izigame.me

played on hard mode, did every side quest and collected every item
tl:dr - 4/10, not worth it without a good discount, even less so if you're a vp fan
it tried to be a unique action rpg maintaining the originality of the older vp games, but ended up feeling generic as an action rpg, and like it abandoned too much of what made vp games fun
things i like about the game
-plenty of different spells to use, even if a lot of them are just different levels of the same spell
-using a part of the original vp music in the fourth area, very nostalgic
-chaining through fights can easily get the counter up to 999, which is always satisfying to see
-has a hookshot mechanic that makes getting to enemies relatively easy
-a handful of interesting character interactions, but definitely not enough
-almost forgot, one kinda sorta trans character
things i don't care about the game, but aren't really bad
-only 6 weapons, wish there was one more that was sort of the ultimate weapon
-skill tree is kinda bland and very linear
-you'll go through some big fights just for a chest with a small amount of resources that you got a ton of from the fight itself
-mouse/keyboard default controls have spells and summons both tied to the movement keys
-einherjar have a limit to how strong they can get, which i hit really early on
-only equipment is weapons and the runes, which aren't really that fun to use, as they're mostly offense/defense buffs which don't feel like they make any difference
-the valkyrie's development goes from bland as a wet slice of bread, to a dry slice of bread, to a bit of a lightly toasted slice of bread. she's supposed to start bland, but i feel it didn't go into the development enough
-enemy list is mostly reskins of like 10 monsters give or take.
-it takes too long to get your first einherjar. the tutorial gives you 2, but it takes roughly 2 hours to get your first one afterwords.
-summoning einherjar only lasts a set amount of time, between 15 to 60 seconds, but there's no timer for it
-environmental puzzles feel very forced and in your face, nothing's really hidden
-no arngrim :(
things i really don't like about the game
-all the weapons have the same stats. the staff that says it's good for magic has the same attack and magic as the heavy spear that's great for sweeping attacks.
-keys are always around the corner, several locked doors and stuff will have the key just right next to them, sometimes no fights needed
-no recovery from getting hit, you get knocked out of the air or smacked to the ground, it's so slow to get back up
-only 4 einherjar, the game kinda vaguely puts things that make it seem like there would be more, but there aren't
-earth elemental magic has one whole spell that nothing is actually weak to, it's just to gather enemies, while there's another spell that does the exact same thing
-healing and items have a very limiting max for carrying, you get plenty early on but not much later on, especially smaller healing items, which could easily be fixed by having the one npc you meet offer to sell you items for the tons of gems you collect. he literally talks about collecting and delivering supplies and meds for people. just not you.
-all the characters pose like they're idling npcs, standing around and not looking at one another during dialogue scenes, and the mouths never match what they're saying, even in the cutscenes
-there's a lot of places early on to fall off the map which deals roughly 25% of your hp, and you sometimes keep your momentum and it sends you off again, might be a bug but i've died to this twice
-second area is extremely laggy, had to go down to medium graphics settings and still had some choppy moments
-big enemies will body you into a corner and beat down on you, and enemies can also combo you really easily. had several moments of going from full to dead without being able to do a single thing about it.
-final boss(es) teleport way too much. one doing so almost constantly. also some fights have the enemy nearly always constantly ignoring your attacks with immunity frames. it's not fun when dark souls does it, it's not fun when this game does it, it's not fun when any game does it
-the collection page is so barren, for most of the game you'll only have 1 person under important characters despite there being a whopping 4 (3 by the game's count). which is another issue, so
-the game feels so empty. you'll find a handful of souls and flowers that tell you some thoughts from people in the past, but all the gods are also gone. valhalla is pretty big, but empty for most of the game. you get a couple people around, but even then they're only in a small part of the map.
-lots of animation locks. when you cast magic, you're invincible for those frames, but not when you're summoning, or during most attacks
personal peeves as a vp fan
-einherjar feel really bland to use, it's nice they're doing their own thing, but when the previous games all had them with soul crushes, really big, flashy, fun moves to use, it's disappointing when the final move you unlock for them is just a move you have, or just a really basic attack. especially when each one has their own thing they do during a specific set of side quests
-seraphic gate feels like a super waste of time that doesn't introduce any new enemies, it's only reward is the final form of a move which is mostly just a trophy
-odin is written like a toxic manager, he comes off as so lazy and obnoxious, which i get is sorta the point, but he doesn't act at all like the leader of the gods
-it doesn't have any iconic valkyrie profile characters (or really any characters at all)
-again, no arngrim