feel like a tedious grind.
- The game's difficulty scaling is criticized for being artificial, relying on inflated enemy stats and bullet spam rather than engaging mechanics. Players feel that runs are prematurely ended by overwhelming enemy strength, leading to forced deaths and a sense of unfairness, especially in the mid-to-late game.
- The map design and collection mechanics are widely criticized for being tedious and time-consuming. Players found map traversal repetitive, shortcuts insufficient, and the process of collecting items and creatures frustrating due to random spawns, limited inventory, and a lack of clear guidance.
- A significant number of players reported that mounts and creatures lack meaningful differentiation, with many sharing similar skills and movesets despite visual variety. This homogenization reduces the excitement of discovery and makes the collection aspect less rewarding, as new captures often feel like reskins.
- The game's plot and story are largely seen as bland, uninteresting, or almost non-existent, failing to engage players or provide meaningful context for the gameplay. This lack of narrative depth contributes to the overall feeling of shallowness.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay revolves around capturing and riding a wide variety of monsters, each possessing unique skills and abilities. Players can level up these monsters to unlock more powerful moves, and their utility varies based on combat situations and stamina.
- The game is primarily a bullet-hell twin-stick shooter with strong roguelike and Metroidvania elements. It features exploration, combat, and collection mechanics, drawing comparisons to titles like Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon.
- The game offers adjustable difficulty settings, including a challenge mode, allowing players to tailor their experience. While some find the default difficulty high, others note it's manageable, especially with features like auto-aim.
- The game features a large, fixed overworld map with randomized elements within its zones. Exploration is key to unlocking permanent shortcuts to dungeons and discovering new areas, encouraging multiple runs to fully uncover content.
- The player's primary weapon is a gun with infinite default ammo, but various temporary ammo types (represented as fruits) can be collected to alter shot patterns and provide different combat advantages.
Performance:
- Players report that the game is well-optimized and runs smoothly across various platforms, including Steam Deck and Linux. It handles intense on-screen action without performance issues.
Recommendations:
- The game receives overwhelmingly positive recommendations from players, often highlighting its overall quality, fun factor, and value for money. Many reviewers express strong satisfaction and encourage others to purchase it.
- The game is particularly recommended for fans of specific genres, especially roguelikes, bullet hells, and games with monster collecting or riding mechanics. Players who enjoy fast-paced action and exploration will find it appealing.
- The game is frequently recommended for co-op play, especially for couch co-op with friends or partners. This mode significantly enhances the enjoyment and replayability for many players.
- Some feedback suggests that the game's longevity or appeal might vary depending on player tolerance for repetition or if playing solo. While there are many hours of content, completing everything might not appeal to all players.
- While generally recommended, many players suggest purchasing the game during a sale or at a discounted price. This indicates that while the game is good, its full retail price might be a point of consideration for some.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players are impressed by the game's development history, noting it was created by a solo developer over seven years. This dedication, including listening to feedback and evolving the game, is seen as a testament to its quality and has inspired some players.
- The game is noted for its accessibility and suitability for casual play, appealing to a broad audience including younger players. However, some reviewers feel it has gone 'under the radar' of content creators, despite its quality.
- Players suggest various feature additions, including more game modes (e.g., race, New Game+ with procedural maps), increased monster variation, and quality-of-life improvements like marker deletion, expanded home base, and better in-game item location information. There's also a wish for more graphic toggle options and future content like sequels or DLC.
- The game is frequently highlighted for its very low price, especially during sales, offering significant value to players.
- The game offers a decent amount of playtime, with estimates around 10-30 hours, and players express intent to achieve 100% completion.
