I have no shame in admitting that I played this whole game one-shotting everything in my path with a gun attached to my butt, and I had a great time doing it. I still tried out a lot of the mechanics and abilities, but the combat wasn’t really compelling enough for me to suffer through the challenge when the game was offering up an easy mode on a silver platter. And I think it ultimately made my experience much more enjoyable because it felt like a fun and easy-going 3D platformer rather than a light-hearted soulslike with mediocre combat. And as a side note, I’d really love to see FromSoftware offer a “Give Player a Gun” mode in their games. Is that blasphemous?

This was probably the best non-FromSoftware souls-like I’ve played. The environments and character designs were incredible and very distinct. The world and story were really interesting, and it motivated me to explore every inch of the levels. The only character I didn’t like was the talking cricket that you’re stuck with. It might’ve been intentional, but the voice actor was performing almost like he was in a Disney film, and the way he chimed in to explain things to you like a child sort of ruined the tone and mystique at times.

Apart from being one of the best and most original souls-likes I’ve played, it was also one of the hardest. I felt underpowered through most of the game, and I probably only got through it because of how powerful the throwables were. It’s tough to find the right balance of challenge and fairness for these games, and in this case, I think the game probably could’ve used a few more tweaks towards fairness. It’s possible I just played the game wrong, but I definitely found it to be far more challenging than the Souls series and Elden Ring.

But despite its difficulty and the annoying cricket, I’d highly recommend trying this one out if you’re a fan of the genre, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what this studio does next.

The most realistic battle simulator I’ve ever played. I ran heroically into battle for the first and last time. My comrades and I found cover behind a rock on high ground. Several long, boring, and confusing minutes passed. No enemies were seen; just some gunfire in the distance. I peaked my head out of cover for a split second and was instantly shot down by a distant enemy. I didn’t even get to look him in the eye before he killed me. I just hope they can retrieve my body and give me a proper burial.