Info about Rogue Spirit:

Official game description:
  
Reality and the spirit world are now intertwined: defeat the armies of Chaos to save the people of the Kingdom of Midra from demonic invaders.  
Rogue Spirit is a 3D rogue-lite action game with light stealth elements. Play as the Ghost of the Prince of the Kingdom of Midra, possess enemy characters and absorb their unique skills to fight the evil presence that has corrupted your land.  
**Features:**  
• Action game with stealth elements in a rogue-lite game loop  
• Play as the steadfast Ghost of the Prince of Midra  
• Possess the enemies you fight with and absorb their combat features to go on in the battle at your best  
• Master different characters' playstyles, improve your skills, and adapt to an ever-changing world  
• Explore the wonderful Kingdom of Midra and learn its legends and lore  
• 18 characters with different abilities, weapons and playstyles  
• 10 procedurally-generated levels set in 5 different biomes  
• Dozens of essences and skills to make each run different  
• Unlock permanent upgrades between runs  
• Secrets and bosses are waiting for you  
• 3D graphics inspired by traditional Asian designs  
Play as the Ghost of the Prince of the Kingdom of Midra and explore your land.  
Possess enemy characters to absorb their unique skills and adapt your combat style to different circumstances.  
Free your Kingdom by fighting the evil presence that has corrupted your home.

Release date: 7 Mar, 2023

Categories: Roguelike, Real-time Combat, Stealth Gameplay, Character Progression, Procedural Generation, Exploration, Character Collection


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Fresh & Enjoyable Roguelike (weight 0.99): Players consistently praise the game as a fresh, unique, and enjoyable roguelike experience. Its distinct mechanics, engaging combat, and overall quality contribute to a highly positive reception, especially for an Early Access title.
- Appealing Art Style & Visuals (weight 0.44): The game's visual presentation, characterized by its anime-inspired, colorful, and unique art style with Eastern elements, is highly appealing to players. This distinct aesthetic enhances the overall game experience.
- Engaging & Satisfying Combat (weight 0.42): The combat system is highlighted for its engaging, dynamic, and satisfying feel. The parry mechanic, in particular, is noted as effective and intuitive, adding depth and a sense of accomplishment to battles.
- Innovative Possession Mechanic (weight 0.24): The core 'possession' mechanic, allowing players to take over defeated enemies and utilize their unique abilities, is consistently praised as novel, creative, and a key differentiator that adds significant variety to gameplay.
- Solid Soundtrack (weight 0.05): The game's soundtrack is generally well-received, with players noting it as solid and fitting the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of the game's environments.
- High Replayability & Randomness (weight 0.05): The game's strong randomness in map generation and unique mechanics for traversal and treasure hunting contribute significantly to its replayability and freshness across multiple runs.
- Strong Early Access Development (weight 0.05): The game is noted for being well-fleshed out for an Early Access title, with regular updates adding substantial content, indicating strong development progress.

Common complaints:
- Lacks Polish and Depth (weight 0.9): Players frequently report that the game feels unpolished, repetitive, and lacks depth, especially in its combat and roguelike elements. This leads to a monotonous experience after a few hours, with issues like clunky controls, stiff animations, and frequent crashes.
- High and Unfair Difficulty (weight 0.28): The game is perceived as overly difficult and frustrating, particularly due to scarce healing options, overwhelming enemy numbers, and a steep learning curve. This often results in players feeling helpless and unable to progress effectively.
- Restrictive Character/Possession Mechanics (weight 0.13): The character and possession mechanics are criticized for limiting player choice and forcing undesirable playstyles due to RNG. Character progression feels limited, and the unique possession mechanic is not well-executed.
- Limited Enemy and Boss Variety (weight 0.11): Players find the enemy variety and boss design lacking, with predictable patterns and limited types. This contributes to the overall repetitiveness and reduces the strategic depth of combat encounters.
- Ineffective Stealth System (weight 0.08): The stealth system is largely ineffective and often feels mandatory due to high combat risk, yet it is poorly implemented. Enemies easily detect players, making stealth attempts frustrating and unrewarding.
- Unrewarding Upgrade System (weight 0.07): Many in-game upgrades are considered expensive, offer minimal impact, or focus on irrelevant areas. This makes progression feel unrewarding and necessitates excessive grinding for minor benefits.
- Overpriced for Content (weight 0.06): Many players feel the game is overpriced given its current content and level of polish. The cost does not align with the perceived value or replayability offered.
- Limited Spirit Form Utility (weight 0.06): The spirit/ghost form is criticized for its limited utility in combat and lack of diverse abilities. Its primary function is movement, and it feels underdeveloped compared to the possession mechanic.
- Poor Ranged Combat Aiming (weight 0.06): Ranged combat is difficult to use effectively due to a lack of a reticule and imprecise aiming. Attacks are often clumsy and only fire in the direction the player is facing, limiting strategic ranged engagement.
- Scarce Resources and Grindy Fights (weight 0.04): Resources from normal monster kills are scarce, and fighting large groups of enemies is exhausting. This makes progression and resource acquisition feel like a tedious grind.
- Slow and Controlled Pace (weight 0.03): The game's pace is slow and often dictated by the game itself rather than the player. The collection system further contributes to a feeling of sluggish progression.
- Random and Unclear Skill System (weight 0.03): Skill appearance is too random, and the game fails to demonstrate synergistic skill combinations. There are also reports of a persistent skill experience gain bug.
- Poor and Repetitive Map Design (weight 0.03): Map design is criticized for being terrible, with many dead ends and a lack of surprise or fun. Prominent singular locations make runs feel repetitive and uninspired.

