I went into this game knowing next to nothing about what goes on in the greater Record of Lodoss War series, but that didn't stop me from having a hell of a time with a wonderfully-crafted, mechanically rich metroidvania game.

DIWL is at its best when making extensive use of its Ikaruga-like "polarity" mechanic, which allows Deedlit to swap between wind and fire elements to both absorb enemy attacks and exploit weaknesses. My only real gripe about the system is that it doesn't really get utilized until you're quite deep into the game, and once you really start getting the flow of switching to handle rooms with clever enemy formations, it's all but over. Bosses in particular shine bright, with one early encounter in particular driving the point home with style. I think the game could've benefited quite greatly from more keenly emphasizing that mechanic in general platforming challenges or traversal, but the promise was there and executed quite well.

Story, sound design and visuals are all top-notch. Despite having never touched any Record of Lodoss War media, the game doesn't really need a ton of prior information to enjoy; it manages to tell a pretty sentimental story over a pretty reasonably short runtime. If anything, I'm looking forward to checking out more of the series now that I've got a very (wonderfully wistful) taste of the world of Lodoss Island.

Easy recommend if you're a fan of metroidvania games. Runs about the length of a GBA Castlevania game -- titles I've also reviewed as part of the Castlevania Advance Collection :)