Recent reviews by EmperorPHNX

The biggest problem with this game is being so boring... Seriously... Opening cutscene? Short, boring, and explains nothing. Music? Boring. First introduction? Boring. First quests? Boring. Characters? Boring. Dialogues? Boring. Combat? Boring, especially thanks to mobs not even attacking you. Visual style? Boring. In fact, I was so bored that I made my character name 'Boring''


An update dropped, and it adds kernel anticheat, which prevents Linux users from playing the game. I'm not even using Linux, but this is too dirty to ignore. Even this alone should be enough to give this game a negative review, to be honest.


Character creation is somehow limited, especially for a game on this scale, realised in 2025.


When I look at the whole combat, it's boring as I told you, but core mechanics are probably the only decent thing about this game, which makes the whole combat being bad is seriously stupid, not that core combat is amazing or anything, but it's decent enough to make you play if other elements were done right. Classes are not gender-locked, at least that's something.


The story is boring, not interesting at all. In fact, you can skip every story scene or literally dialogues with choices, which means your choices mean nothing, and they knew how boring these dialogues are, and were prepared for it... BRUH...


MC is silent like almost all of these games, but like that's not enough, there are tons of scenes where other characters are not voiced either, and you watch them move their mouth, etc, while no voiceline plays awkwardly...


A lot of stuff is time-gated. The main story is time-gated, specific dungeons are time-gated, specific currency is time-gated, and life skill stuff is time-gated. And it's just stupid.


The currencies the game has are: Rose Orb, Rose Orb (Bound), Luno, Luno (Bound), Meowlux Premium Card, Meow Coin, Meowlux Vault Card, Meowlux Wish Coin, Homestead Coins, Friendship Points, Honor Coin, Will Wish Coin, Asteria Reputation, Season 1 Points (SRP), Silver Star Badge, and of course, Real Money. Seems like it's a bit lacking, doesn't it? I think they should add more currencies for sure.


Visually, the game doesn't look unique at all. In fact, at first, I thought ''Wait, is this Genshin?'' and it has weird FPS drops, and artifacts for some reason.


Honestly, I'm shocked after 7 years, this is the game they released... Did they even work on this game for 2-3 years? I don't think so, there is no way this is a game developed for 7 years, I don't even wanna believe anyone played/tested this game at all, otherwise they would see how boring it is, and decide to fix it. So with everything on the plate, I can't see myself giving this game a good review, and suggesting it.

• Main Story, Quests & Story-Telling = 1
  
• Combat = 3
  
• Open World = 5
  
• Visual Style, Quality, and Optimization = 5
  
  
• General Rating = 3.5

Character creation is not really detailed to let you change specific things, etc, but it's decent enough for an indie game like this.


The main story is about Player rising as an adventurer, becoming a hero, and saving the living world from darkness. Even tho it's a bit cliché, it's not bad, but what I enjoyed more was side quests, because this game's NPCS have quite enjoyable stories, and dialogues. So even tho the game lacks voice lines, cutscenes, and unique quest designs, having interesting NPCS, and stories for them kind of makes up for it. But sadly, the game does not have enough quests and content to cover the whole game, and the main and side quests end at level 60, while the max level is 160+.


Aside from the character moving too slowly, gameplay mechanics are a bit too basic, but it works fine. The actual problem is the combat, the nonexistent hit feeling, the enemies not reacting to your attacks, and only reacting when they die, and that's just not enough.


The game has 5 different classes, which are: Archer, Sorcerer, Warrior, Rogue, and Guardian. Every class has 4 different weapon, and one of skills of your character is tied to that weapon, you have total 5 skills, and one of them is again tied to another equipment which is your amulet, then you have 2 normal skills, and one ultimate skill, and meanwhile this is fine for first 60 levels or so, it gets boring after that since the game is based on grind, and max level is 160+.


After level 60, there are almost no quests to do, and the only thing left to do is grind. Which is not that great for combat, being kind of unfinished, the inventory system was terrible, but got better with the latest update, and now F2P players have more inventory, and even if your bag is full, you are not getting at least 50% EXP instead of 0% EXP, and you can gain Teleportation Orbs from mobs as well. Discard all, double click to discard, sell, bulk discard or sell, etc, like features still needed tho, but newest update was godsend for F2P players for sure, and now grind is bearable.