Gameplay feedback:
- Dynamic Possession Combat System (weight 0.88): The core gameplay revolves around possessing defeated enemies, each offering unique combat styles, attributes, and attack methods. Players must adapt to different enemy types and their specific attack patterns, including light/heavy attacks, parries, and special abilities, to succeed in combat.
- Permanent Upgrade & Progression (weight 0.34): The game features a permanent upgrade system where players use earned currency (gold, green tokens, essence stones) to improve abilities, pets, and stats. While these upgrades make the game easier over time, some players find the cost of valuable upgrades to be high, requiring significant grinding.
- Strategic Spirit Form Usage (weight 0.29): The 'spirit' or 'ghost' form is a key mechanic for exploration, stealth, and puzzle-solving. It allows players to move faster, scout areas, find hidden treasures, and initiate surprise attacks, though prolonged exposure to enemies in this form can lead to detection.
- Challenging Difficulty & Learning Curve (weight 0.25): The game presents a high level of difficulty and a steep learning curve, requiring players to learn enemy movesets and strategies. While challenging, the game rewards perseverance and experimentation, with difficulty potentially decreasing over time as players gain experience.
- Procedural Levels & Boss Encounters (weight 0.21): The game features procedurally generated levels, typically six, with three bosses. While levels are not excessively long, progression often involves finding portals rather than clearing all enemies. Bosses are present but some players feel they lack unique mechanics compared to elite enemies.
- Limited Healing Mechanics (weight 0.17): Healing mechanics are limited, primarily relying on possessing new enemy bodies, which may not always fully restore health or be strategically optimal. This scarcity of healing methods, especially during boss fights, adds to the game's challenge.
- Roguelite with Stealth Elements (weight 0.16): The game is primarily a 3D action roguelite with light stealth elements, featuring procedurally generated levels. While it incorporates typical roguelike elements like skill upgrades and permadeath, some players feel its roguelite aspects are unrewarding or that it leans more towards a 'Souls-like' experience.
- Crucial & Lenient Parry System (weight 0.08): The parry system is a crucial combat mechanic, allowing players to block all damage with a lenient judgment window. It is particularly important for boss fights and managing multiple enemies, though it may not deflect charged attacks.

Performance notes:
- Excellent Performance & Optimization (weight 0.13): Many players report excellent overall performance, including smooth gameplay, quick loading times, and high frame rates. The game is also noted for its small file size and low system requirements, contributing to its accessibility.
- Good VR Compatibility (weight 0.02): A specific point of interest is the game's compatibility and enjoyable experience when played in VR using the UEVR injector mod, suggesting potential for official VR support.
- Fast Loading Hides Text (weight 0.02): One minor issue noted is that locations load so quickly that players don't have enough time to read the accompanying descriptions, which could be improved by adjusting the display duration.

Recommendations:
- Mixed Player Recommendation (weight 0.39): Player reception for the game is mixed, with many recommending it to fans of roguelikes and action games, especially those who appreciate unique art styles and the 'possession' mechanic. However, some players do not recommend it, citing a lack of compelling reasons to continue playing or preferring other games in the genre.
- Anticipation for Future Updates (weight 0.24): Many players express anticipation for future updates and the full release, hoping for improvements in movement, optimization, and overall polish. Some suggest waiting for further development or a discount before purchasing, indicating that the current Early Access state is not fully satisfying for everyone.
- Price Point Concerns (weight 0.06): There is some debate regarding the game's current price point, with several players feeling it is slightly expensive for its Early Access state. Some suggest a lower price would be more appropriate, while others find it worth the current cost.
- Gameplay Tips Provided (weight 0.04): Some players offer specific gameplay advice, such as persevering to unlock certain skills and mastering blocking/parrying mechanics.
- Growth Experience Needs Improvement (weight 0.02): The game is considered an excellent roguelike, but its potential could be further realized with improvements to the player growth experience.
- Hard Mode for Achievements (weight 0.02): Hard mode is not considered essential for general play, primarily serving as a means to unlock achievements.
- More for Children (weight 0.01): One piece of feedback suggests the game might be more suitable for children than adults, implying a simpler or less mature gameplay experience.

