I hate to give a negative review for what might be the developer's first game (at least under their current brand), but while it looks nice and is competently made, I also find it hard to recommend.
Or rather, I don't know who I would recommend it to. Because while it does a lot competently, it is also very straightforward to the point where I would almost call it casual. And there lies its biggest problem: I can't imagine a lot of casual gamers being interested in grid-based dungeon crawlers. And there isn't enough complexity or novelty here to keep people who normally play such games interested.
On the positive side, I like the graphic style and the wacky premise, the levels are competently designed (there are 10 of them) and everything works - I played the game start to finish (took 7 hours according to Steam) without encountering any bugs or other issues.
On the "what is missing" side, however:
- The game features a single character which is not a problem on its own but there also isn't any kind of character selection or development. All characters start the same and while they level up, they all level up the same. All the player really gets to choose is whether they will equip a ranged or a melee weapon, what spells they will use and whether they will use armor that offers better protection or lower protection with a mana increase. And these choices don't make a lot of difference in the end. All in all, there isn't much opportunity for role playing or very different playstyles.
- The combat system is pretty basic and, since combat is realtime, it also falls into the trap of many other real-time grid-based dungeon crawlers where you can cheese most encounters by attacking and then stepping away from the enemy before they can attack back (or step sideways if the enemy shoots projectiles). Using a turn-based system instead of real-time would certainly help with resolving this.
- There are some puzzles but they are really basic and often hinted too strongly. For example, [spoiler] there is a section of the game where a character needs to step on a pressure plate that opens a door and then get to a door before it closes. There is a plaque that says to "hurry up" next to the pressure plate. And there is also a scroll of haste right next to the pressure plate. [/spoiler] I mean, it's difficult to imagine anyone not getting the hint at that point.
- There is not a lot in terms of settings and, most notably, there is only a single save slot. Good luck if you find yourself surrounded by enemies and accidentally press save instead of load (almost happened to me).
All in all, I wish the game spent more time in development after being "finished" to add more complexity, specifically a more complex rpg system, more complex and challenging combat, puzzles etc. to appeal to people who regularly play dungeon crawlers.