Enemy and the BOSS variety kind of sucks. First of all, aside from the newly added end-game Dark Trial BOSSES, they don't have any unique mechanics or abilities. The game itself has 4 debuffs, and infinite consumables called amulets, taking one of your skills to revert them, and these are used by all BOSSES and enemies. Second of all, even tho BOSSES have unique and cool looks, they still don't have any visually different attack or unique attack pattern, etc, than each other. Enemies are worse, tho, because most of them are just different colored versions of each other, and don't feel different at all, along with not having any unique attack pattern either.


The game mostly plays solo, but it has some group content as well, like Trials, where you fight against waves of enemies, and then against a BOSS. They are quick to end, and boring; it mostly takes only a minute or so to finish them, only the new Dark Trial is a bit different, and needs you to be active and tactical, but that alone is not enough. They have some loot drops, gears, pet, etc, but drop rate is awful, and it can take hundreds of BOSS kills until you get only the gear set given by the BOSS, and if you want more rare loot like familiars then you are up for some painful experience, up to thousand or more BOSS kills, and that's simply insane. The game doesn't have PVP either, and it seems like developers and fans don't want it to come; therefore, it's a big possibility that this game will never get PVP.


The game doesn't have a fully open world, but has big instances with a portal system, and design-wise it's mostly well designed, especially finding interesting NPCS inside of those instances makes the adventuring in the world quite interesting.


Cashshop has variety of stuff like; upgrade fragments, some features the game should have like hiding helms, stuff like auras, armor & weapon skins, wings with 20% speedbuff, which can't be get without playing gacha, and there to make sure players spent a lot of money just to get wings they want, and mounts giving 50% speed buff. Or off-hand weapons you can buy to use instead of a forced shield, which is seriously weird since this is the only game I saw rogue using a shield. Infinite Upgrade is a Game Upgrade sold for 20 dollars, and only affects one character and gives you certain bonuses along with a total of 100 inventory slots, like multiple transmog, orbs from mobs, 10% combat & life skill exp bonus, etc. And the Infinite Deluxe Upgrade for 30 dollars affects all characters and gives you almost the same bonuses, along with 200 inventory slots, and 47 extra character slots, which you normally can create only 3. Considering non-existent PVP, the game is not really P2W, but it can be P2W to your convenience, and the grind is almost unbearable without Game Upgrades. That's for sure.


Most players are nice and helpful, and I received a lot of help and tried to be helpful to the community as well. But like all other indie games, some of the people playing the game are a bit too passionate about the game, don't wanna accept the clear CONS the game has, and are rude to the people who criticize the game. Which is both sad and concerning, because these people are the reason why developers pay less mind to the problems that should be fixed ASAP, and instead focus on way less important updates. Therefore, I'm not really sure how this game update will take shape, and whether stuff that should be fixed will be fixed or not.


The visual style of the game is quite nice and nostalgic, but it lacks quality and details like 3D face parts. With some improvements, it could be quite neat for sure. And even tho most cool stuff is at the cash shop, the game still has some cool gear sets, and some visual progression exists. The only problem is that every gear looks almost the same at the base model, with just slightly different designs and color changes. And upgrading gears makes them shine so much that they even lose their colors to the same degree, so some work is needed here, but still, it's good that the game has visual progression for sure.


In the end, my suggestion would be giving it a try and playing at least until finishing the main & side quests, because they are mostly well-written, and the game is worth playing that alone. For the grind part, it was bad for F2P players before, but now it's playable with new fixes. Some stuff like combat still needs some work, but it's way better now, and worth playing.


