About as blatant a ripoff of another game as you can get. Certainly competently made as it runs well, but creatively bankrupt and cash grabby with its microtransactions

I guess if you wanna play Fall Guys on Steam and you don't own it you could play this

You'll probably go loopy after listening to the inane single song soundtrack that seemingly loops every 20 seconds whether you are in game, at the menu or at a loading screen....

Let's get this out of the way first

I like this game. Really I do.

But

I cannot finish this game without completely restarting due to a bad game breaking bug. That hasn't happened to me in a game in decades and it feels reaaaaaal bad.

So this game really does not like backtracking and yet there are collectibles it actively wants you to search for (which one would presumably wish to backtrack for). But the game makes heavy use of one-way jumps, drops etc that heavily discourage doing so. It's very very linear otherwise.

I made the bad mistake (apparently!) of finding a way to revisit an area because I realized I missed a collectible. To my chagrin after making what I knew to be a one-way jump inside the area and retrieving the collectible, I discovered the elevator I previously used to exit this part of the stage didn't return. There was no call button or switch or anything either....

Also it autosaves and has a single save slot. You likely see the problem

So even the "Enhanced Edition" apparently isn't bug free. Though I saw no other bugs during my playthrough, so going by older reviews they must have caught a lot of them in this edition.

They did apparently add level select which is nice. But it doesn't unlock until you clear the game once.... So that's not a help either

As for the game itself

The combat is serviceable, though hit detection is a little suspect in both directions. But it's good enough for a short indie game that you are here to see the sights (which is what this game does very well). It roughly plays like a vastly simplified modern God of War in the style of the PS2 GoW games or an isometric Prince of Persia. Light and heavy attacks, multiple weapons, upgrade tree. Can do wall-runs and flips in combat, etc etc, stuff action gamers have likely seen at least somewhere before.

Music, atmosphere and art are absolutely top notch and among the very best I've seen in recent years. It does a stellar job of alternating between ambient sounds and transitioning into music to the point that unless you are paying close attention you might notice when one stops and the other begins. The game also does a decent job showcasing various sights and vistas the artists clearly spent tons of time on.

It's definitely worth picking this game up on sale (as long you are willing to tolerate some bugginess) if you're interested in some great Indian environs and myth. The story is a simple abduction tale/hero's journey that isn't particularly captivating, but it's effectively told, and I feel this game really nailed the flavor and sensibilities of playing an old tale.

but y'know buyer beware of the bugs

You know how people reductively say "it's like Dark Souls" to describe a game?

Well this isn't like Dark Souls, it's so Dark Souls it almost feels like From should pursue them for copyright infringement.

Just about every aesthetic, storytelling device, character archetype, leveling system, game design and trope is a straight lift from Souls with a slightly different veneer to make it jussssst different enough.

that being said if playing Souls as a 2d side scroller pixel action game appeals to you, this seems to have that nailed down