Blessed Surface

If you can get past the initial awkwardness of the controls and many unexplained or borderline incomprehensible mechanics you'll find a fantastically unique game with a world packed full of content. Although the lack of information can be a source of frustration sometimes it's also a lot of fun experimenting with the huge variety of mechanics and equipment. It's unfortunate there isn't enough of a community to provide much outside information for the things you really can't figure out, but this could change in the future if more people discover this hidden gem. If you won't be immediately put off by the slightly clunky UI and controls then I highly recommend this unique experience! There's even a steam guide now for if you really can't figure something out through exploration/experimentation. Also here's a tip, reading old patch notes can be surprisingly useful to discover a few things lol.

I sincerely believe this to be a great game, and both it and the developer show a lot of potential. From the pleasant music that I can happily have in the background for hours at a time, to the wonderful pixel art of the characters, creatures and environments, to the sublime atmosphere that they all culminate in, I enjoy it all to an extent that I really did not expect. This is an absolute gem among similar Steam games, and the diligence of the developer is admirable. With the Exchange update, the game is in better shape than it's ever been; each update from the Overhaul until now has been better than the last, continually enhancing the game and polishing it as much as possible. Combat is fast, smooth, and responsive (just turn directional attacks on,) and due to the unique weapons compiled with the corpse and heart systems, has a level of depth that is simply staggering. The many abilities that you can harbour from devouring creature hearts allow for some truly unique playstyles, even improving non-combat gameplay in some cases and allowing you to better traverse a level. Would you rather have a blood-collecting rapier and a group of undead minions, or the ability to create stun gas whilst wielding a shield that diseases foes? Maybe just stomp things into oblivion? Or all of those at once? The bosses are some of the most interesting that I've seen in a video game visual design-wise, and many of them have movesets or ideas that are just as unique and engaging to learn—providing a difficult first encounter and, should you return to them, a rematch that is just as challenging and enjoyable. Some bosses encourage you to change your approach, and though this is something that bugs some people, I appreciate it from a variety and difficulty perspective. Interaction with NPCs uses a typed keyword system, featuring hints to push you in the right direction and make it a smoother experience than it was before. You may even receive rewards for taking the time to learn about a character and their experiences in the world around you. While this is the case, encounters are relatively few and far between, and they are not required for you to progress—if the system bugs you, you have plenty of time between encounters and can very well ignore them entirely. The environments that characters reside in are well-crafted and expansive in spite of the engine, with a large variety of themes and gimmicks that make each place very different from the last and feature varying degrees of fantasy. Some environments are heavily steeped in fantastical nature and bright colours while some environments are dark and gritty, and others have a more dreary, industrial theme about them. The music tracks, courtesy of the talented Travis Kirby, capture the different environmental themes splendidly, from bouncy and happy instrumentals to heavy, pounding beats; from floaty, droning synths to uplifting, triumphant whimsy, and a beautiful title theme that I'd like to learn to play myself. Blessed Surface is one of my favourite 2D action platforming games on Steam, and I hold it up there with the likes of Salt & Sanctuary, Hollow Knight, and Unworthy; the quality of this project is absolutely refreshing amongst a genre-cluster with only a few truly great games, proving that not every first-entry project is garbage and that, indeed, there are still small developers whom pay attention to what they create; constantly providing updates and insight as well as listening to the community and paying heed to what they've heard. This game is absolutely worth the price and more, if you ask me, and if you spare just 11 dollars, you'll get an experience that you're likely to enjoy and come back to.

...I like... many things... therefore I speak... Unique title, this; dumpsters other metroidcastlevania clones on here. Just my kind of jam. You go and descend while slaying enemies. You can eat they corpses or whats left of them. Many powerups come from that mechanic, too. ...from whence before time... I feel like the game is simply too strange for the average gamer to garner a cult status. There's almost nothing handed to you straight away. From the get-go your on you're own. ...difficult... it is... Give this gem a chance, will you. ...an ending... I ascent...

So happy to see the full version's released! Have loved getting to see it in it's initial stages and how polished it's become from the already unique take on 2D exploration it started out as. It respects the player by keeping the difficulty challenging, even enjoyably infuriating at times. The environment comes alive, with little details like reminding you certain creatures will decrease in population if you decide to go a little to ham on a specific foe. The music really compliments the 8-bit style the games going for. Overall awesome game.

Fantastic game! It would benefit from a manual, but if you're willing to put in the time to learn it it's a 100% recommendation! Tons to do, many different options, puzzles, secrets, random events. Good times. :D

The game has potential, I hope the dev doesn't give up making games.

While Blessed Surface seems super pretty, in terms of gameplay it’s somewhat incomprehensible and somewhat just plain annoying. Ridiculous hp pools on basic enemies, no clear indication of when an enemy will attack (at least not through the ridiculous amounts of hits you have to pour into them), extremely annoying combinations of jump height and head-bumping platform placement, and honestly just a bunch of stuff that doesn’t give feedback on how you’re supposed to handle it despite punishing you for not doing it right. Blocking doesn’t even seem to work at all, although that may just be because it’s apparently supposed to be timed and when enemies will attack is unclear (this may be a skill-based thing, but the tutorial level should probably feature enemies that allow for more imprecision in the timing (longer block timing windows), so that new players can at least build up that skill before more precise blocking is asked of them). Also good god that inventory system is terrible in how annoying it is to work with; not being able to pick up an item while you're next to it is quite possibly the most unintuitive design choice I've seen in a game. The lack of feedback you receive, especially the lack of positive feedback, also means it doesn’t have the redeeming feature other flawed games have, which is to say it doesn’t actually feel fun in any way. I'd like to comment on further parts of the game, because a lot of the features it seems to have seem fun, but if a game manages to be exhausting and obtuse in the tutorial, it drains my enthusiasm to play it rather quickly.

Brief thoughts after playing this game for a couple hours: Brilliant ideas. Relaxing exploration and music. Pretty good combat and a nice variety of weapons/armor. Really unique enemy design. There is a lot going on here. It's a very fun and expansive world to explore. Mixing and matching weapons/armor is really cool and finding effective combinations to fight and traverse the world is rewarding. Some issues, though. It is more than a bit clunky. I wish that your character moved with more fluidity. I hate only being able to carry six items at a time, especially when there is useful loot scattered everywhere. The last thing I want is a hand-holding game, but just a little more direction would go a long way. So far, I do not know the significance of leveling up. Overall I'm looking forward to seeing where this game goes. Worth the price of admission. I'll keep my eyes open for updates.