95% of this game is solid diamond execution.
The boss fight for The Conduit and the entirety of Ardur's Domain? Absolute exercises in frustration.
If you put a place to heal in a platforming room that's obtuse to try and make it through because the player keeps taking damage, it's probably a sign that you made the platforming too annoying for the room and didn't need a healing station there. Retread sections to pad out the last area just to open a single door? Give me a break.
The last boss is mostly fun, but talk about a deflating experience up to that point from meeting The Conduit. I think my deaths were only in the double digits, but I wish I could attribute that to a lack of skill, rather than dealing with a cumbersome setup over and over.
The rest of the game? Absolutely aces. As a Metroidvania, the exploration is excellent -- secret areas, secret bosses, secret equipment upgrades, they're totally on-point with the level design and boss design for the rest of the game (even if everyone treats the Necromancer like it's Ornstein & Smough).
If you don't mind beating your head against a brick wall for the last hour or two of the game, I highly recommend paying full price for this because it's SO GOOD the rest of the time.
The boss fight for The Conduit and the entirety of Ardur's Domain? Absolute exercises in frustration.
If you put a place to heal in a platforming room that's obtuse to try and make it through because the player keeps taking damage, it's probably a sign that you made the platforming too annoying for the room and didn't need a healing station there. Retread sections to pad out the last area just to open a single door? Give me a break.
The last boss is mostly fun, but talk about a deflating experience up to that point from meeting The Conduit. I think my deaths were only in the double digits, but I wish I could attribute that to a lack of skill, rather than dealing with a cumbersome setup over and over.
The rest of the game? Absolutely aces. As a Metroidvania, the exploration is excellent -- secret areas, secret bosses, secret equipment upgrades, they're totally on-point with the level design and boss design for the rest of the game (even if everyone treats the Necromancer like it's Ornstein & Smough).
If you don't mind beating your head against a brick wall for the last hour or two of the game, I highly recommend paying full price for this because it's SO GOOD the rest of the time.