https://youtu.be/KflXzV6FAQ8

• Main Story, Quests & Story-Telling = 8
  
• Combat Mechanics = 6
  
• Weapon & Armor Variety = 7
  
• Class & Skill Variety = 6
  
• Enem/BOSS Variety & Design = 6
  
• BOSS Variety & Designs = 6
  
• Open World & Instance Design = 9
  
• Visual Style & Quality = 8
  
  
• General Rating = 7

⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠄⠄⠐⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⣠⣶⣶⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣶⣤⣀⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠠⠄
⠄⠄⡀⠠⠐⠄⠄⠁⠄⡀⠐⠄⠐⠈⠄⠄⠄⠄⣀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣦⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠁⢀⠈⠄⠈⠄⡀⠁⠄⡈⠄⠠⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⡀⠄⡀⠈⠄⡀⠄⡀⠐⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⣴⣿⣿⡿⣿⢽⣾⣽⢿⣺⡯⣷⣻⣽⣻⣟⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⡀⠐⠈⠄⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠄⠐⠄
⠄⠄⠁⠄⠄⢀⠄⠁⠄⠄⢀⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⣾⣿⣿⢿⡽⡯⣿⢾⣟⣿⣳⢿⡽⣾⣺⣳⣻⣺⣽⣻⡿⣿⣿⣦⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠂⠁⠄⠐⠄⡀⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠂⠄⠁⠄⠄⠐⠈⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⣿⣿⣿⣯⢿⣽⣻⣽⣿⣿⣯⣿⣿⣿⣷⣻⢮⣗⡯⣞⡾⡹⡵⣻⣿⣇⠄⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠠⠐⠄⠂⠄⢀⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠂⠈⠄⠈⠄⠄⠂⠄⠁⠄⠄⠄⣸⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡾⣳⢿⢿⢿⠿⠿⠟⠟⠟⠿⣯⡾⣝⣗⣯⢪⢎⢗⣯⣿⣇⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⠄⢀⠠⠄⠈⠄⠄⡀
⠄⠄⠂⠄⡈⠄⠠⠄⠠⠐⠈⠄⠄⠄⠋⠉⠁⠑⠁⢉⣁⡁⠁⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢉⢻⢽⣞⢾⣕⢕⢝⢎⣿⣿⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⠄⠄⡀⠐⠈⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠂⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⠄⠄⠄⡧⠠⡀⠐⠂⣸⣿⢿⢔⢔⢤⢈⠡⡱⣩⢤⢴⣞⣾⣽⢾⣽⣺⡕⡕⡕⡽⣿⣿⠟⢶⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠠⠄⠂⠄
