Poor Lucas and the Evil Duke

If you randomly stumbled on this game and you think it looks poorly made, I'm here to tell you it is NOT. There is a surprising amount of depth packaged into this game, and you can find items/spells/ect. that you can use to create up to five different loadouts that you can switch between on the fly. The enemies and bosses I've fought so far were reminiscent of the old games I've played in the past, and there is no shortage of creativity involved in their strange and spooky appearances. This is a hidden gem that is worth picking up and playing at least once in your life.

To get the elephant out of the room: this game is not for people who don't like their eyes challenged a bit. Personally, I find the MS-Paint-like look quite charming, and would certainly rank it above just another asset flip. So how's the gameplay? Shocker – it's actually good! First of all, this game is quite huge. Think Axiom Verge 2, with 2 whole maps to explore. And it doesn't get boring either. Progression is well-paced, a good number of different areas and, most importantly, really good enemy variety, with foes that constantly surprise you with new behaviors you have to adapt to. Your moveset is simple, but functional. You have a lot of control over your jumps and a very fast, speedrun-friendly backdash (not unlike Symphony of the Night). Each weapon only has 1 attack, but different weapon types have different attack speeds, swing animations with different vertical and horizontal reach, and recovery frames. Enemies will often require you to place and time your swings and jumps well in order to hit them without taking damage. It might not look like much at first, but requires a good amount of mastery and all in all works pretty well. And, best for last: the customization. You're allowed to switch between 5 different weapon/gear/spell sets on the fly, which is a great feature that should be used a lot. Weapons and gear can be bought but also drop from different enemies, and they can come enchanted with an element and extra bonuses. You can also learn a wide variety of spells from foes, I found 18 different ones throughout the game which you can strengthen by fighting more of the same enemy/elemental type. E.g. by fighting creatures with sharp teeth, your fang spell might level up and fire more projectiles, making it significantly more powerful against larger targets. To give an idea how these 5 sets could be utilized, here's what I used: [olist] [*] longsword (good mix of speed and range), holy-enchanted (good against undead/underworld creatures), gear focused on ATK, light ball spell [*] longsword, fire-enchanted (good against a variety of creatures), gear focused on ATK, fire ball / flamethrower spell [*] spell slinger set, staff + gear with the highest MAG stat, lightning spell (very good once it gets some upgrades, low MP cost, fast, good damage, can hit multiple targets) [*] Goblin Shocker that dropped with the MP steal bonus, so I can keep casting spells in any situation without relying on potions [*] stick that dropped with the HP steal bonus, so I can keep the health potions for when I really need them (can only carry 10 of each) [/olist] It's not often you're allowed this level of control over how you play the game, it made the whole journey very enjoyable. I played on Hard, and resource management as well as enemy strength were just right for me. This feels like a passion project, and if any of what I wrote sounds interesting give this game a try. A perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover.