125+ hours of playtime, so here's a review. There are a few negatives as with any game, but remains to be an underrated masterpiece to this day nonetheless. Been playing this game for ages, and keep on coming back after having completed most achievements. Ended up gifting this game to atleast 3 people until they absolutely got sick of it! (haha) Please do not refrain from buying this game by reading the negatives, but they should not be disregarded! There's a hope that one day the developers look at them and improve some of them. Now some pain points [*] Co-op is limited to 2 players : This is very disappointing considering the co-op mode of this game is one of the best out there, easily rivalling Portal 2 (despite it being very different), which is often the popular go-to that gets mentioned when someone brings up co-op. Other than that it runs smoothly, no bugs whatsoever, no connection issues, it works great overall as it is. Just a shame about the limit. Maybe it gets unbalanced (probably harder on insane), but at this point, just throw a warning on the screen and who cares! It's better than having to lock someone out of playing entirely. [*] Some magical items are complete trash, while others are beyond overpowered : the nature of the Roguelike, or is it? Items like Rain of arrows and the Arcane orb are mostly useless compared to the rest because they have no synergy with anything. It's fine to make items weak as long as there is some use for them, but there simply doesn't appear to be any for some (at the point where you are better off not using them at all). In other aspects of the game, this is actually very well designed. Potions that give negative effects such as the murky water can be very strong paired with other items, making them very useful under certain conditions. There are few items in this game that are completely pointless to use, but most of them are magic items that should feel special if anything. [*] Short playthrough on low difficulties: One or two extra levels with a reimagined final boss battle would have been perfect.. The boss battle on its own is a little bit underwhelming. Phase one and two do not feel much more special than other fights, and phase 3 feels like a completely different game. It is acceptable but not great. Insane makes the cumulative levels feel a lot more rewarding. The game is not really about beating the boss, but more about getting as far as you can and having fun whilst reaching the boss. [*] Some achievements feel like a timesink : Some are a bit too rng, and I would have preferred that they were spread out as multiple difficult achievements. Unlocking an achievement that unlocks higher pet damage, but not being able to do it on the class that revolves around having pets makes little sense. Some of these do not feel optional as they impact gameplay directly (ups and downs there). [*] Losing your weapons in any game is lame: This game is no different. Randomly getting your hard earned weapon turned into a carrot without warning or prevention mechanism during an endless run is soulcrushing. Not only that, you get NO replacement for absolutely forever, and your entire playstyle is demolished. Does NOT apply to regular game-modes. I have limited these, because there is just way too much good stuff in this game to go over in one comment And now for some strong points: [*] Most items compliment each other beautifully, in countless ways. [*] High skill ceiling that makes combat feel extremely rewarding at the highest difficulty: You can still get somewhere even if your rng is complete trash, yet you can still become insanely powerful with the right combinations of items. THIS is how a roguelike should be! [*] This game jests you ALL the time: There are many many funny interactions to experience. The (simple) artstyle compliments this beautifully. Definitely had a few good laughs with friends whilst in a voice-chat. [*] Fantastic audio designs, from the music to the quacks. : Great music that doesn't get all too repetitive despite hearing it a hundred times: Complimented by funny sound effects yet again. QUACK! QUACK! [*] Passionate devs : The developers continued to update the game a few times after its release, introducing some great new features such as endless mode. [*] Lots of different ways to play: Classes, item and combo choices, attack sequences etc. [*] Every victory feels rewarding and satisfactory. [*] The random generation is mostly perfect : I believe there is one mandatory spike trap that is impossible to get through without getting hit if you are playing the wrong class and you are unlucky, which is a bit lame. Any other shouldn't get you hard stuck though.
Read more