Disregard my hours played. I'm one of those people that will leave a game open for days without closing it. I purchased the game many months ago and I don't usually review them but thought this game was deserving of a warning for those thinking of joining EA. Going forward I will no participate in any EA game that has not been out for at least a year and the developers have shown regular progress. This game has been a lessor learned. It is unfortunate because there appears to have been a lot of love and passion behind this game to get it where it was at EA. Asthetically it is beautiful, the combat is weighty and engaging in a very fun way. The animations and voice acting is top notch. This could have easily been my favorite game. Unfortunately there has been virtually no progress made in the last year. I would consider the game a demo at this point. Despite the quality of the content there is very little of it. The developers are active on discord but don't say anything of substance since nothing ever makes it into the game. They provide no information as to what's going on, no updates, no road map, no timelines for updates, no patches and they seem to simply avoid the subject altogether. They acknowledged their communication isn't good but have done nothing to improve it. I still hope the game turns into something. I've seen better efforts from Indie studios releasing their first game. This is not this studios first game. If something unfortunate has happened to the studio that is prohibiting them from being able to work on the game they should communicate this to the players but in the absence of this to be honest it does feel a bit like a scam at this point. I really wish steam would do something to prevent shady practices from studios with early access. They're warning of by at your own risk isn't enough. I have a feeling something about this will be coming at some point.

Game has a lot of potential, the dev is a nutcase tho, check out his twitter feed lmao

About 9-ish hours in so far and MAN I'm blown away by the state of this game in Early Access.

First and foremost this is the type of game I love - minimal in direction, wide and deep in exploration. So many games these days plop down quest markers, logs, navigation arrows, minimaps, etc they have become exercises in mindless clicking. Going from one marker to the next with cluttered UI that absolutely rips you out of the immersion. Wicked is the opposite.

It feels like I'm playing games like The Legend of Zelda on NES all over again. You have "direction" in that you have to make it to the first town before the game opens up and clever use of level design ensures you will get funneled in eventually, even with exploring. Areas you've already visited are opened up even more after your first trip through as you are given quests to venture back to where you came from to find NPCs have moved, new enemies, more loot, etc. It's an adventure-exploration game where your curiosity is rewarded, a refreshing change from games that simply reward you with a gold sticker for simply following a dotted line. Nothing is hard to understand from upgrading the city Sacrament, upgrading gear, cooking, gathering mats, etc. It's all stuff we've seen before but it's tasteful and not cryptic. If you've played, even at a basic level, survival games then you will understand gathering materials. It's not intrusive and it's quite fun.

Combat is visceral and NOT hack-n-slash. It may look this way from watching videos but it is very much a game where you dedicate every button press. Think of this combat system that revolves less around the buttons you hit and more along the lines of what you do during combat between those button presses. A similar analogy would be something like Hotline Miami where the game unfolds not on the kill, but on the moves you make between those kills. That is where combat unfolds here due to you being dedicated with attacks, rolls, etc. It is fast and fluid but it relies on player agency and not a lucky button mash. Managing stamina seems hard at first but it gives you a nice ebb and flow to combat needing to pace yourself, think about your movements and wait for the right time to strike. Combat feels heavy, chunky - in the best way. Every hit has oomph, even spells and projectiles. There's a weightiness to it that is accentuated by the excellent sound design that lets you know when things connect. A testament to audio design when you can close your eyes and still see the combat unfold. The audio feedback loop is one of the best I've heard for combat in a game.

Visually you're playing a painting. That's the best way I can describe it. It looks like a living painting. Excellent animations and visuals throughout. Atmosphere is TOP NOTCH and adds a LOT to the world but at no point do I feel like I'm missing anything. Nothing is obscured, the screen is instantly readable at a glance, enemy designs have strong silhouettes so even in darker environments the lighting does a great job of informing you what type of enemy you are coming up against. That is so crucial in games these days and a forgotten art in most. Designs aren't just about pretty textures or variants, they are about SHAPE - shape that dictates the terms of the engagement at first glance and it works beautifully here.

If you're into games that don't hold your hand, let you explore at your own pace, respect your exploration with rewards and -fun- then throw money at this game.

I can't wait to see where this game goes in the future. Will be updating as major updates occur.