Adventure with stealth elements and some design choices that don’t always translate into a fun experience.
First thing you need to do is pick story or normal difficulty. Both offer exactly the same experience, the only difference is that story is a lot easier with weaker enemies and auto-health regeneration for the main character. I still suggest you go with the normal because that will show you what the game is all about. However, if something becomes too difficult or you change your mind while playing, you may easily switch at any time.
This game does not require you to learn difficult controls. It's all extremely simple to play. Aside from basic movement, you only have two other abilities: special skills and attack. Although the game is mainly centered on stealth, you can still take down enemies in an efficient manner.
When the enemy actively engages you, you deal less damage, but you can still kill them with a few hits. When you're hidden from the enemy, the corners of the screen darken. However, if you are caught, you must defeat everyone in order to remove the magical barrier that prevents you from progressing.
Unfortunately, there are some critical issues with hit detection that make the game almost unplayable. It’s possible to miss even when hitting straight at enemies. This happens because your character targets a single enemy automatically, which is shown by a white highlight around it. If you lose the target by turning the other way, you will miss even when your sword goes through an enemy. It happens all the time and makes killing even a simple enemy a chore.
The easiest method to go through the game is to observe, hide, and wait for an opening. When the enemy is unaware of your presence, your attack kills them in one strike. Although an enemy's body transforms into bright orbs, you must still conceal the evidence of your kill in tall vegetation. The character moves much slower while holding the orbs, so you need to be careful. However, hiding orbs feels pointless. It's much better to leave it and use it to lure other enemies. Sadly, the hit detection fails even with stealth. If you try to set an ambush in tall grass and don't have the enemy targeted, you'll miss a quick kill.
Furthermore, enemies are aware what’s going on. Their field of vision is represented by a visible triangle. You don't want to get caught inside it. Fortunately, they will not notice you if you dash across their area of vision.
The other thing you need to watch out for is their patrol routes. They can remember their friends, so if they see that someone is missing from its post, they’ll start investigating. Sound is another factor because some leaves and bushes make noise when walked on. Fortunately, death is not a major concern because there are checkpoints everywhere.
The game takes you through separate stages. The goal is simply to reach the exit by any means necessary. There will be many different enemies standing in your way, each with their own unique behaviour pattern. Some of these include sentries that constantly turn around, large jumping slimes that split into smaller ones, a balloon that flies away when you cut its legs, and a variety of other intriguing surprises.
Stages are not very long, and some even offer different paths. They get blocked once you pass through, so you can’t explore. This frequently incorporates collectibles, and the only way to get everything is to replay a stage from the main menu. There are concealed spirits, writings, and shrines. The only critique is that stages are a little too abstract. This means you have no idea what is a walking space and what is part of the environment. Some sections are especially frustrating because you only see your outline under the dark trees. Since there are paths that lead to secrets, you’re constantly bumping into stuff to see if you can pass through.
Dust is a more unique form of collectible since it involves more work. You'll either have to complete a platforming section or a stealth challenge. The weird decision is that dust can disappear after a while, so you must act quickly. Most of the time you don’t even know the timer has started, and the dust is gone before you even know it’s there.
When you encounter a fox statue, you can utilize the dust to improve your health. Although stages show how many dust you collected, this appears to be broken. You can go over the number by replaying certain stages and grabbing as much dust as you want. Another problem is that you can’t see the number of collectibles in a stage until you beat it.
One last thing are abilities. They come in two types, and you get to select them by stepping on a circle at the beginning of each stage. One type is only relevant in 2D platforming sections and uses alternative jumping mechanisms, such as glide or multi-jump.
The other type is important during regular stages. Unlike the 2D abilities, these will gain experience points with each use. This can be grinded because progress is carried over throughout the game. Once you've earned enough experience points, the ability acquires a new helpful bonus. Each has two. Dash, for example, lets you use it during combat to harm adversaries. You get new skills as you continue through the game. The only limit to their use is mana, which recharges slowly.