⠄⠄⠂⠄⠐⠄⠠⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠄⠄⣿⡳⡄⡢⡂⣿⣿⢯⣫⢗⣽⣳⡣⣗⢯⣟⣿⣿⢿⡽⣳⢗⡷⣻⡎⢎⢎⣿⡇⠻⣦⠃⠄⠄⠄⡀⠂⠠⠄⠂⠄
⠄⠄⠂⠈⠄⠐⠄⠠⠄⠄⠂⠄⠄⠄⡿⡝⡜⣜⣬⣿⣿⣿⣷⣯⢺⠻⡻⣜⢔⠡⢓⢝⢕⢏⢗⢏⢯⡳⡝⡸⡸⣸⣧⡀⣹⣠⠄⠄⠄⡀⠐⢀⠐⠈⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⣇⢪⢎⡧⡛⠛⠋⠋⠉⠙⣨⣮⣦⢅⡃⠇⡕⡌⡪⡨⢸⢨⢣⠫⡨⢪⢸⠰⣿⣇⣾⡞⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢑⡕⡵⡻⣕⠄⠄⠄⠔⡜⡗⡟⣟⢿⢮⢆⡑⢕⣕⢎⢮⡪⡎⡪⡐⢅⢇⢣⠹⡛⣿⡅⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢸⢎⠪⡊⣄⣰⣰⣵⣕⣮⣢⣳⡸⡨⠪⡨⠂⠄⠑⢏⠗⢍⠪⡢⢣⢃⠪⡂⣹⣽⣿⣷⡄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⡸⠐⠝⠋⠃⠡⡕⠬⠎⠬⠩⠱⢙⣘⣑⣁⡈⠄⠄⡕⢌⢊⢪⠸⡘⡜⢌⠢⣸⣾⢿⣿⣿⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⡎⣐⠲⢒⢚⢛⢛⢛⢛⠛⠝⡋⡫⢉⠪⡱⠡⠄⠠⢣⢑⠱⡨⡊⡎⢜⢐⠅⢼⡾⣟⣿⣿⣷⠑⠐⢆⡤⣄⠄⠄
⠄⢂⠐⠐⡀⠡⠄⠅⠈⠄⠁⠄⠄⣠⡃⡢⠨⢀⢂⢐⢐⢄⠑⠌⢌⢂⠢⠡⡑⡘⢌⠠⡘⡌⢎⠜⡌⢎⠜⡌⠢⠨⡸⣿⡽⣿⣿⣿⣣⠄⢪⢪⣺⡄⠄
⠄⠂⠄⡁⠄⠂⡁⠈⡀⠂⣁⢴⠋⠁⡢⡑⡨⢐⢐⢌⠢⣂⢣⠩⡂⡢⡑⡑⡌⢜⠰⡨⢪⢘⠔⡱⢘⠔⡑⠨⢈⠐⢼⡷⣿⣻⢷⢯⢂⠣⡘⠔⡢⢿⡀
⠄⠅⠂⡀⠂⢁⠄⠄⢀⢎⢎⠂⠄⠄⡢⡃⡢⢊⢔⢢⠣⡪⡢⢣⠪⡢⡑⡕⡜⡜⡌⢎⢢⠱⠨⡂⡑⠨⠄⠁⡂⡨⣺⡽⡯⡫⠣⠡⠢⢑⢈⠂⠌⡆⣧
⠄⠂⠁⠄⠈⠄⠄⠄⢘⢜⢕⠄⠄⣰⡸⠐⠌⠆⢇⠎⡎⢎⢎⢎⢎⢎⢎⠎⡎⡪⠘⠌⠂⠁⠁⠄⢀⠄⢄⢢⢚⢮⢏⠞⡨⢂⠕⠉⠌⡠⠂⠌⢌⠢⣺
⠄⣀⣤⣴⣶⣶⣶⢖⡧⡑⠬⡀⢀⡯⡃⡌⠈⠈⠄⠄⠈⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠂⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢄⢂⢢⢱⢱⢱⠱⢡⢑⠌⢂⠡⠠⠡⠡⡂⠅⢕⢁⢊⢎
⣿⣿⢿⡿⠟⠉⠄⠁⢰⢌⠪⣀⡸⠨⢂⠌⡊⢄⢂⠠⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢀⠠⢐⢨⣘⢔⢵⠱⡃⡃⡕⡸⠐⡁⠌⡐⡨⠨⢊⠌⡢⢑⢅⠪⡰⡱
⣏⣮⣤⣤⣤⡤⠄⠮⢏⠧⣣⢣⢎⠨⠄⠄⠨⢊⢪⢪⡫⡪⡊⡐⡐⡐⡌⡬⡪⡪⣎⢗⡕⡎⡣⠃⢅⠊⠆⠡⠠⡁⠢⡑⡐⢌⢌⠢⡑⡌⢆⢎⠎⠪⠈
⡿⡝⠯⢏⠓⠄⠄⢀⢐⠈⡎⡎⡎⠄⠈⠄⠡⢂⠂⡕⡕⡕⠕⢌⢌⢢⢱⢸⡸⣪⢮⡣⡓⠌⠠⢑⠡⢈⠌⢌⢂⠪⠨⡂⣊⠢⡢⢣⢱⠸⠑⠁⠄⡀⢂
⠁⣈⣀⣀⣀⡀⠄⢐⠔⠐⢨⢢⢣⠊⢀⠨⠨⢐⠐⡸⡸⡪⡱⡑⡌⡆⡇⡇⣏⢮⢪⢪⠊⠄⢑⢐⠨⡐⢌⠢⡪⡘⢌⠢⡢⢣⠪⠊⠄⠄⢀⠂⠁⠄⢂
⣿⣿⣿⣿⠋⠄⠄⠄⠌⠨⠄⡣⡑⢅⠄⠄⠨⢐⠨⢰⢱⢣⢣⢪⢸⢨⡚⣞⢜⢎⢎⢎⠪⠐⠄⡆⡣⡪⡊⡪⡂⡪⡘⡌⡎⠊⠄⡐⠈⡀⢂⠈⠄⡁⡂
⡟⠟⠝⠃⠄⠄⠄⠄⢌⠪⠄⡣⠊⠄⣷⣄⠄⠄⠌⢸⢸⠱⡱⡡⡣⡣⡳⡕⡇⡇⡇⠥⠑⠄⢡⢑⠕⢔⢑⠔⡌⡆⠇⠁⡀⠄⠁⠄⢂⠐⠠⠈⠄⢂⠐
⣠⣤⣴⣤⡤⠄⠄⠄⢐⠅⠅⡊⠌⠄⣿⣿⣷⣤⣤⣂⣅⣑⠰⠨⠢⢑⣕⣜⣘⣨⣦⣥⣬⠄⢐⢅⢊⢢⢡⠣⠃⠄⡐⠠⠄⡂⠡⢈⠠⠈⠄⠡⠈⠄⠨
⣿⣿⣿⡟⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢌⠢⢨⠨⠄⢹⢛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⠟⠄⢰⢰⢱⠑⠁⢀⠐⡀⠂⠄⠡⠐⠐⡀⠂⡁⠌⠠⠁⠌⢐
⡟⠝⠈⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠂⠠⡑⡱⢐⠄⢸⡲⡠⠄⠉⠙⠻⠿⣿⠿⠿⢛⠫⡩⡳⣸⠾⠁⢀⢢⠣⠃⠄⠠⠐⡀⠂⠄⠡⠈⠄⡁⠂⠄⠡⠐⢈⠠⠁⠌⠠
⠄⠄⣀⣤⣤⣀⡀⠄⠂⠄⠐⢌⠆⢕⠈⣗⢥⢣⢡⢑⢌⡢⡢⢅⢇⢇⢯⢾⡽⠃⢀⠔⡅⠁⠄⠄⠨⢀⠡⠐⠈⠄⠡⢈⠐⡀⠅⠌⠠⠁⡂⠄⠡⢈⠐
⣾⣿⢿⡿⡿⠇⠄⠄⠄⡀⢀⠢⠭⢆⠦⡿⡷⡷⡵⡷⡷⣵⢽⡮⣷⢽⡽⡓⠤⠤⠕⡁⠠⠄⠅⠄⠅⠄⠂⠌⠠⠡⠈⠄⢂⠐⠠⠨⠠⠁⠄⢂⠡⠐⡈

