Souls Like Adventure - trebla012

Final Score: 1/5 Stars

The Itch.io page isn't very well-designed, with a minimal description and only photos, without any gameplay information provided.

Upon starting, there's an active menu with a pleasant and atmospheric environment. Unfortunately, the background thunder sound is too loud, and there are no settings buttons, either for graphics or sound. The chosen font (Cinzel Decorative and Cinzel Decorative Bold) isn't the best to use, as it gives the menu a PowerPoint look.

The menu also has three active buttons:

• Start Game
• Credits
• Quit

Unfortunately, in the credits, besides being in Spanish, only the original programmer is credited. The creators of the game's visual assets are not credited, which, even if permitted by the creators themselves, is unethical considering that someone else did the work.

As soon as we start the game, it's noticeable that it's far too dark. Or at least the spawn area is. It's not even possible to properly see the character we're using.

The HUD clashes with the game's dark atmosphere, mainly due to the high saturation of the health and stamina bars.

The loud thunderclap remains, again, and cannot be lowered at any point.

The rain is realistic, and in addition to the raindrops on the ground, it's sometimes possible to see the lightning flashing close to us. This makes the environment more solid and atmospherically positive.

The combat animations are good, with an animated trail and appropriate sounds.

There is no tutorial or area where the game's keybinds are displayed, which means I have to guess all the keys.

The first area is so dark that it's not even possible to see the enemy.

BUG: EVEN AFTER DEAD, THE ENEMY CONTINUES TO DRAIN THE PLAYER'S HEALTH UNTIL IT DISAPPEARS.

The enemy has no feedback, either auditory or visual, about the hits to the player. That is, the player only knows they took a hit by the health bar, and it's impossible to know either the enemy's health status or if the hit actually landed.

The game lacks any controller compatibility, which is a drawback.

The key needed for healing is never displayed.

Combat could be smoother with more visual and auditory feedback, as well as a less dark environment. Aside from that, the combat appears responsive.

Even though the character has a shield, it's impossible to use it, just as it's impossible to play defensively.

The roll animation cancels too early, looking janky at best.

There are collision bugs with large objects, allowing you to pass through some statues.

Aside from the overly dark environment, the map is well-constructed, and I sincerely hope it's not an asset. The art direction is quite solid.

The movement animations aren't properly adapted to the player's sword, as it always passes through the player's face when running.

Lock-On is functional and activates directional movement.

BUG: WHEN LOCKING ON AND ROLLING SIDEWAYS, THE PLAYER INVOLUNTARILY ROLLS FORWARD.

BUG: IF THE PLAYER TRIES TO DRINK A POTION WHILE WALKING, THEY GET STUCK IN THE SAME PLACE FOREVER.

I had to restart the game.

The boss is definitely easier than the rest of the enemies. First, considering their low health, and second, considering their size.

Because the boss is too tall, they need to be very close to the player to actually attack, and when they do, it's very easy to dodge their attacks because they are slow.

In general, Souls-Like Adventure, despite having good art direction, is a game that fails a lot in its mechanics. Something that should be essential. Being beautiful isn't enough for a game to be good. Above any artistic direction comes the actual programming and mechanics that define a good gameplay loop and good replayability. Which is not the case, as this game is still far from being a Souls-like.

I intend to follow this work and ask questions, and if it is ever updated, I would love to play it again and reassess it.

Souls Like - craven22

Final Score: 3/5 Stars

Well, I'll start by saying that the game's name isn't the most creative. A Souls-like game with the title "Souls Like".

Watching the trailer, you can see the game's basic mechanics, the gameplay loop, but I feel that in the cinematic parts, many parts are blurred.

The game starts straight to the point. No menu, no pause menu, no possibility to adjust settings.

The background music, besides being short, doesn't have a smooth transition between songs, which is reminiscent of those old Flash games.

There is absolutely no controller compatibility. This becomes a negative point that could be easily resolved.

The art direction varies towards Synty's low-poly assets, which isn't a negative thing, as for a solo developer, it ends up being a viable option to follow.

The lighting is interesting because it mixes the graphic patterns of Unreal Engine with Synty models, which brings an interesting atmosphere to the game.

Unfortunately, there's no key mapping, so I reckon the only option here is to guess the keys. CORRECTION: For some reason, when walking forward, the game's key mappings are displayed on the screen, with a horrible PNG of an Xbox controller, even though the game isn't compatible with the controller. Or at least it doesn't seem to be, considering I tried connecting my controller via both Bluetooth and USB, and it doesn't seem to want to work with this game, even though it's plugged in and working.

The HUD isn't very pleasant as it doesn't match the planned atmosphere. Especially the health and stamina bars.

The footstep sounds are strange, and most of the sounds don't fit the environment.

The walking animations are good, but there's no possibility of using sprint.

For some reason, it's possible to roll while standing still.

When using the sword, it's possible to attack normally with the left mouse button, but the combo is done with the right mouse button, which eliminates the possibility of defending attacks, let alone parrying.

The shield appears to be useless since it doesn't show up as equipped. I couldn't find any button that would make it work.

The game doesn't have visual keyboard binds; only the supposed controller binds appear next to an item.

There are clear grammatical errors in the game's text, such as: "Intract To rest at bonfire".

The combat isn't as fluid or responsive as expected. I'd say it's almost boring, considering the low health of the enemies.

There's no difference in animations between weapons, which detracts from the game's attention to detail, since an axe is handled the same way as a sword. Something that doesn't make sense.

The Lock-On is more of a nuisance than a help, since sometimes it focuses on the enemy furthest from the player, without the possibility of properly switching between targets. So 90% of the combat becomes turning the Lock-On on and off until it focuses on the right enemy.

