Review of the demo

[Albhis]

Finally got around to trying this out, and ough is it rough. You did a good job on making the parry satisfying, but the parry window not being communicated and attacks from starter missions having very short telegraphs do not make the game fun altogether. I really do want to love what's here, but the mechanics are not conveyed well enough to the player.

The unique attacks, the fighting style of each sword, and parry/block difference and learning chances need communication to the player on how to utilize them best. Especially with how vicious sub-starter area enemies are.

Your health being 3 hits is also simply cruel, especially when you can hardly make out where your health is depicted for 25 minutes. The health additionally does not catch the eye enough, amplified by the jarring visual effects on screen changing color only 1/4 of the time that they should.

There's a few bugs, which I don't doubt you've noticed by now, and some desirable missing QoL features that'd really help. I had Left and Right trigger controls not working, and enemy AIs randomly ceasing to function aside from looking at the player. It'd be so nice to have more indication of what NPCs can be interacted with, and a mobile source of locating both game objectives and respawn points.

Ultimately, my main gripe is a lack of communication. There are things I could say about some of the character models and walking 'animation's, but I'm gonna not share those cause they'd not be constructive. Remember, people aren't going to inherently know every mechanic you've programmed, and it is something of a kindness to show and tell.