Recommending it but be warned the game can be incredibly frustrating. I'm going to start with some complaints but I promise I do actually enjoy the game and don't need to "git gud."

People will defend the game's difficulty but there are a lot of design choices around the combat that just outright confuse me. You can jump over some attacks, you can burrow some attacks, you can deflect some attacks back, but there's no indication on any attacks which way you're supposed to avoid the damage. It seems like trial and error. Some enemies fly, and you have to jump and attack them, but because they're positioned over a dozen pitfalls you have to wait and hope they fly near your direction so you can kill them, otherwise you'll just get hit and fall in to a pit. You can only attack on a grid, but some enemies fly around you off the grid and shoot projectiles at you. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to deal with those enemies except attack in a direction and pray. The bosses are great, but it's a bit silly how every boss I've fought so far was easier than some of the standard enemies. I don't know if it was my weapon choice (the daggers) or what, because it's not like I can experiment with the other weapons without spending thousands of bones. It's hard to justify spending thousands of bones on weapons when I don't know if I'll enjoy them and there's other things that ALSO cost thousands of bones. I'm sure I'll be rolling in calcium eventually, but it is a pain point at the moment.

Sidearms are super good, but I feel like they don't hand them out nearly often enough and the fact that you completely lose them on death sucks. I now have two sidearm slots and they are usually empty. I attack the environment every screen so I'm not sure what my problem is there, I'm open to advice.

Losing your spark on death and then losing all of your bones is annoying. I get it, I know other games do this, but with how tight a lot of the level design is, how brutal the enemy designs and placements are, and how long some of the runbacks can be, it can feel really REALLY bad to die sometimes. Not to mention that bones feel more valuable than when games usually do this because buying things seems very important.

I know that difficult game design can appear spiteful or unfair because the skill ceiling is so far above where you are currently, and over time playing the game you catch up to it, and everything becomes easier and the whole process feels rewarding. This game could end up being like that, but right now I'm just going through a gauntlet of (what feels like) intentionally frustrating level and enemy design to then 1st try a boss in 20 seconds and then leave. Sometimes I get trinkets; those are pretty fun even if some of them seem useless.

I don't think it's comparable to any souls-like and I don't think it does the game justice to describe it like that. It feels like A Link to the Past. Sometimes it feels like an early Castlevania game. Sometimes it feels like Shovel Knight. It has done a good job at being its own thing with plenty of clear inspirations.

The art is great and charming, the music is really good and fits the style, I love exploring, I enjoy the platforming, and the difficulty isn't a problem for me, but sometimes I have to roll my eyes at what diabolical screens they put together. Don't get me wrong, I ENJOY difficult video games, and I'm enjoying this one, I just think there's room for nuance. If the reviews about difficulty are putting you off, I genuinely don't think there's been anything yet that couldn't be conquered by a moderately determined casual player (probably with a hefty dose of annoyance.)

EDIT at 12.8 hours: The skill ceiling is very high and it DOES feel rewarding when you catch up to it. The game feels significantly better with bone ups, shop purchases, trinkets, and more experience in general. You start to alleviate a lot of the problems and frustrations with bones, but they remain in high demand and you need to spend them wisely. Flying enemies are still annoying, but I'm enjoying the game even more than when I wrote the review. Let it grow on you!

As with many critically acclaimed difficult games, the reviews are polarized between "This game is amazing" and "This is completely unfair and bad design". If you enjoy the challenge style of this game, it is outstanding. If you don't, you're probably going to be frustrated.

The devs really go out of their way to design encounters to punish your habits in the way of enemy and hazard placement (think Sen's Fortress in Dark Soul 1). Platforming is often done under pressure and demands a good level of precision. If that intrigues you, and you spend the time to learn the flow of the gameplay, then this will be a very rewarding experience.

Difficulty aside, the exploration/art/vibe are all on point.

Link's Awakening DX, Dark Souls and Castlevania had a baby and it is magnificent.