The enemies glitch on literally anything. From standing still at the door like the well-behaved boys they are, to getting stuck on the stairs without moving, to trying to hit my character through the wall.

The mini-boss is weak, at least compared to the lack of weight penalty for the hammer item.

Since the animations are the same for all weapons, there's no penalty for using a weapon that deals more damage. Which, in theory, should be weight and dimensions. Not to mention that it's simply possible to spam combos infinitely.

My favorite part so far is opening chests and doors, being the most polished part of the gameplay.

The environment isn't anything new; it's atmospheric, but it just feels like a collection of assets thrown together without much connection. But at least considering the rest, it becomes pleasant thanks to the well-done lighting.

Interacting with bonfires, besides restoring health, doesn't really offer much else. It's impossible to upgrade anything with our Souls, much less travel between Bonfires, making the system somewhat useless.

The boss, besides being ridiculously easy considering its low health and damage, has an animation that makes absolutely no sense. A giant paladin, with armor and an axe on his back, but who moves and hits like a gorilla.

After killing the boss, there's really nothing to do; you're left with 11,330 Souls, all weapons unlocked, and nothing to do.

I think adding a good replayability factor would be making weapons harder to obtain, or for example, making the Sword of Mars a secret. This would encourage players to replay the game just to find the weapon they couldn't get.

Overall, it's still a very weak WIP, but with polishing and attention to detail, it could become a good project to have in the future.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I usually dedicate 3 to 8 hours a day to reviewing Itch.io's Souls-like games, averaging around 5000 characters per review.

I always approach everything impartially, as I believe well-constructed criticism is positive.

I'm also a developer, with limited experience (4 years), but with two medium/large-scale projects under my belt and a commercial project yet to be released. I know how frustrating it is to sometimes see our work not fully valued, either monetarily or due to lack of public exposure.

I hope you don't give up on game development. Besides Fourth Knight being the first project I reviewed, it's one of your projects I want to follow closely.

Regardless of your choice, I hope you're happy and can continue your work. If Fourth Knight or Golden Souls are ever updated, I'll be there to provide another review.

Cursed Souls - gxsoldier77

Nota Final: 1/5 Estrelas

Começo já por dizer que fico feliz por ver desenvolvedores indie brasileiros no mercado de Souls-Like. E tendo em conta que falamos a mesma língua, vou escrever esta review inteiramente em português.

Ao abrir o jogo, a transição entre o título e o "aparecer" da opção de novo jogo, demora mais do que o esperado.

O menu não tem algo realmente único ou pelo menos encontra-se polido. A música é extremamente alta e não há uma interação propriamente dita com os botões. Algo que pode ser resolvido de forma simples, ao mudar a cor do Highlighted Color e a Selected Color no botão do TMP em si.

Vejo a ausência de um botão de opções visto que a música é demasiado alta como dito anteriormente.

Assim que clico no botão de novo jogo, noto uma transição até que polida, mas de seguida, o meu jogo crasha. Algo que não se é esperado num PC de última geração.

Ao abrir novamente o jogo, desta vez consigo de facto iniciá-lo.

Ao entrar, tento abrir o menu de pausa no esc para verificar se o jogo de facto pausava, o que não foi o caso. Vi um botão de configurações, o que me chamou à atenção visto que no menu inicial não existe tal. Cliquei e fui enviado de volta para o menu.

No menu, tento novamente criar um novo jogo, e mais uma vez, o jogo crasha, o que me faz preocupar com o estado da otimização.

Abro o jogo novamente, numa terceira e última tentativa. Desta vez, consigo entrar novamente.

O jogo possui uma compatibilidade muito minimal com o controle, visto que nem ao menos consigo virar a câmera.

Não existe propriamente nenhum tutorial ou local onde sejam explicados os key binds seja com o teclado ou com o controle. CORRIJO: Existem mensagens no chão como nos Dark Souls clássicos a explicar as teclas do jogo.

A locomoção do personagem é extremamente janky e pouco fluída. O personagem não tem uma mudança de direções fluída, e simplesmente "teleporta" para a direção indicada.

Por algum motivo o personagem tem uma luz constante à frente, como se fossem os faróis do jogador.

O combo do personagem é extremamente básico com animações pouco memoráveis e possui um sistema de bloqueio estranho, pois em vez de funcionar por hold (segurar para defender), funciona por toggle (ligar/desligar), o que vai dificultar futuramente no jogo de defesa e nos parrys. Quebrando assim a fluidez e responsividade do combate.

O sprint tem uma animação estranha e parar de correr tem uma stopping animation mais desfavorável ainda, novamente diminuindo a responsividade da locomoção e combate.

É possível saltar e dar roll. Sendo o roll a mecânica mais bem programada da locomoção, mas que infelizmente leva o personagem a longas distâncias. O que torna o combate entediante, visto que o roll não é suposto ir de canto a canto do mapa mas sim apenas esquivar do ataque inimigo para atacar de volta.

A HUD do jogo não tem muito que se lhe diga. Boa parte das imagens pertencem à From Software, mas tirando isso, é uma HUD Medieval Gótica simples.

A animação de descansar na fogueira demora relativamente mais tempo do que o esperado a ativar.

BUG: SE O PERSONAGEM ESTIVER EM MOVIMENTO QUANDO FOR LER UMA MENSAGEM, ELE NÃO PARA REALMENTE, O QUE FAZ COM QUE FIQUE A CORRER INFINITAMENTE NO MESMO LUGAR ATÉ O JOGADOR SAIR DA MENSAGEM.

Uma coisa que surpreendeu no lado positivo, foi que existe um ataque para quando estamos a correr. 

