Recent reviews by The Himi Bimi

I got this game going in with the mindset that I'm going to get the WOTS experience. I was definitely proved wrong, but that wasn't a bad thing.

The story was simple enough. Go through dungeon, collect loot to make swords,make swords to sell to pay off debt. You do this for quite a while and I was honestly confused if anything was going to change. I can't say what happens after you pay off the debt (spoilers).

PROS:
- WOTS universe. The weird whackiness from the series continues with the vulgar grunts and the comical iconic characters.
- Fighting mechanic changes. The series wasn't known for it's cancel-heavy gameplay (unless you used the right moves in Iai style, WOTS3 &4, plus a few other off styles). The dash/dodge now acts as a much needed cancel-move to get you in and out of combat since enemies will no longer fight you 1-on-1 like in previous games.
- Dungeon crawler. Hit or miss if you like dungeon crawls or not.
- Sword upgrading is fairly easy. Just need the right materials and you're set. It's a bit of RNG and you can blow through mats fast if you're trying to get the best sword possible. The title system is interest but I don't mess with it very much.
- A collect-a-thon gone crazy. There's a ton of unlockable stuff, swords to use, farming to do. This only applies if this type of game interests you.


CONS -
- NO CHARACTER CREATION. You play as the protagonist guy. You get to name him, but that's it. (SPOILERS: You can play as other characters when you under the correct conditions, though through the majority of the game you'll just be protagonist guy)
- NO SWORD CREATION. There are only pre-built swords, and they don't come apart. You can't make your own masterpiece.
- There's no town to explore. I was really disappointed at how limited you are on where you can go outside of the dungeon(s).
- The sword move list is a bit nerfed. Very few moves compared to other titles, though it's not a big deal considering how combat feels in t his game.
- A LOT of text errors. From the get-go, Sound is labeled as "MUSIC", the game starts off in Japanese even though I bought it in the states. Percentage values are listed as "#NUM",
- A.I. of partners are a bit wonky. They'll freely step into your path when fighting.
- A.I. of enemies are a bit weird as well. Some enemies will just stop fighting and space out.
- Tension system not explained as well as it could be. It takes a bit for clans to start fighting.
- With the isometric view, there are still some foreground obstructions when going through dungeons.
- NEW - Controls are just ... weird sometimes. Sometimes buttons won't register, other times you'll be stuck traveling in one direction for no reason.

I'm pleasantly surprised with the overall experience of the game and will keep playing. It just barely scratches my itch for the WOTS series and I hope to see it continue after this entry.

EDIT: I've finished the game up until unlocking the final dungeon. I have not yet beat the final dungeon but am planning to.

The Pros and Cons of what I said before still stand, though it seems a lot of the blacksmith shop running is a lot of learning through experience. It becomes easier to understand once you're over 30 days in (in-game).

There seems to be a lot more Cons than there are Pros, but the Cons don't detract enough for the game to become a negative experience. After a good 50+ hours I can say that I enjoyed my time playing the game and would recommend.