▌─────────────────────────▐█─────▐
▌────▄──────────────────▄█▓█▌────▐
▌───▐██▄───────────────▄▓░░▓▓────▐
▌───▐█░██▓────────────▓▓░░░▓▌────▐
▌───▐█▌░▓██──────────█▓░░░░▓─────▐
▌────▓█▌░░▓█▄███████▄███▓░▓█─────▐
▌────▓██▌░▓██░░░░░░░░░░▓█░▓▌─────▐
▌─────▓█████░░░░░░░░░░░░▓██──────▐
▌─────▓██▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓█──────▐
▌─────▐█▓░░░░░░█▓░░▓█░░░░▓█▌─────▐
▌─────▓█▌░▓█▓▓██▓░█▓▓▓▓▓░▓█▌─────▐
▌─────▓▓░▓██████▓░▓███▓▓▌░█▓─────▐
▌────▐▓▓░█▄▐▓▌█▓░░▓█▐▓▌▄▓░██─────▐
▌────▓█▓░▓█▄▄▄█▓░░▓█▄▄▄█▓░██▌────▐
▌────▓█▌░▓█████▓░░░▓███▓▀░▓█▓────▐
▌───▐▓█░░░▀▓██▀░░░░░─▀▓▀░░▓█▓────▐
▌───▓██░░░░░░░░▀▄▄▄▄▀░░░░░░▓▓────▐
▌───▓█▌░░░░░░░░░░▐▌░░░░░░░░▓▓▌───▐
▌───▓█░░░░░░░░░▄▀▀▀▀▄░░░░░░░█▓───▐
▌──▐█▌░░░░░░░░▀░░░░░░▀░░░░░░█▓▌──▐
▌──▓█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██▓──▐
▌──▓█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓█▓──▐
▌──██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█▓──▐
▌──█▌░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▐▓▌─▐
▌─▐▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█▓─▐
▌─█▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓─▐
▌─█▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▌▐
▌▐█▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██▐
▌█▓▌░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓█▐
██████████████████████████████████
█░▀░░░░▀█▀░░░░░░▀█░░░░░░▀█▀░░░░░▀█
█░░▐█▌░░█░░░██░░░█░░██░░░█░░░██░░█
█░░▐█▌░░█░░░██░░░█░░██░░░█░░░██░░█
█░░▐█▌░░█░░░██░░░█░░░░░░▄█░░▄▄▄▄▄█
█░░▐█▌░░█░░░██░░░█░░░░████░░░░░░░█
█░░░█░░░█▄░░░░░░▄█░░░░████▄░░░░░▄█
██████████████████████████████████

I guess we can clearly see, and say the game seems improved with nearly every detail from the first game, animations, graphics, gameplay, new features, new way to travel, storytelling, etc, in a bad or good way.


The story is basically about a student/protege who gets into the occult and causes the apocalypse sometime after DD1. He sees a ritual involving the Iron Crown and copies the ritual, ascending to godhood but shattering his psyche. His mind was pasted over reality and messed with the fabric of it, causing the apocalypse. Each Confession boss is a negative aspect of the Protege that led to his ascension. The Academic is the teacher and partner of the Protege, and is eventually sacrificed by the Protege as part of the ascension ritual. He is trying to get the good part of the Protege to realize what he has done and destroy his negative aspects, which have become the "hateful god/body of work" that the Cultists worship. So the story is a bit cryptic and hard to understand in a lot of parts, and way worse than the first game. The first game's story was better-written, more interesting, and enjoyable; what we have here is not that bad, but it's a clear downgrade from the first game.


Heroes in this game have their own backstories, connected gameplay/combat parts, etc They give some insight about the characters you are using, and they are mostly enjoyable.


