I have played every game mode and gotten every collectable. I have dedicated 63 hours of my life as of writing to this game, so I will be writing a thorough review. But TL;DR, overall, this is a fun game to fiddle with and activate some neurons, with some genuinely challenging and interesting puzzles and game modes, a solid 7/10. If you enjoy logic puzzles, definitely give the demo a try.
The game starts off pretty easy and ramps up steadily in challenge. If you're new to logic puzzles, you'll be able to learn strategies in the early dungeons that will be very helpful in later dungeons. There is a timer, but it's pretty much a nonfactor as you upgrade your character, pick up consumables that refill the guts timer, and reset the timer by buying a meal in town every 10 levels. I disagree with those who say some game modes are unfair or don't make sense. It does take some time to adjust your approach for some of them, but they are all logical and solvable once you understand it. I honestly enjoyed the more difficult game modes, Doubt is actually my favorite. There are some helpful features that allow you to label chests as you solve the puzzle and open all the chests you think are correct. It's a very convenient feature, though I do wish the triangle for "uncertain" was in every game mode and not just a few.
The logic puzzles are overall pretty good, but there are some cons due to the procedurally generated aspect. Some puzzles are way too easy and some puzzles are way too ambiguous. Many times I've lost a run due to ambiguity in the puzzle, where there is technically more than one "valid" answer and you don't really know which one is the actual puzzle solution. Sure, you should be able to use your Logic Sense to detect when a puzzle is ambiguous, but it's still very frustrating to have runs end on a solution that was technically correct, but not THE solution. There are items that can help you get around this issue and the game straight up tells you that sometimes this happens, but when you're trying to solve puzzles as fast as possible, you don't usually have time to check every possibility and it's easy to miss potential ambiguities. I also don't really appreciate the jumpscare death screen when you open a mimic chest, but maybe that's just a personal preference. Another rather small nitpick, the game says that with higher difficulties, the variety of statements to deduce increases, and this is true. However, when chests talk about the contents of other chests, they only refer to gold and don't include gear or items. This isn't a big deal and maybe introducing those factors would make it way too hard, but it was something that came to mind. The points system is also somewhat of a mystery. I think it's unfair that time spent in menus or in town still count against our score even if it doesn't deplete the guts timer, and it also is frustrating that it you stop in the middle of a dungeon and then pick it up later, you get a penalty to your score for time being "unable to be determined". I don't like being penalized for taking breaks and attending to other things outside the game, though maybe there might be a programming reason for this, I don't know.
The "rpg/combat" aspect isn't that exactly, I'd honestly say it's closer to resource management. Enemy encounters are essentially gates that you can only pass if you're strong enough (opened enough chests for resources). There's a little juggling to do due to item durability, and I've had runs end where I've passed all the puzzles but wasn't strong enough to get past a battle, which can be frustrating. But I wouldn't really say it's as frustrating as losing to an ambiguous puzzle and it doesn't happen too often. Despite this not really being an "rpg", there actually is a wide variety of items to collect. Each weapon and armor looks unique, different weapon types have different attack animations and sound effects, and I really appreciate that level of detail. You can equip several different kinds of Gun in this game. I do wish there was more variety in the enemy character designs, though it doesn't bother me too much as combat is not really the true focus of the game.
There are reoccurring NPCs that also all have unique sprites. They offer all sorts of services, there's of course a shopkeeper and an innkeeper, but also a bunch of others as well, including a masseuse, a special shopkeeper, and others. Unfortunately, I feel like it's not really worth interacting with two common ones, the lottery ticket guy and the doctor guy, where you gamble money or health for the chance to get more. The random chance to lose a big chunk of health or money is usually not worth the risk if you do have enough money or health to gamble on their services, and I wish there'd be more incentive to engage with them. Though, I do like the personalities of these NPCs for the most part, hearing the doctor say "making medicine's my hobby" after nearly killing you is kind of funny, and rock collector guy is my favorite. The game in general has a sense of humor that I appreciate, the trophy descriptions are charming. There is a little story in this game, it's not super elaborate but it was still nice to have. The sprites in general are cute, and the more detailed portraits are very nice, if rarely seen. The music is serviceable and the themes for home and the shop are maybe the nicest tracks, though the more quiet and solemn tracks are not my favorite as they're a bit too "empty" sounding. The final boss theme is great but I find that I don't really get to listen to it properly as the boss battle is usually over pretty quickly, whether you win or lose. There is an unlockable "sound test" that lets you play the music tracks of the game, which I like.
The game is a little rough around the edges, but I still really enjoyed it, and I found the concept of a mimic logic dungeon really fun and creative. Despite being frustrated at times, I still kept coming back for one more run. I have been trapped in the logic dimension for 63 hours. Each run is 10-30 min long. I recommend this game.