A sensibilidade do mouse é problemática como já relatado em outros comentários. Uma deslizada é o suficiente para fazer um 360 à câmera.

Não existe feedback algum, seja visual ou auditivo durante o combate, tirando a animação do inimigo.

A direção artística é desconexa, visto que o ambiente é Lowpoly, a fogueira PBR, o personagem cartoonesco mas com anatomia realista, já o inimigo é um esqueleto cabeçudo cartoonesco.

BUG: POR ALGUM MOTIVO, O INIMIGO NÃO SOFRE DANOS COM A ESPADA MAS SOFRE COM BOLAS DE FOGO, O QUE JÁ QUEBRA INICIALMENTE O COMBATE.

BUG CRITICO: EM VEZ DE TIRAR VIDA, ATACAR O INIMIGO COM A ESPADA CURA-O.

Não existe mecânica de parry tendo em conta que o escudo é toggle e não hold, o que arranca totalmente o perfect timing.

O combate é pouco fluído e muito pouco responsivo. 

O diálogo demora muito a desaparecer ou a mudar, pelo menos mais do que a velocidade que um humano comum consegue ler.

A entrada da igreja até ao momento é a única que possui realmente música, ao que pelo menos é uma música agradável.

A animação do portão a abrir é muito lenta, e mesmo com tal já quase no topo, foi necessário esperar ele abrir num total.

Novamente, há um problema com a direção artística do jogo, visto que o Homem Velho que fala com o personagem do lado de fora da igreja é cartoonesco, já o Ferreiro que encontramos dentro da igreja é um modelo PBR Semi-Realista.

Tirando isso, o visual da igreja é atmosférico, e achei de certo ponto, bonito, tendo em conta a música calma.

O Ferreiro Peter é uma mecânica interessante do jogo, principalmente se estamos a falar de um protótipo pequeno feito por desenvolvedores indie.

Não existe propriamente uma animação ao teleportar para a vila, mas o portal pelo menos é funcional.

Novamente, o mesmo bug encontra-se presente entre os inimigos da Igreja e os inimigos da Vila. Ataca-los regenera a vida deles.

Até agora achei o jogo demasiado linear, sem termos muitas opções para onde realmente ir, sendo uma constante linha reta de ponto A a ponto B.

A paisagem da terceira bonfire é horrenda. Tendo um terreno em volta todo com a mesma textura, sendo este um terreno simples feito com a caneta de terreno da Unity.

A câmera possui colisões mal programadas, tendo em conta que ao subir a primeira torre é possível ver as coisas pelas paredes, sem contar que é necessário saltar no último degrau, o que faz pensar que o Capsule Collider do personagem e o Box ou Mesh Collider das escadas não funcionam muito bem juntos.

O sistema de travel é funcional tal como o upgrade das Estus Flask com o nosso Estus Shard colhido na Sands.

O castelo da Sands tem dois lados por onde escolher, mas com um inimigo igual em ambas partes. O que sempre acaba por tirar um pouco da linearidade do jogo.

O texto de morte da HUD não foi corretamente configurado, saindo das bordas. O melhor que podes fazer aqui, é tornar o texto filho da imagem na hierarquia do projeto.

O Lock-On buga totalmente com a aranha da Sands. Mas também é pouco útil tendo em conta que o personagem não olhar na direção do Lock-On, tornando-o inútil.

O mesmo bug que ocorreu com o esqueleto, ocorreu com a aranha. Não é possível ataca-la com a espada, sem que este ataque regenere a vida de tal.

O Titan das Sands tem uma animação falhea e pouco memorável, sem contar que o mesmo bug que ocorre com os demais inimigos, ocorre com ele, sendo impossível matá-lo.

Penso que as torres das Sands fossem suposto ser alguma espécie de labirinto, porque vi-me perdido dentro delas, com a câmera a dar um glitch constante na tentativa de me locomover dentro delas.

Mas nem ao menos é necessário ir até elas, visto que basta subir a rampa na bonfire das Sands e descer o muro, já que não há dano de queda. Assim é possível chegar ao Titan mais rápido.

Visto que não é possível derrotar o Titan, sou obrigado a desistir do jogo.

Em geral, o Cursed Souls é um projeto muito bare-bones, e um WIP em estado Pre-Alpha. Vejo que se bem polido pode vir a ser um bom projeto a lançar, tendo em conta que a história, por mais simples que seja, acaba por ser boa o suficiente para um Indie Game. Mas infelizmente, tendo em conta os de mais projetos que venho a avaliar esta semana. Não posso nem ao menos dar duas estrelas, pois seria injusto com outros jogos que avaliei.

Mythforge - coldteagames

Final Score: 4/5 Stars

Starting with the itch.io page, I noticed that unfortunately the map used in the gameplay is a single asset; I don't see any modifications present, but I will reassess this issue during gameplay.

I would also like to mention that the newsletter page no longer exists.

I liked the fact that there is a well-made trailer, which already gives the game and the page a different look.

For some reason, when I opened the game, it started connecting to my Steam VR.

Upon entering the game, it's possible to see a menu that isn't as well-designed as expected in an Unreal Engine game. The background is a .png that doesn't even relate to the Lordenfel map. So it ends up looking like just a generic menu. CORRECTION: The background environment is not a png but an environment, which unfortunately isn't animated correctly enough to be perceptible, but when I went to create a new game, I could see that the water was moving. It remains generic and unrelated to the Lordenfel map.

The choice of font for the menu letters wasn't the best, as it looks like a mobile game.

The music is absurdly loud, which made me automatically jump to the options menu.