Gameplay and combat are more detailed than in the first game, and in some sense, it's better and worse. It definitely has more variety, immersiveness, animations, and details, etc, like the new relationship system, even tho it's pretty basic, and something the first game should have, it's still a welcome addition for sure. But the same problem the first game had, which is developers trying to lengthen the game time by making it unnecessary things, is still there. Especially, the new healing restrictions heroes have is seriously a terrible choice, and ruins the gameplay loop a lot, let alone the restrictions healing already sucks, even maxed versions of skills heal so little that it feels like it doesn't even do jacksh*t. Imagine having a hero with the purpose of healing, literally having that job in his/her life, spending years on it, yet doing a sh*tty job like a person who doesn't know anything about healing at all. Let me get this straight, you're only gonna have a hard time when you are new, and later you are not even going to need healing aside from bosses if you are using the taunt, shield, and damage dealing or blinding stuff right, but that doesn't mean the healing choice the game made is right. It just makes literally no sense, and like a lot of stuff, it's just like this to lengthen the game time more. Another problem is again having a very small inventory. In this game, it even sucks more than the first game because you can't exchange or sell certain items like riches and relics, and that makes things messy and annoying AF.


They are way worse than the first game, especially negative ones feels like a one fat joke, you can even get negative traits while using food, etc, in inn, it's literally block you until you heal them on hospital, etc, and it's just another thing this game has just to lenght your playtime, it servers not other purpose than that.


We have 5 different ACTs. At ACT1 you can only see 2 regions (The Tangle and Sprawl), and starting from ACT2 you can access all regions, and you have to go to at least 3 of them, but... We have only 4 regions... So dungeon variety kind of sucks. And not forget every ACT is works like different game, ACT system is rogue-like system, after finishing one of them and starting the next one you lose everything except (if you choice to keep) heroes you used before with their quirks, skins and names, but all that effort you spend on their skills, trinkets, combat items, etc, you lose all of them and it's pretty annoying.


Enemy variety is good and bad same time, it's good because enemies feels like spend time on it with their skills and looks, etc, like some creatures have skills letting them eat corpses of their friends and change their form, mutate something more powerfull, etc, and it feels really good to see these changes, etc, but in the other hand we have only 4 region and you are seeing these 4 regions and same enemies for all that 5 ACT, and that's the bad part. Not to forget, almost every damn fight in this game takes too much time, enemies are like health sponges, and you have to hit them over and over again. BOSSES were mostly decent, and have their special trinkets, trophies, etc, and ACT5 BOSS cutscene was pretty cool as well.


Hero variety sucks; we have almost no new heroes compared to the first game, and aside from 1-2 of them, all of them are the same as the first game. I can't believe they just added old heroes to this game, and thought it was okay to release a game with no new heroes at all. Meanwhile, what they should have done was release all old heroes and add at least as many new ones. What's worse is that since the game is not easy to mod, like the first game, mods are not fixing this issue either. Darkest Dungeon 1 had maybe 100+ new and different hero mod, they were all good as standart game heroes and even better, had unique designs and skills, etc, but in Darkest Dungeon 2 we have almost no hero mod at all, waiting mods to fix the lazy design of the game is obviously not the right way, but even that is not happening here makes things even worse.


Final BOSS was interesting, enjoyable to fight, and the ending wasn't bad either, can't say it was good as the first game, but I already stated story-wise this game is way weaker than the first game, so that's expected.


Long short short; less grind, way better combat, healing sucks, we have only 4 region, after ACT3 (or if you gonna make couple playthroughs) it becames kind of boring to see same places, ACT progress is like rogue-like system, aside from some quirks and some base upgrades (not sure it's right to call base tho) you lose everything, hero variety is nearly same, sucks they didn't add new heroes along with DD1 ones, we have a lot of new feature like skins (they suck) or relationship system (it's great), hero stories (alright I guess), BOSS fights are boring especialy ACT ones (aside from ACT5), stress system is chiller than first game.

