Tetsuken - Ambos7185
Final Score: 3/5 Stars
This is the first collaborative project I'm reviewing today, and I'll start by saying that I liked the description from itch.io itself and have high expectations for the game.
In the initial loading screen, I already see that an honest question was raised about the presence of AI in the game, and I thank you in advance for the blunt honesty.
The menu has a pleasant, calm, and serene visual, but I think it lacks life on the left side. I think adjusting the post-processing to something brighter and changing the time of day from 12:00 to sunrise or sunset would give the menu a new lease on life. CORRECTION: It was the graphical issues; when I put it on Epic, I see that the menu is beautiful. Honestly, I CONGRATULATE you on the menu.
Something that is absent in many indie games on Itch.io, but is present here, is the game's options button. This Options menu is very complete and functional, and it's possible to change the essentials.
I feel that with such a beautiful menu as the one you created, the loading menu doesn't do it justice.
The initial intro is generated by AI, and I understand that due to potential budget constraints, I honestly believe that. But I feel that in the long run it would be interesting to invest in some artwork that could benefit you in that regard.
The game appears polished enough, even featuring a micro cutscene after the introduction, which many would consider unnecessary, but in my opinion, it's a good thing considering the attention to detail.
Unfortunately, the character model doesn't quite live up to the beautiful visuals, as both the hair and eyes have some flaws. The eyes have strange colors and a lifeless look, and the hair has many visible flaws.
BUG: The menu apparently isn't saving settings between the menu and the game, because upon entering the game, the graphics reverted to the minimum and it was necessary to manually change them again.
Unfortunately, some UI anchors weren't very well done, as the potions and a certain part of the tutorial are outside the comfort zone of some monitors.
Suggestion: Make the tutorial video available the first time the player enters or leaves the boat if it's a New Game. CORRECTION: I spoke too soon.
The combat feels a bit janky in certain parts. The animations are decent, but something slows down the combat.
I liked Blade Mode and felt it made the fighting more fluid in a way.
The game has no controller compatibility whatsoever, which can be a negative, as most Souls-like games are optimized specifically for controllers.
I liked the fact that the archer runs away from the player to gain distance, unlike many games that make the archer want to engage the player up close.
I felt there wasn't much punishment for the enemy for being parried, nor much reward for the player for performing a parry.
I miss feedback on certain issues, especially when taking a healing flask (there's no animation) and some text confirming that the game was saved when interacting with the statue.
The map is quite linear compared to other Souls-like games, and it's rare that I don't encounter an invisible barrier preventing me from reaching a clear path.
At least with the graphics on Epic, there's a huge amount of ghosting when the character moves.
The game's difficulty level is reasonable, but I feel the enemies are also very linear and avoidable. I can just run, and if I'm outside their arena, they stop following me. The enemies are limited to one area and only that area, instead of accumulating.
The Japanese atmosphere is beautiful, but the shiny character with visual bugs leaves much to be desired. I think if they change the model, it will make the game more visually appealing.
I noticed blood constantly floating when attacking an enemy many times.
During the General Kotsumen boss fight, the spawned samurai remain in a constant patrol state, not attacking the player. And the boss, besides being janky, has recurring bugs.
The arrows don't do any damage, either to the Boss or the standard Samurai.
I accidentally glitched the Boss to the point where he also got stuck in infinite Patrol State; all I had to do was walk forward.
For some reason, in the ambient sounds, it's sometimes possible to hear a helicopter.
Overall, the game has the potential to be a good gem here on Itch.io, but the limited, janky, and linear combat really ruins it. The story is relatively good but poorly utilized. I think if they continue working on this game, they'll achieve a good result.