Other player notes:
- Early Access and Future Content (weight 0.14): The game is currently in an Early Access phase, with players acknowledging it's a semi-finished product. There's anticipation for future content and features, and the development team has plans for further additions.
- Simple Story, Needs Depth (weight 0.1): The game's narrative is described as simple and more of a background element, focusing on a demon king invasion. Players expect more narrative depth, especially backstory, to be added.
- Subjective Player Experience (weight 0.06): Some reviews include personal scores and completion times, noting the game's appeal to those who appreciate its graphic style and core idea. There's also a comment about Steam's lack of a 'neutral' review option.
- Suggests Revival Mechanic (weight 0.03): Players suggest implementing a 'one-time chance' or a similar mechanic to allow for a revival after the first death in a run, which could help reduce frustration.
- Combat Repetitiveness (weight 0.03): Developers need to address the potential for repetitive gameplay, as the initial impression from the first hour of play is crucial for player retention.
- Minor Technical/Gameplay Notes (weight 0.02): Based on limited and low-quality feedback, some optimizations are pending release, and there's a suggestion for a 'lure function' in ghost state. One comment vaguely labels the game as 'for an amateur'.
- Pending Age Rating (weight 0.02): The game is currently awaiting official age ratings (PEGI/ESRB). While it contains violence, it lacks explicit gore, strong language, or online multiplayer features.
- Slow Permanent Progression (weight 0.02): The rate of permanent progression in the game is perceived as very slow, which might impact player motivation over time.
- Developed by Industry Veterans (weight 0.01): The game is developed by Kids With Sticks, a studio reportedly formed by industry veterans, which might influence player expectations.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.24): Players experienced frustration due to repetitive gameplay, cumbersome controls, and a steep initial difficulty curve, often exacerbated by a lack of healing and rigid combat. Technical issues like glitches, frequent crashes, and poor optimization also significantly contributed to this emotion, making progression difficult and sometimes impossible.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.24): Satisfaction stemmed from the game's overall quality, fluid combat, and innovative 'possession' mechanic, which many found unique and charming. Players also felt satisfied upon mastering game mechanics, overcoming initial difficulties, and appreciating the appealing art style and optimization, leading to an engaging and fun experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.2): Disappointment arose from a perceived lack of content variety in enemies, builds, and environments, coupled with a high price point. Players also expressed disappointment with underutilized mechanics, clunky combat, and a lack of replayability, feeling that the game did not live up to its potential or initial expectations.
- Excitement (weight 0.1): Excitement was generated by the enjoyable stealth and combat mechanics, the unique roguelike twist, and the motivation to improve and overcome challenges. Players were also excited by the game's potential, addictiveness, and the prospect of new content and improvements.
- Hope (weight 0.06): Hope was primarily tied to the game's future potential, with players expressing optimism for improvements in difficulty, regular updates, and further polishing. This indicates a belief that the game could evolve into a better experience with continued development.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Enjoyment was derived from the fun and challenging gameplay, the novel possession concept, and the appealing visuals. Players appreciated the rich content, flexible gameplay, and smooth performance, finding the overall experience engaging and entertaining.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Boredom set in due to the game becoming repetitive and monotonous after a short period, primarily attributed to a lack of content variety and progression systems. The bland gameplay and combat system also contributed to this feeling.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Players were surprised by the game's unique visual style, original gameplay, and the unexpected quality for an Early Access title. This emotion often arose from discovering the game and finding it better than anticipated.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire was expressed for additional content and more combat options, indicating that players enjoyed the core experience but wished for more depth and variety to extend their engagement.
- Challenge (weight 0.01): The game's challenging difficulty and technical requirements were a direct cause of this emotion. Players acknowledged the demanding nature of the game, which for some was a positive aspect.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy was experienced through the pure fun and rewarding gameplay loop. This indicates a deep positive emotional response to the core mechanics and progression of the game.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation was felt regarding the game's potential once it is fully finished. This suggests players are looking forward to future developments and a complete version of the game.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion stemmed from illogical puzzle design within the game. This indicates a lack of clarity or intuitive solutions in certain game elements.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust was caused by the overall horrible feel of the game and its unrewarding progression. This suggests a strong negative reaction to the fundamental design and player experience.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger arose from the game's perceived stupidity and masochistic nature. This indicates a strong negative emotional response to the game's design choices and difficulty.
- Optimism (weight 0.01): Optimism was tied to the game's continuing evolution. Players felt positive about the ongoing development and improvements being made to the game.
- Caution (weight 0.01): Caution was expressed regarding the potential for redundancy in the game. This suggests a concern that future content or mechanics might become repetitive.}