Fast-paced but accessible Souls-Like, and arguably the highest-quality entry in the genre to-date outside of FromSoftware's catalog (with only maybe the in-development 'Mortal Shell II' as the closest point of comparison, based off its demo), which cements an identity of its own beyond its immediate, blatant, influences via highly-tuned combat mechanics beyond a stamina-bar and dodge-roll, in addition the unique, visually distinct, setting replete with the accoutrements of late 1800's Europe, great voice acting, and immaculate soundtrack. There's a lot the game does well, and exceptionally so, in its gameplay and presentation, very much deserving its 'Very Positive' steam review score; but while superbly-polished, and nailing a very specific aesthetic for its world, has very apparent, pronounced, flaws that keep me from adoring it to the same extent as most other Steam reviews gushing over it.
Aside from the concessions of the Unreal Engine the game is built in, level-design is exceedingly linear, and without branching, to an extent I have not seen in other Souls-likes, or the Souls series itself ('Dark Souls III', the most linear in the series, feeling immensely more broad and open in comparison), much of the game feeling like following streets or hallways (that are very well decorated, and rarely look identical to one another) between the different zones, with the meager amount of exploration available almost always rewarding you with only a small variety of consumables or upgrade materials you can, eventually, buy from merchants anyway. Likewise, while a considerably more narratively-driven experience, with excellent voice work, the English translation/localization in dialogue and item descriptions is commonly phrased awkwardly, making parsing the exact function of more niche upgrades or abilities less-than intuitive. One such consumable item reads to 'temporarily restore HP', and instead restores HP over time; the status conditions 'Shock' and 'Electric Shock' are bespoke, unrelated, afflictions; loading screens are riddled with sentences such as 'Telephone is a new culture in Kraut'; weapon names often feel like uninspired descriptions than titles (ala 'Acidic Crystal Spear', 'Big Pipe Wrench', 'Circular Electric Chainsaw'); and this non-native syntax continued to be a grating point to my playthrough, though probably just ultimately a reflection of the limited resources of tiny team of Korean developers, that have burnished the rest of the experience to such a caliber that it's easy to forget the limited scope of the project and its means.
Regardless, a majority of what the game sets out to do is done better than not, by a massive margin. Difficulty felt lacking - perhaps because the game encourages at least a NG+ playthrough to see different permutations of its story, prompting you immediately once you hit credits, or perhaps because the previously mentioned 'Acidic Crystal Spear' I personally leaned on shreds through the base NG content when built for - falling short of a lot of my specific preferences for particular genre of Action-RPG, but what's here remains a worthwhile, if more beginner-friendly, experience that has eased FromSoftware's stranglehold on polished Souls-likes, if an introduction to the genre or variety within its specific niche is what's desired; albeit one that begrudges going on sale, even years post-release.
