This game reminds me of Zelda so perhaps I had high expectations.
no dungeons have any tools or equipment. Bosses do have heart containers, and town and fields usually have heart pieces.
For the first boss I pressed the attack key and parried when it did an animation.
For the second boss I pressed the attack key, walked up to it, and parried when it did an animation.
For the third boss I pressed the attack key and parried when it did an animation.
For the fourth boss I pressed the attack key and parried when it did an animation.
Now for the final boss, I tried to change my strategy up.
I pressed the attack key and parried when it did an animation.
Game done.
Edit:
I feel like adding a bit more to my review now that sodium levels associated with experiencing this have died down.
There are no exploration upgrades aside from a gliding multi jump thing. The jump is on enough of a delay that you can't gain height with it, with the exception of two maps.
Outside of that, every side quest and field chest is basically HP, or quest items for a fetch quest/trade chain. you can get upgrades to your defense and attack.
Dungeons are a series of combat challenges and extremely mild puzzles. the hardest of which was finding a chest in a maze, only because I didn't see it at first. You gain 3 keys during them, with the third allowing you to challenge the boss.
The boss fight is just a brawl, hit and don't get hit. Two bosses in the entire game have projectiles, and only one of them has a gimmick. the gimmick is moving away from you.
Parrying was added as a post launch update, and I'm not sure how you could play the game without it.
Enemies do not stagger or flinch, but they can be knocked backwards. You can cancel most actions with a dodge, but the attack combos you can perform feel sluggish and limiting, so the combat isn't pleasant.
Playing with exclusively the dodge at first was painful. like, hopping off of ledges by accident painful. While enemies could be dodged, whittling their hp bars were slow.
Parrying is faster as your defense is now your offense, but also has a cooldown that seems to be a second long, maybe longer. perfect timing reduces it.
here's the kicker though; Parrying sometimes just doesn't work. If you've hit an enemy recently, even if it visually seems to be in range, the parry will not counter the enemy attack. This may have to do with the enemy becoming invulnerable, not sure.
The parry will also not stun the enemy in any way, so you'll sometimes be hit with a follow up attack before you can parry again. You are probably able to dodge-cancel to avoid that attack, it just doesn't feel good to do so.
there is a sort of upgrade to the double jump, which makes you invincible to melee attacks while using it.
I was never struck while using it to begin with.
There is also fast travel. no notes, it works.
I was skipping out on talking about some other upgrades you can get from the dojo. better dodging, extra hit in your combo, making the potions you can buy stronger. The potion upgrades feel like they should be default, and the extra combo is nice to pump out a little more damage. didn't bother with the dodge upgrade as I just parried everything by the end.
When beating the game, you unlock hard mode. If this somehow changes the game dramatically, that might be worth a look, but the first playthrough was so dull, I'd need convincing to return to it.
I will be missing the 3 achievements. beating it on hard, with no gear upgrades, with no heart upgrades, but I don't think I care enough to do them.
The graphics, like most people said, are very pleasant. I do not care for the character's running animation, feels too stock, but outside of that, it looks nice.
