Backed this on Kickstarter with the goal that this would be a cross between a metroidvania like Hollow Knight and a character action game like Devil May Cry. And from that perspective, the game succeeds, right down to the main character having a purposely overblown part of their personality (Vernal is a very angry lady). There's a lot of freedom to how you approach combat and exploration that manages to keep my attention, and for that I commend the game as that's been something metroidvanias have struggled to do for me.

It's art style has a very distinct look that manages to feel familiar without blending in to the indie game crowd, and even during a certain section (and perhaps future sections, only about 4 hours deep at time of review) subtly changes the art style to fit the mood of the situation. Little attention to detail like that goes a long way.

The music does a great job setting the tone as well, jumping between ambient, synth-based melodies when out of combat and hectic Drum n Bass influenced tracks for combat. Hopefully the soundtrack gets an official release, because boy do I wanna hear Alstroemeria's theme without being in a state of panic.

Unfortunately, I do have a couple gripes with the combat. Dodging either doesn't feel like it travels enough distance or have enough iframes, because I find myself getting hit despite how tightly I try to time it. I'm sure I can get it down with practice, but it's grating all the same.

The block/counter system feels a little weak, since there's a slight delay on the block, and depending on the enemy, your counter will just miss. It puts the brakes on an otherwise very fluid combat loop because it doesn't feel very reliable, thus turning fights into a big cat and mouse chase.

Also, pretty much every time you get hit, you'll be knocked down and stunned until you press the A button. This is the only mechanic that I would call outright bad since it's just the block problem on steroids. Thankfully enemy attacks aren't super fast, but it makes combat really risky when one hit is all it takes to make it all fall apart. If the prompt was just any button and not SPECIFICALLY the A button, I feel like the combat would flow a lot better. Nothing sucks the fun out of a combat game more than being reluctant to engage in its combat.

As much as I've complained, I do think this game is worth your time. It's a solid 8/10.