This game has promise, it really does, but in it's current state I can't strongly recommend it. Starting with the pros of this game: It's a very unique take on the Rogue(vania) genre: For one, you cannot just bullet your way to the top. The main gimmick is you only have your special attack, which regenerates every 30 seconds by default, those this changes based on items you pick up. Each character in the game has a different attack, some easier to control than others, which means there is varying difficulty for those who like a challenge.
Another interesting thing Tokoyo does is have a different layout for it's dungeon daily, and that means real world time. This can be both a bane and a boon is a given map on a day is particularly easy or particularly hard, but this style of randomization might not be for everyone. This does also give it an interesting scenario where if you don't like a certain map, you're almost stuck with it on a given day. This sort of lock-out is definitely not for everyone, especially those who like the chaos of a randomized map every time they start, so be warned.
Most of my issues with the game are from a technical standpoint. The biggest drawback of this game is the learning curve is a steep, steep cliff. You will be dying constantly in the first two, possibly three sections due to how much the difficult jacks up. The main gimmick of the game is also a serious bane to the other gimmick they decide to introduce after the first section, which is the 'Karma' meter.
You have a limited amount of time to completely each little 'floor' portion of a section, and that time will quickly be drained if you mess something up. This mechanic is incredibly unforgiving and essentially encourages speedrunning or death-candying (Dying then using 'Candies' to revive yourself) your way to the top, as your reward for not escaping a floor in time is a slow and inescapable death. This sort of rushed gameplay makes the earlier, timing and dodging-focused style of fighting much less valuable, though I partially understand why it was done. For one, just sitting in a corner waiting for your special to refresh would be easily abuseable-- but I feel giving a time limit of under a minute that gradually dissipates was far from the solution.
Another small gripe with the game is some enemies look like interactable items, and some interactable items look like enemies. When I first encountered a portal, I had no clue it wasn't an enemy until I finally took a chance and jumped on top of it. There's also another enemy that like an item... It doesn't look intentional after a second glance, but maybe it is? Regardless, I feel there should be better distinction between what things should be avoided and what things are useful to the player (Portals, Items, etc.) Especially given how valuable time and health is with it's current gameplay loop.
Overall, I think the issues with this game make it hard to enjoy as it's not a system that's very rewarding / allows one to power up readily at the very beginning. While most of the time the solution is just to keep dying until you get good, the gameplay of Tokoyo and how punishing it is for minor mistakes makes it discouraging to keep playing. My suggestion is the rework the Mana system (perhaps to regenerate based off collecting coins / defeating enemies) and to remove the time limit per floor, making the game more strategy based rather than rushing a player to the top. Some people may enjoy this style of game, but it isn't for me personally.
Another interesting thing Tokoyo does is have a different layout for it's dungeon daily, and that means real world time. This can be both a bane and a boon is a given map on a day is particularly easy or particularly hard, but this style of randomization might not be for everyone. This does also give it an interesting scenario where if you don't like a certain map, you're almost stuck with it on a given day. This sort of lock-out is definitely not for everyone, especially those who like the chaos of a randomized map every time they start, so be warned.
Most of my issues with the game are from a technical standpoint. The biggest drawback of this game is the learning curve is a steep, steep cliff. You will be dying constantly in the first two, possibly three sections due to how much the difficult jacks up. The main gimmick of the game is also a serious bane to the other gimmick they decide to introduce after the first section, which is the 'Karma' meter.
You have a limited amount of time to completely each little 'floor' portion of a section, and that time will quickly be drained if you mess something up. This mechanic is incredibly unforgiving and essentially encourages speedrunning or death-candying (Dying then using 'Candies' to revive yourself) your way to the top, as your reward for not escaping a floor in time is a slow and inescapable death. This sort of rushed gameplay makes the earlier, timing and dodging-focused style of fighting much less valuable, though I partially understand why it was done. For one, just sitting in a corner waiting for your special to refresh would be easily abuseable-- but I feel giving a time limit of under a minute that gradually dissipates was far from the solution.
Another small gripe with the game is some enemies look like interactable items, and some interactable items look like enemies. When I first encountered a portal, I had no clue it wasn't an enemy until I finally took a chance and jumped on top of it. There's also another enemy that like an item... It doesn't look intentional after a second glance, but maybe it is? Regardless, I feel there should be better distinction between what things should be avoided and what things are useful to the player (Portals, Items, etc.) Especially given how valuable time and health is with it's current gameplay loop.
Overall, I think the issues with this game make it hard to enjoy as it's not a system that's very rewarding / allows one to power up readily at the very beginning. While most of the time the solution is just to keep dying until you get good, the gameplay of Tokoyo and how punishing it is for minor mistakes makes it discouraging to keep playing. My suggestion is the rework the Mana system (perhaps to regenerate based off collecting coins / defeating enemies) and to remove the time limit per floor, making the game more strategy based rather than rushing a player to the top. Some people may enjoy this style of game, but it isn't for me personally.