Gameplay - 6/10 Introductory objectives (i.e. find a weapon, find a vendor) would have been handy. Clicking menu items launches the game, and hitting ESC to go back doesn't work in chests, and seems to launch the pause menu in Vendors. Every step seems to cause damage, discouraging exploration of bigger rooms. It was common for me to get several vendors in a row with over-costed items which would get me killed because of the footsteps causing damage, that mechanic may make it unbeatable. After getting some equipment and finally fighting the first boss, there is some skill expression in back pedaling to dodge attacks and finding better equipment and healing items can feel rewarding at times. It plays similar to the old "first person" games from DOS/Win 3.1 era and I really enjoy that about the art direction.
Atmosphere - 8.5/10 The sprites do a great job of creating a gloomy visual and though the tiles and walls are repetitive, the overall visuals tie together nicely. The music matches the retro vibe, sounding like a "cleaner" version of the older DOS/CLI games of the 80's and early 90's, shifting to match the pace of the combat and general exploration. Vendor music would have been nice.
Overall - 7.5/10 - The core concepts and mechanics are there but there are some game breaking issues.
madmanmatt123
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