Victim

I love trying out obscure indies, I really wanted to like this. The graphics are endearing, I love the old-internet look, and the vibe hooked me immediately. But the problems arise the moment you start playing. This game is confusing, unfortunately far past a fun or enticing amount. Rather than feeling like you're solving a mystery and understanding more with each run, absolutely nothing is made clear for how to actually progress in any way. Locked door with no way of knowing how to even find a key, another locked door, another locked door, a nonsensical death, and then right back to the start. Never found a way to even see a glimmer of real progression, and I would've devoted more time to it if it felt like I even had a chance of getting anywhere. The confusing nature with zero explanation, while still being a roguelike, makes for a frustrating combination that sucks any potential joy out of the experience and only results in wandering around hoping you'll ever find a way to actually get anywhere. The problem doesn't entirely lie in the confusing nature- not everything needs to be perfectly explained and I enjoy some mystery with satisfaction of figuring things out. But this game tells you nothing and repeatedly punishes you for it. If I manage to find out how to unlock even a single door or get anywhere that even looks like some sort of progress, I may put more time into figuring this out. But with just how hopeless and repetitive it feels, its hard to find a reason to bother. If you were like me and saw the pictures and thought it looked interesting, don't bother. Hard to find it fun when every turn is just confused frustration spiraling into boredom.

I have put more hours (over 40 hours) into this game than the other person that Reviewed this game (that person played just over 1 hour) and I want to point some things out that that person gets wrong because this developer has put so much work into this game which is obvious to people that have actually played it. First of all, this is not a Rogue-Like. This game is an amalgamation of numerous genres that cannot be described and one of the most original and unique games in the entire game industry. This game is huge. There's so much packed into this game I can't believe it. From the first time I played it to now, the developer has added so much more to it and had made so many improvements to the game I'd say it is well worth the purchase in value. There's tons of mystery to this game. I never got lost and never found myself confused at any point. Key doors are labelled with icons and with a little exploration the keys are easily acquired. That said, this game is difficult and player death is a game mechanic, but with so many checkpoints and variety of different types of checkpoints, I had no issue with the difficulty and eventually got my way through each area by the skin of my teeth. Which was exhilarating in many instances. This game is far from repetitive. The game play evolves as the player progresses, and like I pointed out, there's a large variety of genres packed into this game and you'll never know what to expect next. Anyone who actually plays through this game will be constantly surprised. If you were like me and saw the pictures and thought it looked interesting, go for it. There's tons of value and fun in this game when every turn offers an enticing curiosity unveiling a genius work of art masterpiece.

high artistic merit