Upon entering it, I found that there's no way to decrease or increase the volume of any part of the game. And the only options available in this menu are the general graphics settings.

When opening the credits menu, it's possible to see some credited authors, but the creators of the game's artwork are not credited. Especially the creators of the Lordenfel asset, the main map where Mythforge takes place.

The loading menu isn't particularly noteworthy, but it's well done enough to be pleasant.

The transition after loading is interesting; I hope this is only a loading screen for the beginning.

The graphics are in line with Unreal Engine standards, but the art direction manages to play it right. The character model is polished and doesn't have overly shiny metallic textures, which prevents a wet look or excessive darkening.

The HUD is simple, with health and stamina sliders at the top and item slots below.

For some reason, the inventory is opened via the pause menu, which doesn't actually pause the game.

There is no controller compatibility whatsoever. This could be a negative point, considering that Souls-like games are usually optimized for controllers.

Unfortunately, key binds aren't located anywhere, so the player has to click and test them.

The character's basic movement is well done, with an idle pose that interacts with the camera and a very immersive motion-capture movement.

The physics of the cape and fabric in general are well done, not piercing the body and not being exaggerated. They interact normally with the wind.

The body turn during sprinting is very well done, almost reminiscent of motion matching.

The combos are basic, but the animations are polished.

Fortunately, the movement seems very responsive, featuring the standard Souls-like game mechanics: Sprint, Jump, Backstep, Roll.

The roll animation isn't as interesting as the others, but it's a good start since it works.

There may not be a tutorial on the game's Key Binds, but at least there is one at the rest area near the Portal. In it, we learn about leveling up and the possible interactions with the Portal.

The game has a basic climbing mechanic, which is explored from the beginning.

For some reason, a symbol appeared as if the sword had broken, and since then I haven't been able to equip it anymore.

BUG: WHEN ENTERING THE INVENTORY AND UNEQUIPPING THE ARMOR, IT'S POSSIBLE TO BECOME INVISIBLE AND TURN OFF THE CHARACTER MODEL.

I had to uninstall and reinstall the game to see if the sword bug would be resolved, because, as I said again, the key binds aren't located anywhere.

Returning to the game after reinstalling, thankfully the bug is gone.

Upon pressing H, I discovered that for some reason the game's key mapping is available in a menu where it's never explained where to click beforehand.

The combat with the first enemy gains a positive point thanks to the character's responsive movement. It's not exactly fluid combat, but it ends up working thanks to the movement.

Neither in the key mappings, nor anywhere else, is it explained how to use the flasks. So, just try not to take damage.

Back takedowns work. They're not really worth it, considering the low critical damage, but they work.

Heavy attacks DO NOT break the defense of shielded enemies. So the only way to attack them is through the window they attack from.

The use button is disabled in the inventory, so there's no way to equip the shield.

The level-up system is functional, but I feel it's too easy to gain souls.

Aside from the loud music in the menu, I really enjoyed the game's atmosphere, both visually and sonically.

The sword parry doesn't exactly have a reward other than negating the damage.

Considering the bug where my sword would randomly break again and the game wouldn't explain how to repair it, I decided to give up.

Overall, the visual and sound atmosphere of the game is very good, as are the basic mechanics of a Souls-like game, which are properly programmed.

I'm sad to know that this project was canceled, because in its prototype state, it was already a very viable game conceived by just two people.

I'll take a look and test it again!

As I said, if this is a prototype, it's a prototype with progress. All games start somewhere.

I see potential in the project, considering you're also using an engine that helps with that.

If you eventually update the game, I'd love to test it and give a new review!

Death and Bonemarrow - therealcarott

Final Score: 5/5 Stars

This page is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all I've reviewed today. It reminds me of the old Blogspot pages, it's so well decorated, and something about it brings immense comfort.

The fact that the game has a solid and well-constructed story already increases my overall appreciation for the game. Not only that, but the fact that the creator made most of the assets used shows a significant effort to deliver a good experience to the player.

Upon opening the main menu, I'm faced with a dark, atmospheric menu, with a simple options menu, but the simplicity alone is immensely better than not having one at all.

The first clip before starting shows the love that went into the game; a simple cinematic, but one that already helps immerse the player.

One thing I noticed during the key binding test is that there's no block key, which, whether you like it or not, eliminates the idea of parrying and riposting.

The attack animations aren't the best. And it's possible to attack normally while the character is in the air, which is a bug that could easily be fixed.

Despite appearances, I couldn't get my controller to work with the game, either via Bluetooth or USB. Therefore, I consider controller compatibility nonexistent.

The game's art direction has its own charm; some things seem janky, others not so well-crafted, but something here brings a strange comfort, as if I already knew this game. It manages to mix what isn't so beautiful and turn it into something nostalgic.

I had to low the music extensively, considering it's a loop of at most 1 minute, which becomes irritating very quickly.

BUG: AFTER KILLING THE SLUG WHILE MAINTAINING A LOCK-ON ON IT, AS SOON AS IT DIED, THE LOCK-ON SYMBOL GOT STUCK IN THE AIR.

The pause menu actually pauses the game, another positive point.

The death system doesn't really punish the player for their own death, only taking them back to the last checkpoint. This somewhat alleviates the player's apprehension about taking risky actions or thinking about combat.

At least with the first few enemies, combat becomes rather tedious, because in addition to the animations not being the best for either side, there aren't enough combos or variety to make the combat fluid.

There's really no way to change the Lock-On between enemies, which slightly worsens the fluidity of combat with multiple enemies.

The second type of enemies (the skeletons) is better designed, having faster attacks that force the player to roll more frequently.

The lighting is by far one of the best things this game has to offer visually. The contrast of greens with grays and blues, and the overall lighting, whether artificial or not, is very well done.

