Filiy Eclipse

This game reminds me why I enjoy playing games. I like experiencing new things, in weird places, and approaching a game on its own terms in a way I enjoy. Filiy Eclipse is an odd sort of game. Its style reminds me of Shareware games in the 90s on DOS, but in a way that I think is very charming, and at times even impressive by what it pulls off. The controls are similarly strange, buggy, even. The trigger buttons don't really properly work (I couldn't hold guard on RT and had to rebind), you have a massively high jump that's very committal, and your attack mechanics are fighting game based. You have DP inputs, quarter, half circle inputs. There's an interesting buffer at play, and you grow your skills over time. EDIT: The dev fixed the issue I had with the triggers. I can only hope they can figure out why the game crashes for some frequently. Igavanias (Aria of Sorrow, Symphony of the Night, Bloodstained), Fortune Summoners, Tales Of, DOS gaming - it reminds me of a lot of games but most importantly it feels wholly unique. Just by the main character alone with the outrageously big feet, or the simplistic designs of his companions and the weird sci-fi fantasy world. There's a lot I enjoy about this game and I'm not even finished yet. I spent at least an hour playing with the controls. If you want to play something stranger, I really recommend Filiy Eclipse. EDIT: I beat the video game. It's excellent. I think like many games the back half can feel rushed, or not as baked as the front part, and while Filiy Eclipse may have a bit of that, I think I can say that I really enjoyed everything this game does and I would want nothing more than a sequel. Every single lore piece of this game is explained in some way, in a way that isn't very common for exploration platformers, in a setting that is very strange with characters that are even stranger. But still, I enjoyed every boss fight, every odd area, and most of all I enjoyed something I didn't touch on in the original part of the review: There are SO many skills and SO many weapons. It's really really fun to fight new tiers of enemies because you get to see what new weapon you'll find. There are many areas of the map that have unique skills you can't get anywhere, and it changes up the way you play in a big way. My favorite thing this game has is GRAPPLING. Because yes, you can grab an enemy and slam them, bunt them, or pincushion them. It's incredibly satisfying and the one problem with grappling is that you can't do it to most bosses. I would've liked it if you could do it like in DFO where a grab attack may not actually GRAB them but at least it does a chunk of damage. Here, no such luck, but the beauty is that you can change them whenever you feel like it. BETTER yet, you can switch between two loadouts of your skills at any time, I only wish you can switch loadouts AND your weapon immediately but it's fine that they're two separate buttons. The biggest downside is definitely the translation. Although, it is also a bit of an upside. The translation isn't incomprehensible, not that much anyway. It has a lot of high concept lore with very awkward names that I can only assume was translated literally rather than with much consideration for what English speakers can understand. Like, I know the partner "Fuwafuwa" is a sound effect for fluffy in Japanese, and I can only assume similar puns was made for the other Friends. I don't know if 'Filiy' is also a pun, or why some characters have names like Death=Adder from Golden Axe where their names are spelled with an equals of two names. But, I know enough about the lore of the world you're on, who you are, and why... most things... happen as they did. And the game does it's damnedest to make it easy to understand with two full codex dictionaries on the lore. I experienced one crash and the map button still doesn't work that great for me but it runs really well otherwise. I can't recommend it enough. I can only hope some online guy or a community can see this game for what it is. Because, it's really cool. ALSO (Spoilers for Ending) [spoiler] There's a Vergil-style rival fight and it is the coolest ♥♥♥♥ ever I love that kind of thing, inject it into my veins, you can even grab the bastard and he heals mid-fight like you do it's great, love it. [/spoiler]

I found this due to Steam recommendations. The demo intrigued me enough to give it a go, and I'm very, very happy that I did so. This game makes an interesting (positive) set of choices that I don't believe I've seen executed in quite this way before. You don't get levels as a whole. Instead, you get per-stat levels. HP, AP (magic), Str, Magic, Def, Mind (magic def). Your stats increase based on usage and increase in levels individually. HP increases when you get hit. AP when you use a magic skill and it hits. Def when you take hits, and so on. It's easy to understand. A nice benefit of this system is that, if you die to a boss battle, you've been hit and thus have a little more hp. There's a config option to turn on the ability to see your stat increases. I highly recommend turning that on and leaving it on since it's not cluttering to the screen. For the fighting, you get scrolls that you can assign to different move patterns. One of them might be up - right - Z. There's other move combos. I'm not super into fighting games, but the patterns were easy enough that I could pick it up. Your skills, again, get better with more usage. Fighting itself is straightforward. You've got your attack, but also several moves you can choose to have, or maybe you just say forget the skills. There's different weapon types that have different feels to them *as well as* different ranges. You can pick three at a time and hit A to fast swap between your weapons, and there's a moveset swap as well (I didn't use that so much). You can upgrade your gear too, which is neat. Some of the gear confers resistances of one kind or another. The map has many places to explore, many secrets to find. It's structured in a way that's easy to remember, and I say that as someone that frequently gets lost. The different places have different feels to their layouts, which I like a lot. There's checkpoints and a teleport system that you get access to early on. It's got great QOL for the size it is, which I appreciate. It's unique and charming, and I'm very happy I found it. :)

