How well thought out was the design of all characters involved?
The hero has an absolutely amazing entrance and I like that he’s got a bow that can later on shoot magical arrows. The different types of enemies are visually impressive and it’s good that the boss Auriel stays on screen throughout the whole battle to provide extra tension.
How much fun was the Boss Fight to play?
Building the character up ready to fight Auriel was super fun but the actual boss battle itself at the end of the waves didn’t leave a lasting impression on me as I don’t think I saw him do one attack. I played a few times and each time was different, sometimes I won, sometimes I lost and every time was fun. I loved listening to the awesome sound track and I liked the look of the boss and how he taunts the hero at the start.
Rate the Technical Complexity & Execution.
I have never done an inventory system but it looks like it would be very technical, especially since it has gone above and beyond a standard system. The sheer number of different items from common to legendary are amazing and I love their descriptions like the bow made from wood that never touched sunlight. The different effects are equally impressive and I like the burn arrows the most which have a limited supply and once run out automatically deletes itself from the inventory. I also like that you have upgrades and that you have to tetris fit the items and you can even rotate them. The goddess blessings are a great addition too and I like that there are so many stats and strategies to win and alongside all the randomness of the rewards, it makes for a great game with a lot of depth.
Did the game include 2 distinct game genres and how well did they mash together?
Yes. This is a perfect execution of a stationary horde survivor genre mixed with an inventory management genre.
Was the game well polished?
Yes and no. The juice is definitely there, the volume sliders, special effects and the dynamic rain angles and so much more are beautiful. However, there are a few bugs (like the chest softlock on the boss), QoL things (like full screen and restart button missing) and UI quirks (the right pointing arrow for Expand Left) that if remedied would take the polish the extra mile. There’s also a few broken items like the cheese and Dawncharm which have incredible ideas but just don’t seem to work.