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While it may have a terrific visual style and appealing characters, the crippling difficulty takes the steam out of the experience quickly
This is a bit of a tough review to write, as there’s so much the game gets right in terms of its presentation, but unfortunately the gameplay is a tough pill to swallow in its current state. First, visually the character designs and animation are all top-notch and look great, though perhaps to some degree it's those animations that cause some of the problems. Simply put, what looks like it could have been even a relatively light or at least standard difficulty side-scrolling action / Metroidvania title, is instead a pretty quick lesson in frustration without any signs of relief in sight. I’ve played some tough games, usually roguelikes, and have gotten used to the opening grind to getting decent being arduous, but this feels like a level or two beyond that. What’s worse, though you can grind to get some incremental improvements to your characters, even the first-tier upgrades are cruelly expensive, feeling almost like a taunt. The shame is that the 4 different characters, though they play differently, mostly end up feeling pretty ineffective, with either weak or pretty short range on their attacks and once committed to the attack, having no option to cancel leaves you a sitting duck, especially against bosses. If you endure the initial brutal hump and grind through, there is a point where it lets up a bit, but unfortunately I’d think for the majority of normal gamers out there they’ll feel beaten down before developing an appreciation for the game, moving onto something a bit more accommodating and rewarding.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.8]