Hello!
I wanted to share my experience with the game, after playing through first few areas, and give my opinion on some of the controversial design choices and how they affected my gameplay.
When I realized at the start that healing items are really limited, and that you loose durability when dying, the first thing that came to my mind was “wait, that’s a pretty snowbally feedback loop, what if I get stuck with no resources?”. And it made me pretty nervous, because even though I was still pretty well off, there was a bossfight around the corner and that usually means a lot of deaths, and I felt like that’s not a good game design.
However, after playing more and giving it some more thought, I’ve realized that even though it felt like an unfair threat, it also affected the way how I play in a way that worked amazingly, without me even noticing it, while making it a better experience.
First thing I noticed is that it made me pay a lot more attention to the environment. I was worried I’d run out of consumables, so I was watching for the plants wherever I could, which made me slow down and realize a lot of stuff I’d probably miss - like that there are obvious areas with a lot of a single resource, that is worth remembering and visiting often. And once I slowed down, I haven’t had issues with consumables since.
Another thing I’ve later realized is that the looming threat of loosing resources at a uncertain fight has made me explore a lot more that I’d probably would. What would usually happen is that I ran into a bossfight, died a few times without getting really far, and instead of throwing myself against a wall I simply backed down and went to explore somewhere else, or work on an upgrade, new gear or bounties. It never felt frustrating, but made me interact with other content I’d probably miss or didn’t deal with in other games, by just rushing through the main story.
While those two things may not sound that important, or may be even obvious for some, for me it made the game a lot better and has challenged the way how I usually play, while improving it into a way better experience. It never felt forced or grindy, but has instead nudged me into playing the game by utilizing most of what it has to offer, instead of getting stuck in a endless stream of deaths.
And most importantly, it all felt natural, and I’m having much fun with the game, without it feeling unfair or frustrating. And I don’t even worry about the looming threat of running out of resources, since they are easy to find, you get plenty enough just by progressing, and if I have to backtrack to get some more - it’s usually because I got stuck on something, and it serves as a great reminder that I should take a break.
To sum it up - from my experience, the punishing death penalty has made the game a lot better for me, and made me think about how I play a lot more than other kind of death penalties (such as Dark Souls pickup-souls) ever did, and in my opinion - it’s a great fit for this game, because it highlights other elements and activities besides combat that I’d probably not bother with that much.
Of course, that’s only my experience, but I wanted to share it and thank the devs for such a great experience!