The foot IK is a small detail that many don't notice, but to the eyes of a detail-oriented person, it's something that doesn't go unnoticed.

Compared to the skeleton with micro swords, the skeleton with the sword becomes much more predictable and easier to dodge without pressure, since it's as slow as the slug, but adds more combos to the attacks.

The first boss is very predictable, again due to the animations being of poor quality. Not only that, but the boss has a very small repertoire of attacks, with very recognizable patterns.

BUG: IF WE DIE TO A BOSS, UPON RESPAWNING, THE FIGHT DOES NOT END AND THE BOSS'S LIFE DOES NOT RESET. IT CONTINUES EXACTLY FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF.

I was expecting a slightly longer gameplay in line with the story, an expectation that was unfortunately not met.

In general, it's noticeable how much the creator loved both the game and games in general. It's a project that still has a lot of work to do before it becomes truly fluid and replayable. But it has both a very well-planned Art Direction and Game Loop. What leaves something to be desired, I think, is the game's combat itself. While it's not fluid or well-crafted, I find it fun.

Overall, I had fun with the game and didn't find myself counting down the seconds until I could switch to another game and review another, as has happened before with other games I've reviewed.

I'm giving it a much higher rating than the others, not because it's the game of the year, but because it's genuinely fun and the love that went into it is evident.

The Sourblade Sentinel - Souls Like Boss Fight - Tamsoh

Final Score: 5/5 Stars

First of all, I'd like to praise the itch.io page, as it's not only well-themed but also visually appealing.

Throughout the review, I will test both the QWERTY and AZERTY builds and note the differences I find.

QWERTY BUILD:

The beginning is straightforward, the two characters are close together, a standard Unreal Engine model, without much decoration, just the green, foggy environment.

The UI is quite similar to the UI of the most famous Souls-Like games.

We have a notable gameplay change, which is the ability to switch between characters. Something that, if well implemented in a complete game, would be brutal.

Something I noticed is that, even though the game was made to be played with a controller, even with the controller connected via Bluetooth or USB, the game doesn't recognize it, making it incompatible.

Testing the keys, I already notice a great fluidity in the character's movements, which shows attention to detail.

The game doesn't have an options menu, but honestly, that's not something you can expect, considering there's almost nothing that can be modified here.

It's possible to open a menu in the meantime showing off the game's key mapping.

The game starts with six different types of weapons:

• Twinblades
• Sword & Shield
• Dual Swords
• Greatsword
• Katana
• Halberd

The boss has a reasonable difficulty, thus fulfilling the game's loop, which is to defeat the boss in this way. Not only that, but it also fulfills the replayability, considering we can always test different weapon combinations for both characters.

The second phase of the boss is BRUTAL, with varied skills and again fulfilling the game's premise.

AZERTY BUILD:

Doesn't change besides the key bindings.

In general, even though Sourblade isn't exactly a Souls-like game per se, but more of a system prototype, I see it as a good basic system for a future game.

It fulfilled its promises and delivered exactly what it promised and showed.

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.

I'll be back!! I'd even like to eventually follow its development closely if you decide to create a Discord server for it.

Lost Souls - 9gazz9

Final Score: 2/5 Stars

Right from the start of the download, it's noticeable that the game's key bindings are in a .txt document, so I'm not expecting to see them within the game itself.

The game was programmed in Unreal Engine, which can be a good start, as it's reasonably easier to work with up to a certain point, but the optimization could leave something to be desired.

Upon opening the game, it's noticeable that much of the art in this game was actually generated by AI, which, if this is a prototype, serves well as a placeholder, but I think changing this in the long term would be interesting.

I notice the absence of an options button, meaning it's not possible to adjust graphics, sound, or keyboard key bindings. The key binding aspect isn't that concerning, but in Unreal Engine, an engine previously known for being graphically demanding, I think it would be good to have a way to choose graphics presets, both for more powerful and less powerful machines.

Upon entering the game, I noticed that the HUD was also AI-generated, which I don't think was such a good idea, since a simpler slider in the corner, if textured correctly, would have done a good job, but that depends on each artist's direction.

The pause menu actually pauses the game, which I see as a positive, but it's missing, again, an options menu.

The game lacks controller compatibility, which is a drawback for a Souls-like game, as most of them are played with a controller, or are more optimized for it.

I wasn't a big fan of the atmosphere, whether sound or visual, much less the intended graphic style. In Unreal it ends up being easier to work with semi-realism or realism, but I think post-processing work is needed here to mask the difference in textures between assets.

The mechanics are basic: attack, combo, jump, and roll. I think if we're expecting a Souls-like game, we'll probably focus on parries, which is impossible considering the game doesn't have a defense mechanic.

The chosen character model is interesting, but I feel the metal darkens too much in dark areas, becoming almost black depending on the angle.

If we're aiming for semi-realism or realism, I think heavier or more controlled movement would fit well here. I see Roll as very fast and the running animation as somewhat janky elements. But I liked the combo animation.

The first enemy is nothing more than a copy of ourselves. Nothing to criticize. But I feel that the combat is not very responsive or fluid. In other words, for the game's gameplay loop to be good and satisfying, we need to improve these points. And if we're in a Souls-like game, the minimum requirement is that the game has responsive combat and minimally fluid movement.

There is a lack of visual and auditory feedback in many aspects, especially when attacking and being attacked. It would be good to have at least an effect that confirms that we suffered a hit or vice versa.

The checkpoint is not infinite. That is, if we make a mistake, we rest once at the checkpoint and recover health, we cannot do it again.

The checkpoint becomes somewhat useless, as it only serves to recover health, considering that when we die, we are sent back to the main menu.

