quick fun little game for time-killing purposes. definitely feels like it's a bit lacking in features i won't lie, but as an easy to pick up/come back to time-killing game for word nerds specifically? it's nice enough and has a solid variety of things to do with the concept.

it could be better, and if you're looking for a particularly in-depth mix of RPG elements and typing/boggle-esque gameplay, this probably won't do it for you (the buffs from the Blacksmith and, to *some* extent, the effects of the character's attacks are rarely all that consequential, though you'd probably want a healing ability and an enemy freezing ability of some sort). hell, the game's "runs" don't even end; they just go on and on until you wipe, which can sometimes take ages. but you can always pause and come back to the run in a later session; so, honestly, i almost think it's good that it doesn't end if, again, you play this as a time-killing game.

as far as things to work toward across runs: the character unlocking/levelling, bestiary, and unique words counter all offer things to work toward, either finite or... i guess as big as whatever dictionary this game pulls from (which, i will also note, sometimes pulls from some rather obscure/esoteric words, or, conversely, is a bit behind on modern lingo).

so, regardless of its lack of depth, i find myself coming back to this game pretty often in those "idk what to do and don't have the mental capacity to do much of anything productive" moments, and i have more than gotten my money's worth in that department. the presentation is also pretty nice in my opinion, with nice pixel art and framing, and the game window being small (and not needing to be larger*) helps keep it unobtrusive when doing other things alongside it.

*NOTE: i believe, from what i've seen from some other reviews, that this can be a problem for larger monitors, ie 4K resolution monitors, due to the window size being uncustomizable (at least through normal means). keep that in mind

also the game is a bit funny in certain understated ways. Santa Claus being a character was funny enough, but one of his attacks essentially being a coin flip to judge your opponent either naughty or nice (with "naughty" dealing damage to them, and "nice" healing them) is something i get a kick out of every time i come across him

if what i've described here sounds good to you, give it a shot (maybe wait for a sale if you're skeptical). you'll know soon enough whether you'll like having a game like this sitting in your steam library *far* before reaching 2 hours of playtime, anyway, so there's not much risk