I need to vent.

[Shrinkshooter]

I don't expect many people to agree with me but I just need to get these things off my chest because the annoyance while playing is constant.

There's a very fun and challenging gameplay loop here, but it's buried beneath a bunch of small things that are irritating but compound together to really hold back the whole experience for me. It's like gunning it in a sports car while there's an anvil chained to the back.

1. The platforming sections are just bland tiresome padding. It's fine at first, but after a couple hours it has worn out its welcome. I literally never want to do platforming any more, I only want to do combat. The platforming just isn't fun, it's simply there.

2. Chai's forward movement/momentum makes the platforming an even more tedious experience. I've seen others complain about it so I know it's a common negative experience. The guy jumps six feet up but can barely cover a foot of horizontal distance with a jump. It just FEELS so bad. No, air dashing doesn't solve this, the solution is greater horizontal aerial speed. I mean, even on the ground Chai is slow, but at least you have 3 dashes.

3. Some of these boss fights are also exercises in irritation. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's because some of the time I can't even decipher what's happening on screen. This is an exception, not a rule, but at times there's just visual noise on the screen and can't tell what cues I'm looking for or what the telegraphs are supposed to be, and as a first pass through the game, I just parry to the beat at some points hoping to make it through. People complain about Roquefort, but his fight is visually clear to me; Mimosa's is just a chaos of blues and purples, every time I tried to avoid her grab with a parry or dodge it didn't work, and the timing on some of her attacks felt awfully inconsistent. The fight just felt like a total mess to me, I cleared it in 3 tries and I STILL don't know wtf was happening in that fight.

4. No time-pause to specifically select the partner I want? No "previous/next" functionality on the controller, just keep hitting the one button until Ballcat is the color you want? You shouldn't require your player to pay attention to that while also attempting to pay attention to the fight, the timings, attacks and blocks, and charge level of your ability. It seems common sense design that you shouldn't have a button to cycle through options in real time when you have a combat system like this.

5. Probably the worst of all: the camera and the softlocking. There is no explicit lock-on system, so it is not uncommon for Chai to attack a target I don't want him to, and for me to get attacked by some enemy off-screen. There is no "snap camera to back of player" button that I've seen, so I need to manually swing the cam around at all times to try and ensure everything is in my FOV. The camera is probably the biggest enemy in the game for me.

I know I'm shouting into the void here and I'm sure I'll get people whining that I'm whining, but whatever. I needed what little catharsis this gives me. It's got such an attractive gameplay loop at its core, but I grit my teeth as the damn game apparently tries everything in its power to keep me from fully enjoying it. Frustrating as fock.

[Predator Goose]

I feel you on some of these complaints with the limited time I've spent on the game. I'd suggest polishing the post up a bit, giving it an overall conclusion and post it as a review. Maybe it'll set future player expectations

[wildsam1234]

yeah the platforming isn't the best I LOVE the game but I will admit the platforming (mainly when it doesn't switch to 2D because I kind of like the 2D platforming) kind of sucks due to chai moving a little weirdly

[Psycholosopher7]

Number one I disagree with. I will always appreciate a downtime period between stressing my fingers. Number two I heavily agree with for reasons you've already stated. Number three is more of a personal issue I would say. I never have a problem with it. Number four I disagree with. Since it's a rhythm game halting the rhythm for any action would just be out of place. Number five is a problem with Chai's targetting, but as for the enemies, they always attack to the rhythm and give a heads up. You will always have a chance to avoid an enemy attack.