Well I started playing this game and here is my thoughts on it:
1. My first impression of the game?
R: When I first started playing Kleroo, I was mentally preparing for a normal rogue adventure (yes, I didn’t read which games you took inspiration from until after I played the game for two hours straight because it had me in a chokehold that I only managed to escape because of hunger). I was surprised to find out it had permadeath, which automatically makes me curse since it’s one of my least favorite mechanics in gaming. But even with that, it didn’t stop me from playing the game for a good while, and it was really, really fun to me. It made me think more strategically than most games I’ve played that is, until I made my team too OP by grinding on the first floor of a dungeon until level 6, with everyone having rare to epic equipment.
2. Gameplay Clarity?
R: The gameplay clarity was somewhat straightforward because I understood most of the logic to follow, but that’s more due to having played so many RPGs. Even then, I just needed to reread the instructions which were easy to find and rely on some trial and error. By the second time, it was enough.
Not specifically about gameplay clarity, but something I wanted to bring up: the weapons even the ones in the player’s possession have a tag showing how much money they’re worth. But I, for the life of me, couldn’t find a place to sell the items I gathered in the dungeons. Not sure if it was just me not finding it or if it didn’t exist. Either way, I’d like clarification on that.
3. Emotional Feedback?
R: Even before reading which games you took inspiration from, I could already notice some of the influences especially Darkest Dungeon, with the party system (RIP my first party, my underplanning got them bodied in the first level of the goblin dungeon). You nailed the addictive feel by balancing the challenge of exploring the dungeon with multiple safe rooms and healing rooms. (Though they did make me a bit anxious, since I thought they might lead to a boss battle, like Moonlighter’s healing pools before a boss fight.)
I really enjoyed that the dungeons can be explored without going in blind by that, I mean the symbols indicating what I’ll find in the next room. Though I can imagine some players would prefer a hardcore setting where that’s turned off. Just a thought it’s something I’d at least try once.
The auto-battle sometimes made me anxious because it didn’t always let my party follow the best tactic for example, helping a struggling ally against a monster. I kinda got over it by stacking them with good gear, but I was also curious about the possibility of a system where you earn points to increase a party member that’s tied to the player, not the party. That way, if they die, the unspent points wouldn’t be lost (while spent ones still go down with them).
Something else to mention was the forge. Since it worked with RNG, it wasn’t as useful as I hoped. But granted, I was speed-blitzing through the levels of the goblin dungeon and ended up with good or better-quality equipment mostly thanks to luck. I imagine in future runs, the forge will play a bigger role.
Progression at first felt a bit slow in my first run, honestly, and the gold gained early on felt kinda small. But that’s more a result of the risk/reward system you implemented, my lack of familiarity with the game (humbled by my first run), and my own planning. On the second run, it was far quicker, so from my perspective, it’s actually pretty well balanced.
All in all, it was a nice experience. As someone also working on a rogue game though without permadeath it was a nice learning experience. To be honest, it even made me consider trying other games with permadeath to see if I’ve been missing out. When it’s fully released, I hope it gets many downloads so I can see what comes next. If there’s any updates you can count, on me to give it a spin!