Dream Slayers

I want to start out by saying I like the vision of this game, and I understand it's developed by a single person. That being said, below is my honest feedback on the game. [b]Questionable keybinding/combat decisions[/b] - Notably: (1) closing menus like shop menus uses has its own keybind (default Q), rather than just using the escape key, and it only closes one menu at a time when you can have several open at once. (2) Left click is the default keybind for "toggle" (while held) ranged attacks. [b]Combat System[/b] - Attacking is bound to keys 1, 2, and 3 in order to form "combos" that deal more damage by using the 3 separate keys in a row. While it is a unique concept, its just kind of a clunky system an not intuitive. [b]Sprinting[/b] - It's 2025. Toggle sprint should be the most basic feature, and should be the default. [b]Mining[/b] - I appreciate the attempt at creativity. Mining is not done by just smacking a rock; instead you "interact" with a mining node, which initiates the classic mini-game with a bar moving back and forth where you must attempt to stop it in the green zone. Failure results in the end of the mini-game and makes the node un-minable for a time. I've not gotten more than one copper from a node at once because the first round seems to only give stone, and it goes from slow to fast to mach 10 by round 3. At this point I would rather just smack rocks with a pickaxe. [b]Combat Balancing/Feel[/b] - The first time going out and actually fighting was absolutely brutal. Immediately after exiting the starting room I was confronted by 2 rock golems that that take out a quarter of my health with each hit and take practically no damage. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after the combat started that I realized there is no backpeddling in this game - by which I mean, when you use the S key to walk backwards, you character does not walk backwards but instead turns and walks forward away from the direction your camera is pointing. What this means is that you cannot backpeddle while fighting, because your character will be swinging their weapon the opposite direction. Since dodging is effectively the only defensive mechanic in the game, this makes combat extremely awkward since you have to use the movement keys to control the direction you dodge. Suffice to say, I didn't make it very far before dying and losing all of my starter equipment, including the 40-gold(?) sword I splurged on that took out nearly half of my starting funds. The combat does become relatively trivial once you realize that you can dodge directly through the enemies, so it's kind of pointless to try to dodge away from them, but if you're fighting more than one enemy at a time it's virtually impossible to win without dragging the fight on for exponentially longer than it should take. There's also no way to regain health at the start, so you've got to go through some tough times before you finally get the ability to purchase the extremely expensive crafting material to craft health restoration items. Yes, the combat is brutal if you're a fool who uses logic and attempts to use a sword as a sword. Fortunately, after a little messing around, the combat becomes completely trivial once you realize one simple fact: YOUR SWORD HAS A RANGED ATTACK. Yes, just hold the left mouse button and then use your attack buttons to shoot out little energy balls. I really, REALLY wish this game has some semblance of a tutorial instead of random notes scattered on the floor in random places (one of which nearly got me killed trying to read it when an enemy snuck up behind me). [b]Inventory System[/b] - This game uses a grid-style inventory system like old ARPGs where you have a limited number of squares and some items take up multiple squares. Either you like this style of inventory-management-jigsaw, or you don't. I personally don't, but if you're going to keep it you could at least make it so that equipped gear doesn't take up space in the very limited inventory. [b]Enchanting[/b] - There is a quest step that instructs you to find the enchanting table. The table brings up a UI with a slot for a weapon and a slot for a gem (which you don't have). No further information, now go to the trading post... [b]Trading Post[/b] - What even is this? Is it meant to be an auction house system? Does it only work for co-op players? There's an inventory tab to list items for sale, and another tab... showing items you've listed for sale. Nothing else. [b]Barber Shop[/b] - This is a clearly unfinished system. I won't bother elaborating, if you get far enough to finally access the character creator, you can judge for yourself. [b]Shady Vendor[/b] - Finding the Shady Vendor is the last step of the intro quest, where you can spend massive quantities of your extremely limited currency to buy crafting materials for things like health regeneration items and OH WAIT, THERES WHAT I NEED TO CRAFT GEMS FOR ENCHANTING! I sure wish this guy was introduced prior to the crafting tables that are useless without the materials he sells. [b]Levels???[/b] - In the bottom left corner, attached to your health and stamina bar, you'll notice a level indicator with a bar that fills up as you gain XP to increase your level. For the life of me, I cannot figure out the purpose of the level or XP, as the game does not appear to have a skill/attribute point system based around level. All of your stats come from your equipped gear. I'm still scratching my head about this one trying to figure out if there's something I've missed. I like the concept that this game seems to be going for, and I can appreciate that it was developed by a single person, but I cannot recommend playing it in its current state unless you want to do so solely to offer feedback. I do hope the developer continues to improve what's available, starting with significant changes to the UI and combat system, but being completely objective and judging the current state, I cannot give this game a good review. I'd be happy to come back and try it again after some updates and update my review accordingly.