A pretty little Metroidvania that is marred by many small annoyances that keep it from being truly good. I did my initial playthrough on hard and got my ass kicked frequently. Income wasn't very reliable and consumables were expensive. But that all added to the satisfaction of playing well in a long trek towards a save point or in a boss fight. The controls feel reliable and accurate which is vital in a tough game like this. I was impressed with how tangible my improvement was. When finding a new enemy I would pretty much always be in danger of dying but after a few encounters I could reliably kill them without getting hit.

The presentation is where this game shines. The music feels very nostalgic and has a nice variety in tone that's fitting for the different levels. The art is also gorgeous. The enemies and bosses have very detailed spites and are instantly recognizable. But especially the animation is top notch which is important for reliably reading attack patterns. I liked flicking through the bestiary to see the big baddies that I'd overcome. Unfortunately there's no flavor text for the enemies and the story is pretty forgettable too.

There's a lot of different genre elements thrown in here. A bit of RPG, a bit of procedural generation and some random loot drops but those don't enhance the experience. I think this game would've been better if the devs held more control over the power curve and level design. It happened quite frequently that I would backtrack to open a chest and get something useless while I would get a great drop from a random enemy. It's nothing gamebreaking but it just feels bad.

Then there is the navigation issues. While the map is functional, it doesn't show why a path is blocked and you can't place useful markers so you'll be completely reliant on memory when backtracking. It's also hard to read. For the 100% map achievement I spent ages staring at the map to find the last area to explore. Then there is the stupid travel system where you'll waste a ton of time going into the wrong door or having to go to the single save point. And while I think the enemy design is good you'll encounter really unfair situation. Enemies might be edge-guarding forcing you to reload an area or tank hits. And playing optimally means simply jumping over everything and not interacting at all,

With all that said, I 100% it and had a decent time while playing so it gets a small recommendation. But with so many excellent Metroidvanias on steam it's on the bottom end of the list.

A pretty little Metroidvania that is marred by many small annoyances that keep it from being truly good. I did my initial playthrough on hard and got my ass kicked frequently. Income wasn't very reliable and consumables were expensive. But that all added to the satisfaction of playing well in a long trek towards a save point or in a boss fight. The controls feel reliable and accurate which is vital in a tough game like this. I was impressed with how tangible my improvement was. When finding a new enemy I would pretty much always be in danger of dying but after a few encounters I could reliably kill them without getting hit. The presentation is where this game shines. The music feels very nostalgic and has a nice variety in tone that's fitting for the different levels. The art is also gorgeous. The enemies and bosses have very detailed spites and are instantly recognizable. But especially the animation is top notch which is important for reliably reading attack patterns. I liked flicking through the bestiary to see the big baddies that I'd overcome. Unfortunately there's no flavor text for the enemies and the story is pretty forgettable too. There's a lot of different genre elements thrown in here. A bit of RPG, a bit of procedural generation and some random loot drops but those don't enhance the experience. I think this game would've been better if the devs held more control over the power curve and level design. It happened quite frequently that I would backtrack to open a chest and get something useless while I would get a great drop from a random enemy. It's nothing gamebreaking but it just feels bad. Then there is the navigation issues. While the map is functional, it doesn't show why a path is blocked and you can't place useful markers so you'll be completely reliant on memory when backtracking. It's also hard to read. For the 100% map achievement I spent ages staring at the map to find the last area to explore. Then there is the stupid travel system where you'll waste a ton of time going into the wrong door or having to go to the single save point. And while I think the enemy design is good you'll encounter really unfair situation. Enemies might be edge-guarding forcing you to reload an area or tank hits. And playing optimally means simply jumping over everything and not interacting at all, With all that said, I 100% it and had a decent time while playing so it gets a small recommendation. But with so many excellent Metroidvanias on steam it's on the bottom end of the list.