The other reviews put it well, this is something unique and nice :)

the station just feels so alive! its interconnected in a way that is wildly clever and weaving back and forth through its various rooms and facilities is fascinating. the way the story unfolds through little details and logs and interactions complements the exploration. way more depth here than i ever would have thought, and using fighting game inputs for combat skills works really well!

A lore rich indie action platformer with solid depth, but also floaty controls, clumsy design choices, and recurring crashes that ruin the experience. Before the start of the game, you can choose between three difficulty settings. They are fairly similar, and aside from enemy strength, the biggest differences are how much money you lose upon death and altered attack patterns for some enemies. Everything else remains the same, and there are no secrets or extra achievements tied to completing the game on the hardest difficulty. While gamepad support is available, playing with the analog stick is practically impossible. The sensitivity is far too high, and unless you push the stick perfectly left or right, even the slightest deviation will cause the character to crouch or defend. Crouching is especially frustrating because it also makes you fall through platforms. As a result, you are forced to use the direction pad for movement. Unfortunately, this does not fix the overly floaty controls. The issue becomes most noticeable when fighting flying enemies, as they often move away before you can land a hit. You cannot turn while airborne, and attempting precise running jumps on moving platforms quickly turns into an exercise in frustration. Thankfully, the rest of the controls function well. You have a jump and an attack that can be charged briefly for stronger hits or modified using up and down inputs for different combinations. There is also a defend button to block damage and a quick step backward to dodge attacks. Jumping is pressure sensitive, meaning a short tap results in a small jump, while holding the button produces a higher one. Your character can grab ledges and pull themselves up, which removes the need for perfectly timed jumps. The gameplay is an action platformer with light role playing elements that mainly revolve around gear and character stats. There are no levels or skill trees. Instead, stats increase based on how they are used. For instance, dealing damage raises your attack, while taking damage increases your health. Actions fill a progress bar, and once it is full, the related stat increases by one. Most actions affect multiple stats at once, so grinding a single attribute is rarely necessary. In fact, grinding is not even possible against weaker enemies, since you gain nothing if your character is already too strong for them. These enemies almost always drop a chest containing new gear instead. There is a large amount of equipment, and you will frequently open the equipment menu to compare new loot with what you already have. Alongside weapons, there are armor pieces, footwear, earrings, and rings. Improvements are clearly shown through plus or minus indicators next to the four main stats, and some items include special perks such as increased critical chance or improved defense. Weapons are divided into three categories, slashing, thrusting, and crushing. This distinction matters because certain enemies are more vulnerable to specific weapon types. Some weapons also have elemental properties, which can further increase effectiveness against particular enemies. Enemies belong to several categories such as beast, insect, plant, and others. In practice, however, you rarely need to worry about exploiting these weaknesses, since all weapons still deal damage. Learning enemy affinities is also unnecessarily cumbersome. You must first open the bestiary to see an enemy’s type, then open another menu to check which element counters it. While icons do appear next to enemy health bars, you still need to recognize and remember what they represent. The game includes an extensive codex that tracks almost everything. In addition to enemies and elements, it contains entries for items, lore about the world, and information gathered from signposts scattered throughout the environment. New entries unlock automatically when you encounter something for the first time. The map gradually reveals itself as you explore, showing its exact layout. Since the map uses a grid system, areas are uncovered in small squares rather than revealing an entire room at once. Important locations such as shops and save points are clearly marked, and you can place your own markers to remember spots with unreachable treasure. Save points are rare, but they allow you to heal, fast travel between discovered save locations, and store unused items. Overall, this is a rough indie experience that demands a great deal of patience and stubbornness to look past its flaws. The world is decently sized and rich in lore, but you will have to tolerate several design choices that may not appeal to everyone. Sadly, all of this becomes meaningless due to a random “error 13” crash that can occur whenever you switch screens. There is no discernible pattern to it, and it appears entirely at random. With no autosaving and save points spaced far apart, you can easily lose minutes or even hours of progress. It is a real shame, because you want to give the game a chance, but the game does not return that goodwill.