Recently finished NG+, and I think this is one of my favorite games ever. I don't know if I've ever played a game that gave me such a confidence boost in my own abilities; every victory feels like a shot of caffeine straight into my veins. I love the quality of life improvements on the Soulslike formula -- such as dropping your currency outside the boss arena on death (where you can just take it and run if you need to) or being able to charge up an additional healing pulse after using them all. Parrying is hard to learn, but man, when you nail it, it feels so satisfying. The soundtrack is also surprisingly beautiful. I do kind of wish there were more secret areas or alternate pathways between regions -- just something to make the world feel slightly less linear -- but I can easily forgive that. Easily a 9/10 for me. My favorite game of 2023.

Recently finished NG+, and I think this is one of my favorite games ever. I don't know if I've ever played a game that gave me such a confidence boost in my own abilities; every victory feels like a shot of caffeine straight into my veins. I love the quality of life improvements on the Soulslike formula -- such as dropping your currency outside the boss arena on death (where you can just take it and run if you need to) or being able to charge up an additional healing pulse after using them all. Parrying is hard to learn, but man, when you nail it, it feels so satisfying. The soundtrack is also surprisingly beautiful. I do kind of wish there were more secret areas or alternate pathways between regions -- just something to make the world feel slightly less linear -- but I can easily forgive that. Easily a 9/10 for me. My favorite game of 2023.