- Rich and immersive atmosphere elevates experience
- Innovative Soulslike deck-building mechanics
- Engaging tactical combat with strategic depth
- Difficulty balance and options need improvement
- Deckbuilding depth and clarity issues present
- Progression feels fragmented and punishing
Emotions
Players are highly enthusiastic about the game's unique blend of deckbuilding and Soulslike mechanics, which creates a fresh and engaging experience. The surrealist story, immersive spirit world, and atmospheric visual style further amplify this emotion, as they contribute to a distinct and captivating aesthetic. The tactical gameplay, strategic depth, and rewarding progression (e.g., unlocking Groves) also drive anticipation for further exploration and story progression.
Players derive satisfaction from the game's polished and cohesive design, particularly its high-quality sound design, dark atmospheric tone, and emotionally impactful narrative. The strategic depth of the card and totem systems, along with the rewarding gameplay loop, provides a sense of accomplishment during battles and deck improvements. The art style, setting, and build variety also contribute to a fulfilling and immersive experience.
Frustration stems primarily from the game's difficulty, including punishing early-game spikes, repetitive combat, and restrictive resource management. Some players also struggle with the lack of a tutorial, unbalanced card utility, and accessibility issues (e.g., small font readability). A subset of frustration is self-directed, as players acknowledge their own lack of skill in adapting to the game's challenges.
Joy is derived from the game's engaging mechanics, such as strategic deckbuilding and fluid combat, which create enjoyable and often luck-driven moments. The high-quality pixel art, sound design, and unique ambience further enhance the experience, making it feel like a hidden gem. Shared experiences, such as playing with a partner, also amplify this emotion by adding a social dimension to the gameplay.
Players experience relief due to the game's forgiving nature, which allows for mistakes without severe penalties. Additionally, the game serves as a calming escape from external stressors, such as holiday cheer or social obligations, providing a low-pressure environment for relaxation.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 96% · Negative 4%. Score: 4 / 100
Positives:
- The game's ambience, sound design, and world-building are frequently highlighted as exceptional. Players describe the atmosphere as immersive, melancholic, and emotionally resonant, with synth and tribal-inspired audio complementing the surreal and eerie visuals.
- The game is widely celebrated for its blend of Soulslike difficulty and deck-building mechanics, offering a fresh take on the genre. Players appreciate the lightweight yet deep strategic gameplay, regional synergies, and diverse deck-building options, which provide both accessibility and complexity.
- The turn-based combat is praised for its strategic depth, often compared to puzzle-solving. Players enjoy the slow expansion of capabilities, meaningful choices, and the satisfying blend of strategy and moment-to-moment gameplay, drawing favorable comparisons to titles like *Into the Breach*.
- Players find the progression system highly satisfying, with unlockable content, skill points, and deck improvements providing a strong sense of growth. The game's four distinct realms, each with unique mechanics, and a wide variety of cards and enemies keep the experience fresh and engaging.
- The game is praised for being easy to pick up but offering enough depth to remain interesting. Players appreciate the non-punishing design that allows for experimentation and adaptation without severe penalties, making it enjoyable for both casual and hardcore audiences.
Negatives:
- Players express mixed feelings about the game's difficulty, with some finding it too easy or punishing due to spikes and lack of adjustable difficulty settings. The trial-and-error mechanics and forced combat encounters also contribute to frustration, particularly for less skilled players.
- The deckbuilding aspect is criticized for lacking depth, with some cards feeling useless and mechanics poorly explained. Players also express frustration with repetitive early-game deckbuilding before the deck becomes powerful.
- Frequent enemy respawns during backtracking or after resting at checkpoints are cited as frustrating and time-consuming, breaking the game's momentum and making progression feel repetitive.
- Players note that progression resets in new regions, reducing the sense of overall growth. Independent progress in each realm is seen as restrictive and punishing, particularly when combined with limited recovery options.
- The absence of a tutorial leads to confusion during the first hour of gameplay, particularly for new players. Some mechanics, like card interactions, also lack clear explanations.
Gameplay:
- The game combines deckbuilding mechanics with an open-world setting, allowing players to explore different worlds, each with unique card sets and progression systems. The turn-based combat system is grid-based, requiring strategic planning of moves and card usage, which consume mana or action points.
- Exploration is a core aspect of the game, intertwined with a high number of combat encounters. The experience is likened to *Heroes of Might and Magic 3*, though movement on the map is not turn-based.
- Players can gather resources from defeated enemies to craft new cards, particularly region-specific ones. This encourages farming smaller combat encounters to acquire materials for deck customization and progression.
- Each realm features its own deck of cards, with non-realm cards costing extra to use. The 'teardrop' system allows players to upgrade skills and unlock talents in each realm's talent tree, adding depth to progression.
- Combat is designed to test the player's understanding of realm-specific mechanics, often requiring creative problem-solving. Players frequently reflect on how smarter play could have avoided HP loss, emphasizing the game's strategic depth.
Performance:
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No data available
Recommendations:
- Players consistently praise the game's strong atmospheric design and rewarding difficulty, often recommending it to those seeking immersive and challenging experiences. The feedback highlights emotional storytelling and engaging gameplay as key strengths.
- The game is frequently recommended to fans of strategic card-based combat, particularly those who enjoy titles like *Slay the Spire* and *Banner Saga*. Its soulslike design constraints are noted as a defining feature for this audience.
- Some players express doubts about long-term engagement after limited playtime (e.g., nearly 3 hours), suggesting potential issues with early retention or pacing. This feedback is based on limited data but warrants attention.
Miscellaneous:
- A specific request for a fix to the font size, indicating it may be too small or difficult to read for some players. This is a clear, actionable improvement for accessibility.
- The game's vibe is frequently described as centered around solitude, suggesting a strong narrative or environmental focus on isolation and introspection. This aligns with the dark atmosphere noted in other feedback.
- Players highlight side quests, such as returning a bird to a tree, as introducing interesting but temporary challenges. This suggests that side content is engaging but may lack long-term depth or impact.
- Some players express uncertainty about who the game is designed for, indicating potential confusion about its genre, tone, or difficulty. This could impact marketing or design clarity.
- Players speculate that the game may offer multiple paths with differing levels of difficulty, though this is not explicitly confirmed. This suggests potential replayability or accessibility options, but the feedback is vague and lacks concrete examples.
