izigame.me

The influx of negative reviews this game is receiving don't seem very fair. They seem to mostly focus on the rate of development (which is, admittedly, fairly slow-going) or the tedious difficulty, so I'll aim to address those.
First, concerning rate of progress . I think it's important to really consider what the devs are trying to accomplish here. I've played a lot of fantasy rpgs, and the only thing that comes close to the vision of this game is a heavily modded survival-based Skyrim. Extensive Google searches, clicking through Steam queues, and just staring at my library chasing the same dopamine fix have convinced me the current gaming market is replete with just about everything but a game where you can be a wizard, and still have to survive in a deadly world where disease and starvation are real threats, and you need to carefully prepare before venturing into a dungeon full of zombies. It seems for most games, you either have magic, in which case you're just playing a combat game or reading a virtual novel (both of which I love), or it's deeply realistic and there are a lot of survival mechanics, but no magic. Personally, I want my experience playing a mage or warrior or thief, or any number of fantasy tropes, to be grounded in a world that feels gritty and believable (in as far as the degree of risk is concerned), and as mentioned, it seems like only this game, and a heavily modded Skyrim can accomplish that (and perhaps Enshrouded next year).
I'm digressing though - my point is that there are a lot of systems, and things going on under the hood, that require a lot of balancing and a measured approach to introducing new content. Essentially, they are trying to construct a solid foundation, and a reliable framework, before they begin the process of iterating on these underlying mechanics, and when you consider the number of things that can potentially break given the myriad intersecting components, I'm sure it's a daunting task. Once that infrastructure is finalized however, their roadmap seems to indicate that updates should become more substantial, and we may see the development pace increase. It's important to remember though, that the scale of what they are attempting to achieve is fairly unique as far as this genre (and perhaps even beyond it) are concerned, and because they are small indie devs following a vision (which you either love or you hate), this can (and probably will) result in scope creep. The addition of more and more mechanics can inflate development time, but most of the updates where it looked like they might be in danger losing track of priorities have only wound up improving the overall immersion of the game. Again - think about what they're trying to achieve, and look at the amount of hours I, and many other players have put in with just the EA version. That alone should tell you it's at least worth the current price point.
Second, regarding difficulty . Yes, the game is punishing, but there are plenty of builds that work really well to mitigate risk and improve chances of survival while you’re out exploring. There are also plenty of points of interest where you are able to save your game, and even a portable bed that you can use to save your progress out in the world. The developers have also now implemented a system to save when you exit, so you won’t feel compelled to run all the way back to the inn or your last save point when real life calls.
When it comes to the overall rng aspect, which I know is another major complaint, an important element of the core gameplay loop is to learn to assess risks, and pick one’s battles wisely based on knowledge of the game’s systems. With this game, it really tries to ground you in a believably brutal fantasy world, so when you are firing an arrow at that monster, and after inspecting it, it doesn’t seem to be losing a lot of health, maybe that is your cue to think of an exit strategy instead of barreling ahead assuming your luck will change, or the game will cater toward you. Sometimes your luck might change, but therein lies the risk assessment factor – is it worth hoping that given your current abilities/health pool? No? Then flee to fight another day. It doesn’t always work out, but once you’ve survived numerous battles, it will feel like an accomplishment. Ironically, the more careful you are, the safer you will begin to feel, and then the real challenge becomes to not let that go to your head because any wrong move can still be deadly. In other games, it’s just a linear path toward becoming an all-powerful god that steamrolls everything – but, as stated before, this game aims to keep you grounded, hopefully at all stages of the adventure - hence the need to carefully plan out each new system.
So, if you’re on the fence, and you like tactical rpgs and roguelikes, this game, even in its current unfinished state, is well worth the investment. You’re likely to get hundreds of hours of fun just exploring, completing contracts, and experimenting with builds, and you’ll be contributing to the development of a game that has the potential to be a real masterpiece.
Enjoy.