Hello!
The game came out i think about 36 hours ago now and i have 25hours of playtime. i think its fair to say that i am completely addicted and am really happy about the game and how it plays overall.
Style:
The Unique Visual and artistic style of the game i find very pleasant to look at and overall makes every area and the game itself memorable. The animations of attacks and enemies feel as smooth as it could possibly get.
Level design is on point aswell and i love the “backtrack and open new paths with new shortcuts” design that you have going on. There is alot of mystery, exploration is hugely rewarded and not much handholding.
I can see this as offputting for some people but personally i think its great and really hope it continues like that going forward.
Combat:
Animations are smooth and buttery, combat overall feels really good, (and keep in mind that i am playing on a constant 20-40fps, i can only dream of a future 60fps playthrough for now)
Apart from FPS issues theres been a few instances where the Ai doesnt seem to know how to act, for example they get stuck on eachother if theres multiple enemies, they just suddenly stop doing anything for a bit or they cant fit through an entrance.
Aiming certain abilities and throwable consumables needs some work as theres been plenty of times where it seems to go into random directions and not where im trying to aim at.
Parrying to me feels really hard to achieve but i cant tell if thats the game itself being a bit off or if im just really bad at it. i tend to not parry at all now.
Consumeables:
Consumeables play a big part in the game, i find myself constantly eating, making food, throwing bombs, using weapon enhancements to try and give myself that little bit of extra strenght.
Getting consumeables right is not an easy thing to do. You guys did it.
But here too i have some critisism:
While i do cook often and i have acquired a bunch of recipes, i dont ever find myself cooking anything other than the simple starting foods. Not sure why, it seems easier and just works i suppose.
Weapon enhancements feel short in Duration, i would like to see it get increased by a bit.
I can barely hit an enemy like 3 times before it runs out as you constantly need to dodge, block or do other actions than hitting.
Upgrading:
I’ve honestly not fully gone into all the parts of making, upgrading and enchanting gear so i cant say much about it. I does seem solid from what i have seen tho.
Runes:
I like the rune system. I like that you can buy and try Runes straight up and feel they are useful.
However, some might be over/under tuned.
Healing burst rune is completely useless compared to healing aura, while healing aura feels like its in a good spot. Healing aura can also be used even if you only have like 2 Focus points and im not sure if thats intended or not.
The repair rune made it so i never ever have to repair again. I am playing a mage character meaning i get alot of focus tho, im not sure how it feels on other classes.
Other runes i havent really touched yet but there is a reason why and ill get into that next.
The Buy before try system:
In this game, we have to buy it before we try it. i have a bunch of runes available to be bought but… i dont really know what most of them do.
So like when i bought the healing burst rune and it turned out to be useless, i fear that the other runes might be that way too and my money will be lost for nothing. So i tend to hold off on buying runes from the shop even though i would like to know what they do.
There is 3 houses available to be bought but… you cant look at them before you buy them. just be suprised i guess!
I can understand the runes being locked behind mystery before buying them but i would really like to see 2 things in the future:
- A full overview of stats on Runes, meaning, damage range, cooldown, focus cost etc. atleast after you bought them. while i get the mystery part of it, Stats are important to many players and it would be a shame to not have them.
- Let Players check out the inside of the house before we buy it.
Storage:
I dont need craft from storage, but what i do really want is a “sort” button that works and a “stash all already existing items” button. As in, If theres wood, stone and leather in one box, i press the button and all the wood, stone and leather from my inventory goes straight into the box.
Endgame:
As others have mentioned, endgame starts at around lvl 17/18 but the enemies suddenly become about 20x stronger and denser in the endless dungeon and gear will drop for only 21 and above.
This got me personally confused and i wasnt sure what to do. It was a point that seemed pretty frustrating at first. This could possibly be a point where some people might quit.
After a while i did just go back to the other areas and farmed ressources and exp. I am almost level 21 and then hopefully can slowly enter the Dungeon again. Not quite there yet.
What i wish for:
A smoother transition into the endgame and perhaps more to do between level 18 - 21 or tune down the enemies in the dungeon slightly.
Other:
Ive noticed some places spawning 2 chests inside one another. Im not saying no to double loot but im sure its not intended.
Clay. We need Clay.