Here is some feedback after about 5 hours of playing.
The bones of a good game experience are there, but I am experiencing friction of the kind that doesn’t want me to improve or persevere, it makes me want to just quit. I don’t think that is what the devs are going for here.
I think for me a lot of this friction comes down to how much the game’s penalty systems are getting in the way of the mechanics. This game is pulling a lot of systems from Souls-likes, but trying new things with them. I like that. However, the way some of these systems work in the context of a Souls-like encourage certain kinds of play, and the changes made here are actively taking away from that. It all comes down to the tedium associated with the try-fail-restart loop as implemented.
Right now, if I encounter an enemy that I need to learn the attack pattern of, the first time I see it I expect I may die. That’s fine, that’s part of learning. However, in the attempt my armor and weapons were damaged. I may have used a few healing items. Repeat that a few more times, trying to get past this enemy or maybe going somewhere else. Now I am out of healing items, and my armor is broken. I need to explore to get coin to repair my gear, and in order to do that I need to defeat enemies and explore the map. However, I can’t do that now because I need working equipment and healing items, and instead of wanting to try and learn I just want to play a different game.
In a lot of Souls games, you have some sort of renewable resource so when you die you aren’t loosing a war of attrition with the game systems. Be that reliable healing in some sort of flask, or the ability to grind easier enemies for some levels, something so the reaction isn’t “this is impossible” it’s “how can I solve this”.
What I am experiencing is that since maps don’t repopulate very often, I am always feeling weak compared to the challenges being asked of me. The gear durability system is causing me to spend money faster than I am making it. The only source of healing being limited, crafted consumables that are also finite because of maps not repopulating often. I feel like playing the game I have soft-locked myself because of the resource economy, how I acquire them and how quickly they are used up.
When giving feedback, I try to not imagine myself as a game dev. I am presenting the problem as I see it, I am not demanding my solution be the answer to it. A few of these systems in moderation add some stakes to the game. All of these systems, the way they are currently balanced, feels bad and is pushing me away from wanting to progress.
Edit - 8 hours in now. I added a rune to my weapon that gives me a heal outside of combat for focus, so I feel less pressure there. Some more levels in Strength also made combat shorter and has reduced how often I am dying, so I have more money. I still stand by my feedback about the overall feeling of attrition, but it may be more noticeable at lower levels and less of a concern as your gear improves.