This game is SO GOOD.

It was advertised to me as a Zelda-like first and a souls-like second. The mechanics that remind me of both are actually on the lighter side, but I think if you like these two types of games, you will love this.

It has dungeons, but the puzzles are less mentally intensive than the average Zelda-like experience, generally being "Use the new spell you learned on the in-game asset that it relates to."

It also has challenging, dodge-roll based swordplay combat, but it's far less complex and unforgiving as a souls game. (PS, that's what I love about it.)

The story is so interesting and the themes it conveys are deep and meaningful. The bosses are unique and challenging, but definitely surmountable. All the characters are multidimensional and it's a treat each time you meet a new one. And the soundtrack is beautiful. Strong rec on all fronts.

Absolute fun, straightforward but full of personality. I love the art, the music, the storytelling was pretty surprising and the gameplay is banging.

It’s full on Zelda-like, specially the original one, leaving a sort-of open map for you to explore and discover secrets. It also has some sections similar to dungeons with puzzles and the “get a new ability and use it right away” classic. It’s also just the right amount of challenging, with great boss fights (and some pretty cool wave-like stuff) where you retry and retry and eventually get in a groove without getting frustrated.

If you love classic adventure games and something filled with charm and character, this is a no-brainer.

So far, I have played for something like 2 or 3 hours, I have collected one of the three big souls and am on my way to the second. First I will say, this game has a neat atmosphere with some fun characters and a great soundtrack. I was under the impression that this game was very Zelda-like with some souls-inspired combat. As I had recently completed Tunic, this looked like it might be very similar with a possible emphasis on the combat side of gameplay. So far, I am really getting frustrated with the combat. Enemies do not stagger save for the "not-wizzrobe"s. When traversing the different areas, you almost always encounter groups of enemies that swarm you upon approaching them. Once in the dungeons, combat becomes much more claustrophobic as the dungeons are fairly labyrinthine with lots of narrow, winding pathways littered with clumps of enemies. Then come the combat arenas. Small locked rooms or enclosed spaces often leading to a key item for completing the area. These arenas are like a gauntlet of wave after wave of enemies, some small and some unfairly large or strong. No one of the common enemies on its own would pose much of a threat, but a room full of them becomes hard in a bad way. Keyword: RELENTLESS. This is all hurt by the fact that you have four total health points until I assume you collect enough shards from exploration. Every enemy in the game deals the same amount of damage to you, including bosses, which seems like a very strange choice to me, as it really pushes you to try to never get hit. For an arcade style shoot-'em-up, this works. For a Zelda-like exploration/adventure game with Souls-like combat, it feels bad. There are moments that can be quite like a bullet-hell all while a boss or other large enemy is charging you or throwing out an additional attack. And OH MY GOODNESS, some of the attacks seem way too fast. Huge, hulking enemies have attacks that happen almost the very instant you are in range with no telegraph. I remember the first mini boss I encountered in the urn witch's estate. This massive unit of a knight with a huge mace would just instantly smash your character even when you are directly behind it. It felt like aimbot. now in the mushroom dungeon, there are these hammer knights that have so much health and do the same thing. Combat becomes a chore of, roll in slash once or maybe twice, roll out. I would not say that the combat is not particularly challenging in that sense, it just is very drawn out, imbalanced and not very fun.