• Story & Ending = 7
  
• Gameplay & Combat Details = 9
  
• Dungeon, Boss, Enemy, and Hero Variety & Design = 7
  
• Quirk System = 5
  
  
• Overall Rating = 7

Me: mom can we have Death Stranding?
Mom: No, we have Death Stranding at home.
Death Stranding at home:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡿⠛⢶⣦⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣦⠀⣠⡾⠛⠙⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠛⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢾⡇⠙⠛⠋⢀⣤⣀⠀⣀⣤⣤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⣧⡀⢀⡤⠋⠀⠈⠉⠉⠀⠉⠳⠤⠤⠴⢦⡄⠸⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣀⡿⠿⠾⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢴⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠟⠀⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⡟⠀⣴⡄⠀⢀⡄⠀⠀⣦⡈⠃⠀⠀⡾⣳⣄⠀⣼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡶⠟⠻⠶⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡿⠀⠀⠿⠁⢀⡞⠁⠀⠀⣿⠗⠀⠀⠀⣟⢮⣿⣆⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠏⠀⠀⠀⣰⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡇⠀⠀⠀⠰⣯⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠪⣳⡵⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡀⠀⠀⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣇⠀⣦⣀⠀⠈⠉⢀⣀⣰⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣷⠀⠀⠘⢷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⡆⠻⠦⣌⣉⣉⣁⡤⠔⠻⡇⠀⠀⠀⣀⣠⣼⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢠⡾⠛⠉⠙⠛⠲⢦⣄⠀⠙⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⣄⠀⠀⠲⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⢏⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⣇⣀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠈⣧⠀⠈⣿⣦⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣻⣦⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡠⠔⣿⠓⢶⣤⣄⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢸⠟⠁⠀⠈⠉⠙⠳⢴⡏⠀⠀⣿⡇⠈⠙⠻⠶⠤⠴⠶⠛⠋⠹⡀⠈⠻⣶⣤⠤⠄⣀⣠⠞⠁⠀⢸⠀⠈⠙⠳⢦⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠸⣧⣤⣤⣤⣤⣀⡀⠀⣷⢀⣼⠃⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⣀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠉⠀⠀⢀⣴⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠻⣦⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢰⡏⠀⢠⠀⠀⠈⠉⢺⠁⢈⡞⢀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠛⠒⢦⠀⠀⠀⢸⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢷⡄⠀⠀
⠀⠻⣦⣈⠙⠶⠤⠴⢞⣠⠞⢀⡞⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠈⡆⠀⠀⠀⢰⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣆⠀
⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠛⠛⠛⠯⢤⣤⣎⣀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⣤⣾⠛⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⢻⠀⠀⠀⠈⡆⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⣇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠙⠛⠛⠛⠛⠉⠉⠠⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢇⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⣰⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⢃⠀⠀⠀⢸⣰⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⠇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡄⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⢀⣸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⠏⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠛⠢⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠸⣤⠴⠛⠁⣿⠤⢤⡀⠀⢀⡼⠏⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠓⠒⠶⠶⠞⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⢿⠀⠀⠈⢳⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡴⢻⠀⠀⣀⡼⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠙⠢⢄⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⣤⡴⠞⠋⠀⠀⡇⠛⣻⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡏⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠉⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡟⠛⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡾⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⠃⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡟⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⠁⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⠃⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⠏⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢘⣧⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡼⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⡖⠶⡤⠤⠤⠤⠶⠛⠶⣦⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠁⠀⠉⠙⠛⠛⣿⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠻⠶⠿⠶⣦⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⢉⣻⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠹⣧⣀⣀⣠⣴⠞⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

For now there seems to be no story, it's demo, but lost of demos out there have some prologue story at least, this one don't.


Combat is fluid, and enjoyable on most parts, it could use some changes, but mostly seems fine.


Currently there are no different gears, or weapons for characters, we have two character with different playstyle, visuals, weapons, and armors/clothes, adding more variety of classes, gears, etc, should be one of high priorities for the future.


Visually it does look kind of nice, but optimization is terrible, for sure it's a demo, but soo many demos out there does far better job than this one like Khazan, Khazan's demo had almost perfect optimization, so can't say I can give this one pass for this, since it's full of FPS drops, and low FPS despite not looking that detailed, good, or having too many textures, etc.


Enemy variety sucks, again I could give some demos did way better job than this I tried before like Khazan, etc, so this one is not gonna get pass either.


Honestly demo doesn't look good, considering the game gonna release as a Early Access can't say things are looking positive for the release either...

• Main Story & Story-Telling = 0 (non existend)
  
• Combat Mechanics = 7
  
• Gear/Class Variety = 9
  
• Enemy & BOSS Variety = 3
  
• Level Designs = 6
  
• Visual Style & Quality = 7
  
• Optimization = 7
  
  
• General Rating = 5.6

The story is about Agent Ethan Thomas getting framed for the murder of his own partner, and another police officer while going after a serial killer, and trying to find out more, clear his name, and fix this whole mess. Story and storytelling are engaging, mysterious, and interesting.


