This is an indie soulslike made by a solo dev, and while it's very obviously an amateur product, it has some good ideas and competent implementation of the core mechanics. The combat places its emphasis on a parrying system rather than dodge-rolling, so it's closer to Sekiro than Dark Souls.
The combat is janky, but fun. Holding down shift will parry attacks, and if you parry at just the right moment your enemy will lose stamina. By chaining together a string of perfect parries you can knock out an enemy for a short time, allowing you to hit them for extra damage. Most enemies also have heavy attacks that can't be parried, for those you can dodge with space (but unlike the Souls games it's not a dodge roll, just a quick standing dash). Attacks are well-telegraphed and attack patterns are easy to read and learn. So even though the combat feels a little clunky, it's perfectly fair. Every enemy and every boss has consistent attack patterns, there's not a single unfair gotcha moment in the game.
Exploration, the other pillar of soulslikes besides the combat, is also pretty decent. The only way to improve your character is by finding red and blue orbs. For every three red orbs you can improve your attack damage, for every three blue orbs you can improve your health. Some of these orbs are on the main path you need to take to reach the bosses, others are hidden in optional side areas, so the game rewards exploration.
One major difference to other soulslikes is that enemies don't respawn. When you die, you return to the last crystal (basically a bonfire), but enemies you killed stay dead. You also don't get any experience or other currency for killing them, as your only source of powerups is the little orbs you can find (often guarded by enemies).
The game's levels are varied enough to remain interesting. You start in an underground dungeon, then enter an outside area, then proceed into a castle, and finally another outside area with an open structure where you have to collect several keys in any order you want. I enjoyed exploring these areas, but there are some amateur mistakes in the level design I have to mention. The final outdoors area, for example, has plenty of interesting spaces to discover and the previous area taught you that exploring off the beaten path will reward you. But there are some empty stretches of forest where there's literally nothing at all, not a single item to discover nor a single enemy to fight. And it's not just a small section, it's huge tracts of land with absolutely nothing in it. I thought "hmm maybe there's something hidden here" but then realized there's nothing and had to backtrack. And the underground dungeon you start in feels a little confusing to navigate because a lot of the hallways look the same.
Ultimately, the level design shows some good ideas, and some areas are genuinely good (the castle is a highlight), but there's still a lot of amateur mistakes. So you should only play this game if you're willing to engage with what's clearly one man's passion project, with good core gameplay but several flaws you just have to live with.
Speaking of flaws, while the controls felt intuitive and responsive, I often had a problem of mouselook not working after exiting a menu, until I clicked the left mouse button. Slightly annoying but not a big issue. Also, while the tutorial messages at the start tell you the proper keyboard and mouse controls, the control overview you can access from the main menu only shows controller keybinds. Pretty damn useless if you don't have a controller. But with a solo dev project like this, these are little quality of life issues you just have to live with.
Visually, the game looks good, but most of its assets are obviously bought from an asset store. That doesn't make the game an asset flip, because the gameplay and level design are all original. It's just another one of these facts you have to accept for a solo dev game like this. That said, the assets are used tastefully and they all fit together to create a consistent vibe.
EDIT: I have to correct myself here, the assets were NOT purchased from a store but modeled by the developer himself. I recently found his website while researching this game for a Mobygames entry, and he's an artist who makes his own 3D models. The models used in this game just happen to look a little generic, but they're original, not store-bought. My mistake.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the game despite its flaws and it definitely shows promise. It's a competent debut from a solo dev and scratches that soulslike fight-and-explore itch. It took me about three hours to complete the game, and a few of the bosses were actually challenging. I recommend this to anyone who likes rough but promising solo dev passion projects and doesn't mind rough edges.