The boss has two types of attacks, and neither of them is really difficult to dodge or avoid in general.

I feel that if the boss had been voiced with a simple monster active instead of being voiced by the dev, it would have been better.

I feel that the window we have to attack is much shorter than the one we have to defend, and since we don't have a defense system at all, we end up relying on running away and rolling. This makes the combat system tiresome.

The Lock-On doesn't teleport from one enemy to another, requiring constant clicking to put on and take off the Lock-On.

Incredibly, I managed to get the boss stuck on the wall, and he couldn't get out because of a wall collision.

This made me give up on the game, but I managed to draw some conclusions.

In general, the game's art direction and gameplay are unsatisfactory, but I see progress if this is just a prototype. Working on it non-stop and applying the basic mechanics of a Souls-like game, I see potential in this project, and I would love to follow it closely and be able to play a stable version of it someday.

I'm happy when new solo developers take risks, so I take that into consideration.

I think the biggest problem must have been that I was playing in Windowed, so some text was illegible. It's probably that issue, possibly a mistake on my part.

Heiguli Challenge - Bumbasaur

Final Score: 1/5 Stars

From the start, seeing the AI-generated description and the lack of love put into the game's own page is already a major reason for discouragement. But I will proceed with the review as a passionate fan of Souls-like games.

We start with a bug; I run the game, and it starts with a gray screen. Reloading again, I can see a game made in HTML, with an AI-generated appearance. Again, a bad sign.

There are four difficulty levels to choose from: Easy, Medium, Hard, and GOD. The number of bosses changes with each difficulty level.

The game currently has no music or sound feedback.

The game has a simple premise: the boss opens a damage area, and the player chooses between attacking, dodging, parrying, or healing.

Because it was generated by AI, there are inconsistencies in the player's UI, with the keys almost glued to the player's UI itself.

What proves to me that not even the creator himself tested the game is that the GOD level only has 20 bosses crammed into a single space, opening up areas across almost the entire board.

Taking this into account, I don't think my review has anywhere else to go.

In general, the game's concept is good, but it's poorly implemented and sloppy with AI. If I were the creator, I would try to learn GML and apply this idea properly in Game Maker, since it has a reasonably good gameplay loop.

Silence Of The Ancients - Elzach

Final Score: 4/5 Stars

The game starts with a brutal art style, with absurd line art. The menu is responsive and the music demonstrates the suspense I expect according to the story description.

While the rest of the menu is responsive, I noticed that the Options menu doesn't work, or at least it doesn't seem to work for me.

Just like the initial menu, upon starting the game, the Close Game responsiveness also proved to be nonexistent.

The HUD is simple but has the essentials we need to progress, as well as a simple inventory.

The pause button doesn't actually pause the game, which could become a problem eventually.

Just like the menu, the game's art direction, for something made in 7 days, and for something in the current indie scene of solo devs, is absurdly beautiful.

As we walk, we have a tutorial course explaining the game's keys.

The game has good controller compatibility, being as responsive on the keyboard as on the controller itself.

I don't think low FPS is native to the gameplay, because it would somewhat disrupt the standard combat of Souls-like games, so I reckon this is a flaw in the optimization.

The game showed significant frame rate drops in fullscreen, being more optimal in windowed mode.

The game's atmosphere is something that easily grabs attention. Not only that, but the fact that the game actually has a story to follow and the surreal elements that incorporate it.

In terms of combat, I noticed a significant lack of fluidity and visual feedback, which is a bit of a letdown, since our focus in a Souls-like game is always on gameplay and combat in general. This has been lacking so far with the first enemies.

The idea of mixing mystery with Souls-like elements is well implemented.

On a technical note, upon death, the player continues to be attacked by enemies.

Sometimes the camera collision glitches, causing glitches and allowing us to see parts of the map we shouldn't through walls.

The gameplay loop is interesting, with the idea of fighting, exploring to find clues, and unlocking new parts of both the story and the map.

Unfortunately, due to some collision errors in the library tunnels, I ended up falling off the map and into limbo; fortunately, the game recognized this and flagged it as a glitch.

Sometimes you can lock onto enemies through walls.

The Ballroom Boss has a different look from all the other enemies, which makes it stand out. Its moveset is slower, but at the same time it's very easy to avoid and defeat.

Defeating the Ballroom Boss doesn't exactly guarantee any reward, so it makes it a bit pointless.

Sometimes the enemy's idle animation glitches, and it gets stuck in A pose buried in the ground as if it didn't have a humanoid animation.

Overall, I was satisfied with the game, considering it was completed in such a short time. I couldn't finish it due to a lack of visual cues on what to do next.

Aside from that, the gameplay was lacking in combat, but the visual polish was immense.

CorruptionCastle - Slapchickengames

Final Score: 3/5 Stars

Well, I've barely started the game and I don't even have time to breathe anymore. No menu, no introductory area, nothing.

Just active combat as soon as I spawn.

Opening the pause menu, I realize there's no way to actually lower the game's sound, as there's constant action music playing in the background.

When I open the menu, the game's key bindings are displayed, as well as the credits for the creators of each asset, which is good, giving credit to the original creators of each element.

The game doesn't have much of a story, at least not an introductory one; we know we're someone who has to liberate a corrupted castle.

Unfortunately, the pause menu doesn't actually pause the game, which can be a problem.

The game has minimal controller compatibility, making keyboard use more optimal.

One issue here is the lack of sound feedback from the surroundings, as well as the generally unresponsive and janky movement. Running has the same sprite as walking, the speed is similar, the attacks are basic without many combos, but there is a spell for ranged damage, which is my favorite attack because it does what it promises.

