Okay, I'll take honor to write first negative review about this game on Steam because it really needs to have one. I can see how half of positive reviews are people who don't know full crime of this game, but nobody treats it as "bad".
Let's begin with most obvious part - this game is Megami Tensei clone, stealing main gameplay feature of recent games fights known as PRESS TURN system. As it - you crit or hit "elemental weaknesses" and can continue with your next char to spam more skills, up to doubling your actions. More specifically - story and gameplay acts as sort of fanfiction to Digital Devil Saga RPG duology, but with some Nocturne and Persona 5 stuff thrown in. Gameplay should be not copyrighted by any means, but to make for shameful steal you need to add your own concepts. Let's check what game does:
1. Game adds second layer of "action points" in form of four types, which determines if you can use some skills at all. Yeah, it's kinda good and original system all right, but it also makes new skill gain too complex and random, if you aren't lucky enough with "spin" to get new skill of your type/level. Also, balance of skills is kinda weird for now, but it's alpha, so...
2. There is no fusion or talk options in game, you are getting new party members and skills from one-armed bandit during events or by sacrificing allies or by abducting/butchering last surviving enemy in battle for one of six skills. Sounds cool and nice, but then you realize game can make guy you wanted to butcher kill themselves by throwing powerful attack into your pal with reflect, bosses become free kids to join your caravan with lowered stats and nerfed skills after you take them to party (for balance purpose, of course, but still) and game treats your default red shirt guy like equal to big gun guy, meaning sometimes you can trade weakling for game-breaking item or skip very cool items because you got your last cool guy in team for sake of more "crystals" in battle. It's not roguelike, it's roguelite, so only solution is to reroll and/or farm.
3. Good RPG stuff like exploration or meaninful dialogues are thrown out of window, all you get is events which have nearly no downside or meaning to them (rare risk, most are "get red or blue action point"). Enemies shout and use profanity in battles by random, beg with items by random - it kinda looks lively, but not to level of last SMT/Persona. Biggest fun killer for me? Game utilizes Hinduism terminology, but all stuff around is your typical sci-fi fantasy cyberpunk kitchen with not-very-remarkable-designs. And as I understood you need to pay with "spins" to unlock their "lore" which does nothing, but adds "immersity" in game. Yikes, without any actual "free" lore from start this is giving me detachment, unlike Slay the Spire or Darkest Dungeon (game from which some features, like corpses during battles are inspired from).
So can you see how game solves stuff and makes it stand out? Farm spins to solve all problems! Want some lore? Farm more spins! Bad skill choice? Farm more spins! Oh, and like good flash game, you get free stuff for joining community? Isn't it cool? All this makes game stand as too similar to Dx2, free mobile of SMT setting. There is even similar mode in that game which was out before this game was seemingly concepted. I played that and it was more forgiving with bosses and tactical with other encounters than this game. Here, I found no option to see enemy intent (should I guard? should I attack?), all simple encounters were solved by using random skill with "weak" mark on it and most bosses were solved by feature of "demonform". What is this? You sacrifice your pals to make your protag go into "boss mode" for few more turns . Last save throw before losing which is succesful if you are lucky to have skills boss weak to. Or you can just flee.
So, game took frustrating parts of MT and enchanted them in masochistic and simplier way you will have fun only if you are addicted to PRESS TURN system or didn't hear about that at all, or you just can't afford to "play real Sheen Megumi Tensai game". There is no interesting story to follow, gameplay is shallowed version of MT games, "rogue" part is weak for now (I can't feel myself motivated to get into another round of RNG shenanigans) and all random screw-ups solved by another random option to spent some spins. Well, thanks at least for not having debuffs with random chance.
Final nail to write this review negative for me was protag part. You see, you start with Bounty Hunter, masked human(?) which can act as your avatar regardless your sex,gender,race and all other stuff. Ideal SMT avatar. Then in first event enters Marty (Mary?) Sue of dev with name set as their own which suddenly takes control of party, acts as protag powerhouse and stays as this for rest of game presumably. You need to farm Spins to rename them. You can't customize them outside of skills. Hey, I thought I can feel myself immersed for a bit, not to be pointer of sudden dev's self-insert character.
But you can customise. Your gender, in "profile" setting. Is it affecting gameplay somehow? Is it affecting UI or pronouns somehow? I don't see anything like that now. Maybe it's base for something more bigger and cooler in next updates, but it still feels weird. Like a cheapest way to get more LGBT fanbase in game which is not related (yet) to relationships or sex in any way. Maybe I can use my imagination for that side of protagonist, not functionally useless option in settings?
As it stands now, it's expensive fanfic on DDS in which dev put their soul and mind, but forgot to add enough things making it really enjoyable, fair or original. It's EA for now, so there is room for improvment, but little calls like choosing priority of self-promotion (in your own game, but still), making "adult" stuff which sounds kiddish and adding weird options over actual quality or balance of game makes me wonder if this project will make this out of shadow of other games in genre.
