Stray Blade Review (Brianite)
Camera will auto center with KB and M or controller, meaning if you look around at all the camera will constantly fight you to go back to center. Less than an hour and i have a headache and nausea from the stuttering of the camera fighting me for control.
Combat is basically QTE based. Dodge red attacks, parry blue attacks. You are meant to stand in front of enemy and press the correct button. Animations are extremely slow.
I tried playing more like dark souls with freedom of movement, approaching from different angles, baiting out attacks and then counter attacking, doesn't really work. Combat feels very slow and restrictive.
I am considering refunding but I'm going to wait a day and try again. It is possible that the combat system is just strange and takes getting used to but my first impression is that it is just not fun.
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Update after trying again and adjusting all game settings : Camera stuttering was mostly caused by the auto targeting and target with mouse settings. there is still camera auto centering but it is better with both auto targeting settings off.
It is basically not possible to play without locking on to enemies. Without lock on you cannot see the health bars or poise bar of enemies. Parrying will also not work unless you are locked on to a target. The big issue is that when you lock on to a target the camera position changes and it is AWFUL. You also cannot change your camera position while locked on.
In summary playing with and without lock on each have severe issues imo. Neither feels good. No idea if the devs are still working on this project or not but this is really important. Game looks great, love the art style and the overall atmosphere but the combat (camera) just feels really bad.
Refunded :(