The Roll is problematic, as it sinks the character into the ground and takes the camera with it.

The use of bonfires, unlike in other Souls-like games, doesn't reset enemies, so it's possible to kill an enemy, return, reset mana and health, and continue as if nothing happened. CORRECTION: The use of bonfires does reset enemies, but with a kind of timer.

The Roll, again, showed a problematic factor: It doesn't guarantee temporary invulnerability to damage, much less the possibility of passing through the enemy. Making Roll the most useless mechanic in the game.

Suggestion: It would be good if the bonfires were further apart, because in just one part of my screen, I can see three bonfires at the same time. I think that making them scarcer would reward the player more for not dying.

Suggestion: The asset used for the protagonist's sprites is available here on Itch.io; the sprites for going up and down stairs would be good to use instead of simply leaving the character straight up.

The boss has an interesting idea behind it; I liked the effort invested in making three phases, even though the last phase doesn't change much from the second.

The boss has a problem with having a very large collider in melee attacks. But it's something that can be easily fixed.

I appreciate the effort of including a small cutscene at the end.

Overall, it's a game that just needs polishing to work, because if it has that, it will be a relatively good indie game. It may not be perfect, but for a solo developer project, I see growth. Regarding this project, I recommend introducing some mechanics that punish the player for dying and compensate for staying alive, as well as creating something that generates a game loop and makes it replayable.

Golden Soul - molodkrasiv

Final Score: 2/5 Stars

The first thing I noticed is that, unintentionally, I chose two games from the same creator to review! But that doesn't mean I'll be any less demanding or impartial in my assessment.

I note again that, compared to the last game you reviewed (Fourth Knight), there wasn't a significant difference in the game's art direction, which can sometimes be considered a mistake, considering that it seems I've only changed perspective, but everything else remains similar.

I also see that comparing Golden Soul to Fourth Knight, the publishing date difference is almost a year, which I hope has resulted in significant overall maturation.

This time there's a dedicated game menu where we can finally lower and raise the sounds, and it's generally intuitive. But again, the key mappings are missing, just like in the previous game.

For some reason, the button that should be for pausing, both on the controller and the keyboard, only exits the game, making it impossible to change the game settings within the game itself.

Note: Key mappings are displayed at the beginning of the new game, a strange design choice, but okay.

Testing the controls, I've already noticed some bugs:

• The canvas is poorly anchored to the screen, as most elements are almost in the center.
•  It's possible to lock on nothing (???)
• The character slides more than walks.

The point where the character slides instead of walks takes away a lot of the fluidity of the fight that could have been implemented here. The combos have good visual feedback, as does the roll. But everything goes wrong when we try to walk, and we realize we're apparently on an ice rink.

Suggestion: Add a backstep for quick dodges without the constant need to roll.

Right in the first room, it's possible to see a visual bug, this one in the statues, where there's an apparent gap in the map. Easily solved by placing an object underneath.

The camera has collision, which is a positive point.

The takedown animations and combat, like in other games by this creator, seem responsive.

The AI patrol is a bit sloppy; instead of staying in a Sleep State or a simple Walking Patrol, they just run around in circles on the same track. It's like a train.

Unfortunately, the gameplay depth is almost nonexistent. The first chest is empty with promises, and the first boss is defeated with a parry and a few hits.

The gameplay loop in this game is nonexistent. We have two types of enemies (a boss and a skeleton) and no goals or objectives. Something that, for a Souls-like game, ends up being tiresome.

Overall, the combat has good potential, but the rest of the mechanics leave something to be desired.

Fourth Knight - Molodkrasiv

Final Score: 3/5 Stars

Comment:

As is customary, I noticed that Synthy's 3D assets were used here. Which is never a bad thing, considering that for a solo developer, it's where you can get the best low-poly assets.

I liked the lighting management initially and especially the optimization, considering that not only in Unity, but also for a solo developer, it's sometimes difficult to manage optimization. However, I noticed that it was well done here.

The pause menu doesn't actually pause the game, which might make writing this review a bit difficult.

I feel it would be good to have a way to mute or lower the background music, which, besides being loud, becomes an annoying loop when listened to many times, considering the loop is essentially 30 seconds long.

I can see that the Canvas anchors are poorly positioned, since on my monitor, the Stamina and Health bars are almost halfway up the screen, instead of being in their proper original position.

Controller compatibility is very poor, considering that besides the lack of a tutorial or keybind mapping, we can't even open the first chest without using the keyboard, which also lacks keybind mapping.

I had to abandon the controller, since the only programmed inputs for it were for movement. This can be easily fixed in the Input Manager by simply copying existing binds and adding a new key with the controller.

Sometimes, the text in the dialog boxes compresses what it shouldn't and sometimes exceeds the size of the dialog box itself, which slightly detracts from the immediate immersion.

The atmosphere of the second map is interesting and immersive, but again the music loop becomes irritating eventually, although this time it's drowned out by the ambient sound.

The ambient sound is atmospheric, and considering it was done by a solo developer (even if the sounds aren't original), that's already a big step.

I missed a parry mechanic in the game; even though it's present, even with perfect timing between defense and enemy attack, the parry wasn't executed.

I liked the slow motion during combos; it makes the fight more fluid and responsive. But again, a parry mechanic would be perfect.

The death screen is good, breaking away from the usual and aiming for a more creative level.

I feel that the on-screen mouse could eventually be replaced with a crosshair, which would give the player more indication of where their attack will end, without seeming too intrusive.

I feel that the combat is fluid and responsive, but due to the lack of a proper crosshair, many attacks end up missing, breaking the fluidity of the combat, considering that the enemy attacks quickly.

