izigame.me

TLDR: This is a really fun game filled with passion, 8/10, even though I haven't played any Dark souls or Elden Ring, this game is still very enjoyable to me, and I think I'd wanna try other soul-like games in the future too :)
PROS
I love how the game gives you 4 elements of magic attacks, trying out different approaches and finding which suits your attack approaches really helps personalize your gameplay. And also the precision-based dodging and perfect parrying for powerful spell attacks is a good way to balance risk and reward, especially the reward, seeing Nobeta absolutely REJECTING attacks from enemies is so badass.
Speaking of enemies, they're also fun to encounter, even though some of them are re-skins of the same enemy type, they got a whole different ways to attack with different elements too, and it's refreshing to see enemies are not just Ctrl c + v with higher hp and attack.
Not to mention the BOSS BATTLES, this is the game most refined feature, not only their design is very intriguing on its own, the battles are all really challenging, but in a good and fun way, coz they're not actively punishing players, they actually got a reasonable hp and their attacks are devastating but slow to charge, this is basically the game trying to test how much you've learnt so far.
Also, the music, oh lord it just fits, really helps shining the best parts in the game. I really love the lava theme, gives out a feeling of danger but also fills you with determination to move on with Nobeta.
And then the boss theme hits, HARD. I especially like the Tania's one, it sounds really sick and twisted, but also a slight somber feel behind the tone ( which it is, extremely tragic, after I find out her backstory ) A round of applause for the music developers, they've really improved the game experience overall.
NITPICKS
Might be a personally preferences but the voice acting quality is quite hindered by Shirogane Noel , I know its not suppose to be really professional or anything, I like her personally in HL too, it's just when comparing with the other two talents' voice act in the game, she's kinda underwhelming when it comes to expression and voice change.
(Okay maybe the reason why the voice act sounds monotone is becoz of the character design, maybe she's intended to be calm and lifeless, just as her original human form, stuck to be obedient in order to prove herself worthy as a hero , but still I think there're rooms for improvement for her in terms of voice acting)
The story too, left quite a few unexplained questions in the main game, like I still dunno what's the backstory of Nonota and Nobeta, what is going on in the outside world, why do people abandoned the castle of freaky dolls in the first place , even though I can still explore the story from extra manga, but it just makes the main game feels like its not finished or rushed. (Tho I really like these extra stories, the artstyle, the dark tone of the story, are all gut-wrenching to watch, makes you appreciate the characters even more)
What's rushed is also the game's pacing, the Spirit Realm level is a nice exterior environment to explore and I like the more open areas it provides while still preserving the excitement of dungeon-like exploration, but then it got a bit weird in the late game after defeating Vanessa the second time , Nobeta continue to explore in the Abyss, another dreaming level , I just think it feels unnecessary long as it drags the whole dream sequence too much. I know this is supposed to be a mind struggle of Nobeta to revisiting all the places she had explored, but I feel like the final level design felt underused and a bit uninspiring since there are fewer puzzles to work on and originality, and it kinda hurts a overall solid game flow. The best way to describe the problem is probably that it lacks the finality of the game it deserves (until the very last map tho, now that's a fitting endgame map, if only we can play the final levels similar to the endgame map...)
Luckily the game recovers in the best way possible, I think the final boss is THE best battle in the game, in terms of gameplay and storywise, the devs really don't hold back any punches, the sad realization, along with the masterful music, hinting that there's only one way to end this battle. Everything in this battle is in perfect harmony, aiming to move the player emotionally, and it did. I am shocked and full of thoughts during the whole battle, fearing the worst that would happen to Nobeta after that. ( Since the battle is very alike to the shadowlord from Nier, a tragic battle for the mc, so this is why i panicked lol )
Overall, despite some setbacks, this is nonetheless, a very entertaining and challenging game to play, it exceeded my initial expectation during the beta version and manage to live up its hype as a fully polish game, considering this game is from a relatively small game development team, this is a really impressive achievement :)
Looking forward for future releases!