Bloodroots

Very fun game! There are some accessibility options in case you can't get past some part of the level (or for easier exploration for collectables/wolves) which is always nice. The main loop is getting in an area and using everything in your enviroment, from fishing rods and carrots, to shotguns and giant scythes, to kill a variant of enemies that (mostly) die in one hit (you also die in one hit and you are stunlocked when hitting an enemy with your fists, so the game encourages constant movement and rotation of weapons). There are enemies that are immune to some types of attacks and enemies with ranged attacks and different patterns so the fights aren't dumbed down to mindless button mashing. There are also some platforming sections that serve as a pallet cleanser from the constant combat. The most successful part of the game is that the enviromental design offers ways to chain kills in a way that makes you feel like you perform a blockbuster action movie fight if you plan out your actions, which gives the game a bit of a nice puzzle element and also lightly encourages speedrunning. There is also a combo meter that is tight enough to be challenging to keep going but not so tight that it doesn't forgive a single mistep. There are also different hats that grant an extra ability when replaying a level, although I only used the deer hat (double jump) to make it easier to find missed collectables. Ofcourse as you can see from the trailers the game is very polished with nice art and a great feel when playing. All in all, I don't have to say anything too negative. Yes, the bosses could be a bit more memorable and maybe we could have a bit more challenging rooms and platforming sessions but at the end of the day it's a very fun game to spend a few afternoons with!