- Engaging match-3 RPG core concept
- Challenging and strategic gameplay
- Appealing pixel art style
- Repetitive and grindy gameplay
- Poor mobile port experience
- Unrewarding gear system
Emotions
Players expressed disappointment due to the game's overall mediocrity, lack of innovation, and unfulfilled potential, particularly concerning RPG elements and depth. Specific issues included repetitive gameplay, bland gear, poor difficulty management, and the perception of the game being a low-quality mobile port with missing features like language support and cloud saves.
Satisfaction stemmed from the game being perceived as fun, enjoyable, and a good time killer, often highlighting its unique style and interesting mechanics. Players also found value in the game, especially when purchased on sale, appreciating its overall quality and engaging nature despite some mobile port characteristics.
Frustration was primarily caused by repetitive gameplay, excessive grinding, and a significant number of bugs, including game-breaking ones. Other contributing factors were clunky controls, poor balancing, UI issues, and the absence of expected features like cloud save and specific language support.
Boredom was a common sentiment, largely attributed to the game's repetitive and monotonous gameplay, coupled with an excessive grind. Players also cited a lack of challenge, depth, and overall engagement, leading to a short-lived appeal.
Excitement was generated by the game's engaging nature, its challenging aspects, and the overall quality of its features. The prospect of continued play and its availability on Steam also contributed to this positive emotion.
Verdict
Mostly negative
Summary
Positive 44% · Negative 56%. Score: 56 / 100
Positives:
- Players generally find the game's core concept and unique mechanics engaging and enjoyable, making it a good casual time killer. It offers a fresh take on the match-3 genre, providing hours of entertainment.
- The game offers a good level of challenge, especially for players aiming to complete all objectives and achievements. The difficulty scaling is appropriate, and strategic thinking is often required, particularly in boss fights.
- The game's pixel art style is generally well-received, contributing to an 'old-school' nostalgic feel and a charming overall presentation. The graphics are considered decent and appealing.
- Minor positive points include the presence of secret rooms, lore notes, clear inventory markings, free character selection, an interesting large map, different characters, spells, entertaining quests, and a well-implemented intro.
- The star-based progression system and Steam achievements encourage players to replay levels and strive for full completion. This adds significant replay value and a sense of accomplishment.
Negatives:
- Many players found the game to be excessively repetitive and grindy, leading to a quick loss of interest. The core gameplay loop and level design offer little variety or challenge, making the experience monotonous after only a few hours.
- A significant number of reviews highlight that the game feels like a poorly executed mobile port. This is evident in the UI, control scheme (designed for touchscreens), and an economy that seems unbalanced for a PC release, suggesting minimal effort was put into adapting it.
- Upgrading gear is described as a tedious and unrewarding grind, often requiring multiple duplicate items and scarce gold. The gear itself is bland, offers no visual changes, and elemental properties can be exploited, making most equipment choices feel insignificant.
- Several players encountered critical bugs, including game crashes at specific levels (especially the final boss) and progression blockers. These issues prevent completion and significantly detract from the overall experience.
- The camera and screen movement are highly restrictive, preventing players from zooming out or panning freely. This limitation hinders the ability to plan large combos and makes interactions clunky, especially when trying to connect tiles across the screen.
Gameplay:
- The game features a robust progression system where players collect and upgrade a wide variety of weapons and armor. Equipment can be found in chests or purchased, and duplicates are used to enhance existing gear, boosting character stats and proficiency.
- The core gameplay blends RPG elements with a unique tile-matching or line-drawing puzzle mechanic. Players move their hero by connecting chains of colored gems, which also generate resources like health, attack points, mana, and gold, crucial for combat and progression.
- Different colored gems provide specific resources: red for attack, green for health, blue for mana, and gold for coins. Connecting five or more gems of the same color creates powerful special blocks that can deal massive damage or clear sections of the board.
- Boss battles are a significant part of the game, each with unique mechanics and elemental weaknesses. Players must strategically adapt their equipment and tactics to counter these weaknesses and defeat challenging foes.
- Progression through the game's stages is tied to a star system. Each stage has specific sub-missions that grant stars upon completion, and accumulating a certain number of stars is required to unlock new areas and advance.
Performance:
- Players are encountering a critical bug in the final stage of the Furious Boss where portals fail to activate, preventing progression and effectively breaking the game experience. This issue significantly impacts end-game content.
- The game is noted for its extremely small file size and minimal system requirements, making it accessible to a wide range of players, including those with older or less powerful hardware. This is a positive aspect for accessibility.
Recommendations:
- Many players recommend purchasing the game only when it's heavily discounted, suggesting it doesn't offer full-price value. Some even advise against buying it at all, regardless of price, indicating mixed reception on its overall worth.
- The game is often described as a good 'time killer' for short, casual sessions, such as waiting for an appointment. Some suggest the mobile version might be better suited for this type of play.
- The game is specifically recommended for fans of match-3, puzzle, and RPG genres, especially those who enjoyed games like Puzzle Quest. It's seen as a quick and cheap entry point into this hybrid genre.
- A significant number of negative reviews stem from the game lacking certain features that players expected or desired. This indicates a gap between player expectations and the game's delivered content.
- Some players simply state the game is 'playable' or encourage others to 'try' it, indicating a neutral or mildly positive sentiment without strong conviction.
Miscellaneous:
- The game's soundtrack is generally considered functional but not memorable, with one main song for most gameplay. Some players describe the sound quality as 'from a barrel' but not annoying.
- Players have discovered and recommend a specific secret path in stage 15 for efficient money farming. This suggests a useful, albeit hidden, gameplay mechanic for progression.
- The game includes lore elements such as notes in dungeons, detailed enemy descriptions, and hero profiles. This adds depth to the game's world and narrative.
- The sound quality, particularly during battle sequences, is highlighted as being good. This enhances the combat experience.
