Hey, thanks so much for the kind feedback!
I’ll absolutely use it to improve the game.
To address some of the dislikes:
I should point out that the story is likely the last piece I’ll look to add and polish while I continue to balance the systems. Atm, it’s simply an intro, 2 side quests, and whatever the NPCs say as a one off.
I will begin to sprinkle some lore into the bookcases (to give Artyr, Renault, and Aurelia in general some more history and context) and letters from NPCs on their desks will continue to be used for world building.
When it comes to the “escape” strategy, I totally see where you’re coming from. Without the incentive for exp, when you don’t need the loot or money, and with it so easy to escape, the choice to escape is an easy (and sadly uninteresting) one to make.
I’ll absolutely look to balance this aspect in further iterations by adjusting the trade offs.
As for the balance of the Relics and clues, I believe I have not sign posted or tutorialized this aspect very effectively yet. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
As a work around for now: The black stones will give you clues about what Relics do and the white stones will give you clues to strengths and weaknesses of enemies that can block your path.
Once you read a stone, you will be able to reread the clue it gives you by checking for it in your Key Items.
The Rusty Ring clue is next to the cave where you start the game and the Brittle Axe clue is found in the Mountain Pass area.
Looks like you overcame the Slime Army before getting the Brittle Axe clue so congrats on the sequence break! I’ve seen people use the Rusty Ring + Barb Garb to get past them which uh… was not intended so it’s always cool to see what “Keys” people come up with (as long as the challenge still feels rewarding, that is)!
BTW, have you completed both of Rel’s side quests? I’m curious as to what your thoughts are on that aspect.
Either way, thank you so much for trying out the demo and giving your feedback. :)