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Basic Synopsis

After completing all of the achievements in this game, I want to provide some detailed thoughts about the game for anyone looking to purchase. For now though, here's a basic digest on what this game is:
Revita is an amalgamation of all the rogue-like journeys you love coupled with loving nods and inspirations from indie gaming giants like Hollow Knight and Celeste. Inspirations from Enter the Gungeon, The Binding of Isaac, and Neon Abyss are prevalent from the get-go, but it synthesizes these ideas into something new and satisfying. Despite the clear influence though, it absolutely manages to establish a clear identity of its own and is a wonderful experience on both aesthetic and gameplay merits (with an intriguing world and narrative to boot!)
When you play the game, you'll notice a strong focus on quality of life and a meticulously crafted gameplay loop. At least for me, I was quite surprised with just how much attention was put into making the game satisfying to play. Dialogue and screen transitions flow like butter and are easily skippable, the UI is snappy and straightforward, the sound design hits all the right vibes, and none of the meta-progression or extra mechanics feel intrusive in any way as they are introduced gradually. It's very solid and well-polished!
If you are looking for an extremely solid entry to the action rogue-like genre, Revita may be among the best you can find! And even if you aren't partial to the genre, be prepared for a lovingly crafted experience with charming characters and world design. It is a truly special game that I think is deserving of more attention.
8.5/10 Excellent!


Detailed Review

If you are reading this, I assume you are either already a fan of Revita or have already decided you want to purchase this game! In either case, I will be delving more into my thoughts on the game after hundreds of hours of gameplay. I believe I have accessed almost all of the content this game has to offer, and I have a lot to say about it.

Gameplay
In terms of how Revita plays, it can be most closely compared to Neon Abyss for its platforming-dungeon-crawling-shooter style combat.
As the unnamed protagonist, you wield a disembodied Soul Gun to dispatch your enemies, which can also be aimed downwards to jump higher than normal. You also have an invulnerable dash on a short cool down for traversing and evading attacks. Destroyed enemies will leave behind collectible souls which will power up your soul bar! Similar to Hollow Knight, focusing for a short period will consume soul to replenish your health. When at max HP, doing this will add 1/4 of a heart to your maximum HP for every bar consumed.
Notably, your HP serves as a your main form of currency in acquiring new relics to grow stronger. As a result, the game naturally rewards taking as few hits as possible! Built in risk-reward? Incredible.
In traversing the Clock Tower the game takes place in, you will ascend through many floors, with each serving as a sort of "room" on its own. At the end of each zone, you will fight a boss that grants a max HP reward if defeated hitless, similar to Enter the Gungeon.
Though these mechanics may seem quite simple, this is only the beginning of Revita! The game introduces a myriad of new mechanics as you complete more runs, making a fully unlocked save a completely new experience compared to a fresh save.
As you unlock more content through playing the game, you can unlock new types of Soul Gun with different variations that change up your playstyle in significant ways. A powerful shotgun, a charge gun that favors being immobile, a laser gun with piercing shots, and even a sword that destroys bullets and deals high DPS!
New gameplay mechanics like a combo meter are added, and an ascension system naturally guides you through new chapters of the story. Through meta-progression currencies earned in runs, you can unlock new room types to your Clocktower and even customize the ones you want or don't want! Each run is highly modular in this game, and can be tailored to your desired difficulty and content.
If your favorite part about action rogue-likes is the high of being on a super powerful run, this game has plenty to offer in that regard as well. BECOME THE BULLET HELL, UNLEASH DESTRUCTION!
then die to necronomicon

Story and Aesthetic
Man this game is pretty. It has a beautiful background design, fantastic spritework, and a very well-chosen color palette that creates a unique vibe. The music complements it perfectly, sounding slightly reminiscent of Hollow Knight's and Celeste's but also entirely its own at the same time. I still listen to the zone themes and boss fight music regularly!
Narratively, the game also has a complete story. There isn't a very heavy focus on it, but it's implemented smoothly in a way that can be followed by those who are interested. Fair warning that it does delve into topics that some may be sensitive to, but I found it very heartwarming despite the heavy tone it can take.
If I had to describe in words how this game fits into its own, I would say it has a very VIDEOGAME aesthetic. The vibrant colors, squishy character sprites, and banger zone themes just reek of a creative team who love videogames to death. In my opinion, this is part of what really sets Revita apart from other "Pretty good 7/10s" in this genre. It has a heart... a SOUL to it that is not commonly found.

Personal Takeaways
Beyond all that quantitative analysis, I want to pitch in some personal thoughts and provide context for those still interested enough to read on!
Playing this game over the past few months, I began to identify closely with the themes of mental health portrayed in the game. Reaching closer to 100% became symbolic of my on-going progress in moving forward from emotional struggles. Though such a corny tale is a bit tacky to include in a video game review, I think it fits the bill quite well.
Despite me saying "100%" with this air finality, there is more content planned! Revita 2.0 is being developed with a vast array of new content and gameplay overhauls to enjoy, making the future of this game quite prospective (get in before it blows up!).
Revita is a passion project at its core. The developer, Benstar, is highly interactive with the game's community and his love for the project shows clearly. The game's release was preceded by many years of planning and development, and is an extremely impressive result with only a small number of collaborators to assist. For me, this is the heart of what makes videogames so amazing, and I really want to show my appreciation for it. I recommend checking out the game's dedicated Discord server if interested!
For anyone with the attention span to read this far in... well dang! You're pretty cool, you must like video games. Consider buying this game too it's pretty cool I like it.