First, I would like to express my satisfaction with the game. I have not been enthusiastic about playing a game since Elden Ring came out. Therefore, I would like to thank you for your hard work.
I have some feedback and suggestions and since @Bounty has already provided thorough feedback, I will only express my recommendations that are not mentioned in his.
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Let’s start from the beginning by which I mean character creation. You see, since this game’s character is not going to be seen up close, I do not see a reason why we should customize the face appearance aside from hairstyle which I think could use some diversity and more options to choose from. Instead, I suggest being able to adjust the character’s height, weight, size, bulkiness, muscles, etc.
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Class/ Profession: Being able to choose a starting class (but not limited to one for the entire game playthrough) or not having a class at all can diversify the beginning experience with some certainties like having a required starting weapon for the build one is planning on playing with.
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Fighting system/mechanics: I am really happy with the fighting mechanics of the game, especially how every hit can be felt. The impact and weight behind the hits are very satisfying. It would not hurt to have dismemberment or executions, too. Choosing to execute for restoring some health or stamina while accepting the risk of failing the execution and its penalty like enemies recovering with Quick Time Event or some other method would be satisfactory to watch.
The stealth is very difficult to employ. Enemies will become aware of your presence almost immediately in most instances. If there is stealth in the game, then it should be possible to take advantage of it for the players.
Blocking should have some form of counterattack or window to attack. It should be different from parrying, obviously. What I mean is that maybe blocking at the right time, will give the player a window to perform a special action like a heavy attack or knocking them back. You get the idea.
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Ichor: probably this is no news, but as the highest form of reward for defeating the bosses, it has such a small impact on the game. Consequently, the rewards it provides need to be reworked. My suggestion is to get some skills as a reward such as status buffs and debuffs. For example, stunning an enemy, reviving once per death, draining an enemy, etc. I don’t know if they are lore-accurate, so the rewards must be given accordingly.
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Weapon system/ mechanics: I am happy with the number of weapons available, especially with the Katana I received from defeating the Echo Knight. However, I believe the enchanting system requires more depth than just two levels. There should be more like 3 to 5 levels. I’m sure no one minds being able to upgrade the enchantments; however, it should be costly and require some materials that are not easy to come by. Therefore, everyone should consider what weapons to invest in or stick to RNG for other weapons.
The negative boons given to weapons and armor should be possible for all levels of enchantments with the severity increasing as the rarity does. However, there should be a small chance of no downsides as well. Moreover, I think, being able to remove these drawbacks will be rewarding and worth the grind. Something to look forward to, you know?
I like fighting barehanded. However, the moves are very limited and there is no way to upgrade fists. Either include fists in the game or make it possible to advance brawling.
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Cerim Crucible: I like the idea of the ultimate challenge dungeons. They are very exciting and fun. First, there should be more of them, and, completing all of them should result in a final one. Secondly, After clearing the 6 or whatever number of rooms before the final boss, reviving before the final boss will make it less painful to go through the fight. I mean imagine being one-shot by the boss as soon as you enter the chamber and going through the same fights all over again.
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Replayability/ New Game Plus: it goes without saying that the greatest games are those worth playing again and again. Being able to achieve new weapons, armor, skills, enchantments, higher levels, higher level-cap, fight new enemies, see alternative endings, adjusting heat level (like Hades) will definitely make it one of the best. I honestly hope that you consider this one since I believe this game has so much potential.
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Quality Of Life (QOL): As of now, the QOL of the game is lackluster. First, picking the equipment in the inventory should compare the currently selected and the equipped item showing the differences using two cards one for each. Also being able to compare two items of choice not just the first equipped item as there are more up to three.
Secondly, the map should be interactable. It means, custom markers for different purposes and being able to attach screenshots to those markers. More fast-travel than just one maybe not free except the last one you visited. The inventory needs to have better sorting options e.g. grouping. This is not new but the slots that we can unlock should only be for the equipment. The inventory itself should be limitless since there are always mods that make it possible anyway.
Thirdly, buying a house should have some advantages to it other than placing item boxes in it. One idea could be to fast-travel directly to your house. Getting a rested status bonus can be another example.
Fourthly, the game should support other types of controllers. As of now, it doesn’t support DualSense.
- Visuals: The game’s aesthetics are superb and eye-catching in a special way that Ori’s were. I’d recommend taking advantage of this even further. Firstly, the armor design could be more detailed, especially, heavy armor. Secondly, having other outfits other than armor is something which is missing. Some armors change the body’s shape. I don’t remember the name but it made the legs much smaller.
Transmog would be highly appreciated. That way people will get to choose what style to give their Cerim.
I will be likely to make some edits in the future and provide more feedback, so I will look forward to discussing them with everyone.
Edit #1: added QOL changes.
Edit #2: added visuals