Again, I missed a keybind mapping, because like all actions in this game, no bind is placed anywhere.

I feel that if we're going for more ARPG-like combat and less Souls-like combat, a higher stamina score for longer combos would be interesting. (Just a suggestion, not really a criticism)

CRITICAL BUG: AFTER GETTING THE FIRST BLUE GEM ON THE FIRST MAP, MY CHARACTER COMPLETELY FROZE, REQUIRING A RESTART.

I feel there could be more versatile character attacks beyond the initial combo and long-range attacks. Suggestion: Implement charged attacks.

One thing I noticed is that the character doesn't actually attack where the mouse or pointer is, but rather the direction the character is looking.

I feel we're somewhat underutilizing the mouse this way, considering that so far we've only used it to manage the inventory.

CRITICAL BUG: AFTER DYING AND RESPAWNING RANDOMLY, THE PLAYER SPAWNED AND THEN FELL INFINITELY INTO THE VOID AFTER A WHILE.

I feel the shield skeleton, compared to the first skeleton we fought when entering the first map, does absolutely nothing.

He doesn't parry my attack, he doesn't retaliate, nothing, he simply defended one of my attacks, missed his own attack, and died uselessly. CORRECTION: The shield skeleton has interesting mechanics; it can indeed parry our attack, and if we use the long-range attack, we can break its defenses.

WE LOVE YOU MR.SHIELD SKELLY

I'm happy that, unlike many solo dev games, the AI's Nevmesh is working correctly and seems responsive. GLORY TO GOD.

 I liked the variety of enemy combos; the slower, more unpredictable combos of the lancers and the faster, more predictable combos of the swordsmen were on point.

 I'm sad that there's no real punishment for the player to die, since the only existing punishment would be resetting the enemies. But aside from that, the player doesn't lose points upon death, making them cumulative and a simple dump, which consists of dying, killing the enemy, and resetting. 

 One thing I understood is that it's very easy to avoid conflict; just dash past the enemies until you reach your destination. Eventually, their Navmesh glitches, and they fall into the lava on their own. In the lava, they don't die, and they end up running around trying to find a way up.

 The existence of the Shrine was something I didn't expect, and I'm happy about its presence. Because it made the gameplay less tedious overall, due to the feeling of having a checkpoint before the boss battle.

WARNING: As soon as you open the Shrine and die to the Boss, there's no way back, as the Portal reopens when you try to return. So either you defeat the boss or you don't finish the game. UNLESS YOU DON'T RELIGHT THE SHRINE WHEN YOU RETURN FROM THE DEAD.

The Boss itself isn't as difficult as you'd normally expect; its attacks are quite avoidable, and if you use a long-range attack before comboing, it will not only take more damage but also not react for a few seconds.

The combos are always the same: 2 attacks, skill.

BUG: FOR SOME REASON, AFTER DYING AND RETURNING TO BASE, THE BOSS REMAINED ACTIVE AND THE SHRINE STATE DIDN'T RESET, WHICH FORCED ME TO COMMIT SUICIDE TWICE, AND CAUSED ME TO HAVE 3 ACTIVE BOSSES AT THE SAME TIME, WHILE THEY SHARED THE SAME LIFE.

Unfortunately, I ended up giving up on the game, since I went back to limbo, and because there's no save game state, I decided not to do it all over again.

Overall, the game is enjoyable and fun aside from the bugs, but it still needs a lot of polishing over time. Don't give up, because I see potential in this project. PS: I LOVE THE CAT THAT APPEARS AT SPAWN

Certain Death - Chaoticenter

Final Score: 4/5 Stars

Comment:

I liked the game's atmosphere, as well as the overall art direction chosen for the project. Unfortunately, in terms of sound, some parts leave something to be desired, especially the background music, which is not only loud but also impossible to mute natively, without any in-game options.

There is no full compatibility between keyboard and controller, at least in terms of visual input.

One technical bug I noticed was that the game's pause menu doesn't actually pause the game, as I managed to get killed by a Reaper while it was paused.

I missed some visual cues throughout the game. Or at least some direction given by the story.

The game loop is interesting, making it easily replayable due to speedruns.

But I didn't find it as scary as it could actually be, again, considering the dramatic upbeat music and lack of visual feedback. I feel like some polish here would help a lot, a jumpscare perhaps. Because I felt like death here is treated like nothing.

SOMETIMES (Extremely rare) the spike colliders don't work properly, but this can be easily solved by activating the stop damage trigger earlier. Because sometimes the spikes are already down, but the trigger remains active because the animation hasn't finished.

I didn't understand how the Reaper's system works; I noticed that it initially announces the attack, but besides there being no visual feedback, there's no active Reaper model, just a sound that happens to kill the player. After several attempts, I realized that the Reaper does have a model, but the damage collider or raycast is quite long, so the player will rarely see the Reaper up close.

My favorite enemy ended up being Eye in the last room. I feel that if it had been better explored throughout the gameplay, and the music wasn't so prominent, it would have been a great element of terror.

I had to restart the game because my torch went out and the game didn't explain how to relight it. Therefore, I couldn't return to the throne room to find the final key.

I feel there's a very short interval between the warning of the Reaper's presence and its actual appearance. This removes the surprise factor from the gameplay, which would be the basis of psychological terror. It becomes gameplay similar to Minecraft's "Dweller" mods, where the Dweller appears randomly, there's nothing you can do, and you simply die and lose the loot.

Overall, I liked the game for its simple graphics and basic gameplay. I feel that if the mechanics were better developed, it would be enough to be a streamable game, due to the replayability of always trying for the best time. BTW, I finished in 8:37 with 2 deaths.