i've been spoiled by homebrew. the characters never really captured me, and i wasn't intrigued by the world at large. i think its best for people who have little experience with D&D, but because i've only ever experienced D&D as something fun with friends where we play super unconventionally, i just didn't vibe with it. also the character creator sucked :(

no rating because i think it's objective score and the way it landed for me are very different. its clear how much effort and how polished this game is (at least in act one which is as far as i got), but i don't see myself ever going "yeah this is a ten outta ten fr."

not technically finished yet, but i get the idea of how i'm gonna feel after its over. this game is super charming with a really cute artstyle. i've never actually played any kirby games before and my extent of him is going "wow he's so cute" when someone shares miscellaneous screenshots or videos of him, but i've wanted to dabble in the series for a while! the plot i dont care for, but the game itself has been pretty fun.

the controls are kinda weird. not the actual button mapping, but how they feel. i always associate platformers with having really tight, snappy controls since thats what feels best imo but i mean, its kirby so he's gonna be pretty floaty. that's not really a problem for me, but i do hate how slippery he can feel. some of the levels in this are genuinely not very fun because of it and finding the stickers or the level icon things can be really annoying when the slippery controls make you fall really far back in a level or into a death pit you really shouldn't have hit. its not a skill issue because while i am definitely not super great at this game, just tapping the d-pad shouldn't send me flying off the cliff ... maybe its my inexperience with the genre overall thats leading me to have trouble with this stuff, but it really makes me dislike some of these levels. i like that they all have their own gimmicks and the boss fights have been, while unexpected, really fun.

this game is nothing super special but its decently short, not too difficult, and very cute. i think some of the level design is tedious in an unfun way, but generally i don't have to think too hard when attempting one for the first time. it's just okay.

[ played on steam deck. it works great, but def recommend playing on PC for comfort or finnicking with control schemes for a bit ]

really fun co-op experience. my close friend group & i love playing things together. if i'm not off doing schoolwork or sinking my time into whatever my hyperfixation is at the moment, im finding weird, fun co-op games i can hop in and out of lobbies with friends in. this is no exception and it has been seriously addicting to play as a group. it can be played solo but i have only played as a duo & trio (it maxes at 3), and can safely say it is more fun with more players but also substantially easier that way as well.

truthfully, ive written and rewritten the meat of this review over and over, but there isnt any way to het around it. if you have played slay the spire, the GOAT of deckbuilder roguelikes, you have played this game. of course there are things that set this game apart, but the influence STS has had on this game is impossible to miss. from the colored card decks/skills/powers/attacks, the starting decks, the archetypes, to even WHOLE CARDS having similar arts, names, descriptions, etc...

in the wake of the Palworld controversy, it feels disingenuous to ignore it especially because when my friends wanted to play that, i stepped away because it made me feel odd with the plagiarism that was evident (to me) in it's pal designs. i feel similar here, though it does get somewhat of a pass in that the core style is very different by nature of how it handles targeting, the maps, the unique boss modifiers, selecting the dungeon progression, etc etc etc. there is a lot to love about this game but its hard for me to talk about it properly because i keep thinking yeah, but the best summary is still "co-op slay the spire." so, that's what i'll leave it at.

this game is a fan-made co-operative slay the spire roguelike and it fucking rules.

Golden Apple Archipelago is a favorite event for me. Xinyan, Kazuha, Diluc, Mona, and Fischl getting time to shine was a fun group. Also the patch I realized Diluc my transfem icon was literally the best so it gets bonus points for that. Some of the GAA domains dragged (Fischl's was so painful to complete just because of how long it was) but Mona's was genuinely really fun.

That said, this was also the time of the Never Ending Ayaka who has plagued my nightmares ever since...

Overall, great story, great banners, great events. The perfect interlude for the long wait of Sumeru, who has my favorite and least favorite things to mention in Genshin Impact so far...