I'm a big fan of games like Bloodstained, Castlevania SotN and many other games in this genre and I must say that this game is sort of a new standard for me to compare games to. TLDR this game is super polished, fun and well designed. I haven't read the other reviews here, but I'd assume the lower score is probably due to the Ubisoft stuff or that the setting and characters just don't appeal to the masses.

There is no leveling or equipment loot like some games, but it's for the sake of intentional difficulty. You don't lose "money" when you die and your progress on the map and the special items you found along the way are not lost. This is an interesting design choice that I think works very well. When I fail I don't feel like I'm losing much other than getting back to exploring around where I died.

The combat system feel tight and the training levels really show you the potential for high level play. It's not required though. Once you are comfortable with parry, dodge and a standard combo you can do what's needed to progress.

Filling the special ability meter and using it is fun and rewarding.

Exploration options when the game first start are interesting. I actually turned off the map hints that help a little more so I don't know what I'm missing there, but I'm glad I can have a more old school exploration option like I'm having.

Movement feels perfect. For those that like the precision platforming of something like Silk Song there are optional challenges that reward you with cosmetics and a small amount of currency. I can't make it through even the first challenge, but I'm no pro or anything. The first movement ability I've unlocked that gets you to new places feels so natural. It required no practice.

Spending the currency feels balanced and fair. I haven't had to grind for anything I want, just keep my eye on what I want next until I know I have enough to go back for it. The amulet system has a maximum amount of slots that can be upgraded occasionally. Different amulets have different amounts of slots it takes up, with more powerful ones taking up more. If you find amulets you like you can upgrade them, which I like.

The boss battle I've reached was fun and felt very fair. I did die a few times, and I love that there is no runback. It just lets you keep trying the boss until you either win or choose to respawn at the last save point you reached.

I never felt like I really needed to go back and save. At the end of the night if I've pushed too far into a new area and died I know the next day I play all that exploration is still there and any major items I got will still be with me. This makes the game really easy to just press on and explore.

Enemy variety feels good. I'm not really seeing reskinned enemies that repeat, but I'm only 6 hours in. All areas have their own unique enemies and feeling. The prologue may have had some enemies that are in the first area of the game, but I can't recall exactly.

The art stile is very polished. It's very clear what are platforms or not. It's stylized in a way that will age well for years to come. The character designs are interesting. When dialogue is going on you get a good detailed profile picture of whos talking while the 3D characters mouths will move on the actual models. This is pretty standard, but the blinking of the portraits add a little life like with what Hades 2 did.

The voice acting is top notch. I thought I heard some familiar voices, but I was wrong. Great casting, directing and performance though.

The story is straight forward and it's enough to keep you interested so far. I've always loved exploring places like Dracula's castle, so having this large map where the setting is full of history, detail and has this curse you can really see affecting everyone and everything makes the setting sort of a character in itself.

Music isn't bad. There is no banger stuck in my head, but I'm spoiled on Castlevania games. Speaking of Castlevania, Konami went with Evil Empire who made Prince of Persia's roguelike game. They've just done roguelikes. How did they go with that company over this team? I think I heard this teams no longer with Ubisoft. I will be keeping my eyes out for whatever these creators do next.

I like that you can take an in game screen shot for references on the map. This is how all these exploration games should be now.

I like the dual scimitars of the main character. I used to be a huge Drizzt Do'Urden fan so this lets me get back to appreciating how cool dual scimitars are.

this game is good for ubisoft standards but negative review because ubisoft is ubisoft

dont be fooled by the new launcher they are promoting as this changes nothing and you are still required to fight with the ubisoft launcher with failed login sessions etc.

if you use a steam deck, stay FAR away from ubisoft games forever.

A decent game completely ruined by a shady cloud save system, just reinstalled to do some extras and it's gone.