Movement feels too slow, and janky, along with core mechanics. The terrible stamina mechanic doesn't help at all either. It depletes too fast, seriously we are talking about an agent here, his stamina, and speed should be in top condition, but our character has terrible stamina and runs like an overweight obese dude. In fact why even this game has a stamina bar for running in first place? Especially for outside of combat? Makes literally no sense, and turns the whole game into a walking simulator with a terrible walking mechanic. The game has some backtracking you need to take some items or melee weapons to progress, or open the doors, etc, along with this health items can't be collected, so that means every time you take damage you need to run back where you last found health items, and use it, so the whole thing is nonsense, tedious, and dumb AF.


Melee combat is not good at all either, it might be even jankier than the movement, but let's be real even games released these days struggle with FPS melee combat, because melee plus FPS aint go well, and probably never will. But that doesn't change the fact this game's melee combat is janky, and not really enjoyable, and the game is heavily based on melee with a brief use of guns, and that doesn't help at all, heck you can't even carry the weapon you want most of the time, because you need certain melee weapons like Fire Axe or Sledge Hammer to open certain doors or even health cabinets locks, and that means even if you use cheat to get infinite ammo to play with guns only you have to drop them, since you can't open the doors, etc, without them, and can't progress. Imagine can't open a tinny little lock or wooden door with a f*cking shotgun, literally makes no sense at all. What's worse is you can't even carry a handgun, and melee weapon same time... Like seriously how the f*ck is this supposed to make any sense? Considering all the negative points I told I really can't be positive about this game's gameplay, and combat at all, cuz they suck, at it almost feels like they did everything they can to make the whole experience tedious, and unenjoyable as much as they can.


Visually the game looks old, in fact, some stuff looks almost blurry, and pixelated, it's normal considering the age of the game, and there is a mod fixing the issue, and making it look good enough not to hurt your eyes, but it doesn't fix terribly designed melee weapons. Aside from that, the game does a really amazing job with atmosphere, visually it's very successful in making you feel tense, even scared in a lot of parts. And sound effects help this a lot as well.


Sadly it's not, there are tons of bugs and problems, and they are not just small bugs, imagine releasing a game on Steam without half of the sound files... Like seriously the hell? I wish this was a joke, but it's not, and there are a lot of other fixes you need, so without doing those your experience will be even worse than the game it is, and even if you use the fixes you will still experience some crashes here, and there...


Honestly, I'm shocked, because I heard a lot of good things about this game, but aside from the story & atmosphere I can't see anything making this game worth playing, especially gameplay & combat is enough not to play since this is a game, and not a movie, so sadly I can't recommend this game to anyone, it's too painful, tedious, and annoying to play.

• Story & Story-Telling = 8
  
• Gameplay & Combat Mechanics = 3
  
• Visual Style & Quality = 7
  
• Optimization, Bugs & Problems = 3
  
  
• General Rating = 5.2

It's not, honestly, it's a bit boring, pretty short, and I'm not even sure it's even worth saying ''story-mode'' for it.


This is by far the worst, and less detailed character creation I have seen in games made in recent years, even games made in the 2000s have more variety than this one, and that's really bad... I wish they didn't even let people create their characters in the first place if they're gonna do a poor job like this.


No, it's not, it's very tedious, clunky, unresponsive in a lot of parts, unnecessarily complicated, and not fun at all.


The answer is ''yesn't'' because even tho there is new stuff added after the first game, which makes the game more tedious, annoying, and boring, there are tons of stuff the first game has, and this one doesn't, which is nonsense AF. It's almost like they just took the little soul of the first game had, and made a more tedious and boring copy of it.


Hahaha, no. There are even people who lost their 20+ hours of progress, etc, so don't wait for a bug-free experience.


Visually, it's nothing fancy or dreamy, but it looks alright. The problem is optimization seems a bit poorly made, I can't say they spent enough time on it. Not to forget some animations like cleaning animation, just some stuff floating around without even our characters' hands being visible, looks so out of place, old, and bad.


I can't reccomend this game at all, in fact only reason this game has overall positive review ratings are because of the price, since it's not cheap a lot of people don't buy it, and only play at free-weekend events, and surprise Steam doesn't count those reviews into overall ratings, yep... If you really wanna play a game like this, just play one of the sims games, or play the first game, and not this one, it's not worth the price, in fact, it's not even worth it on a free weekend to spend your time on it.

• Story & Story-Telling = 3
  
• Gameplay Mechanics = 3
  
• Character Creation Variety = 3
  
• Visual Style, Quality & Optimization = 5
  
  
• General Rating = 3.5