[v0.6.6.0 Beta]
The good:
I love the dark setting, despite such setting not being my cup of tea, and the gritty, uncaring world it presents and the damage system. I really, really, want to love and play this game to my hearts content (in private of course) BUT.
Tha bad (which unfortunately overshadows the good):
The fights are unfair, not hard like dark souls, and there is a difference between hard and unfair. An unfair game punishes you for things you can't control.
Maybe it's not my type but combat is way too fast and too restrictive with a cumbersome control, where you're more likely to miss because the enemy moved out or dodge, wasting stamina, with little or too fast cues. And I find it impossible to dodge since the enemies attack too quickly, not to mention how damage is too low most of the time. If combat was slower or gave more leeway to allow the player to calculate while in combat it would significantly improve.
This is compounded by the stamina system, which sounds like a "good on paper, bad in practise". I find it rather stupid/unfairly limiting that every action outside of walking, picking up stuff, and running out of combat costs stamina, which consumes food and takes a few seconds to replenish, where you can be interrupted. Thus half of Lona's space needs to be filled with food and also making combat a further slog, since you would go into a death spiral since its next to impossible to regenerate stamina in battle. I feel that a regenerating stamina bar, like dark souls, which cap decreases until you rest, which consumes food, would be better.
The grind. I feel that it takes too long to level up once you reach ten, especially since the higher perks are way above. Leading to.
The restrictive skills. Why in the heck must we invest three and eleven levels to sneak and cook respectively. Basically, every guide says that taking the alchemy skill is first priority but that kind of contradicts the multiple playstyle angle since a vital skill is locked behind ten levels, thus needing to grind a few levels before you can truly play the style you want. I think it would be better if Lona can cook but only basic, barely efficient, food with alchemy improving the food and allowing potions. It would allow more playstyle exploration without unfairly handicapping the player.
There is also little reason to pursue the more dangerous quest as grinding the safer ones would be enough to get out, and little reason to help.
It's these mechanics that make it hard for me to like the game.
Personal nitpicks (I'm fine if these aren't implemented, except the first)
More outfits. Since there are only four sets despite Lona having slots for top, bottom, and shoulders.
I hate that all sex is rape or basically rape. And would personally like it if there could be a scene or two, likely hard to get, where Lona can have consensual sex with someone whose kind and/or loves her, where she is truly happy in the encounter. Leading to.
Love interests. For a combination of worldbuilding and to show Lona (and players) that not everything is doom and gloom, there's still hope, and a happier ending if she leaves with them. And also give an extra challenge if the players wants them to leave with Lona.
Again. I would like to play this more but the combination of fights being too fast and restrictive, the need to grind for a vital skill, the general grind which feels way too much, and controls being too cumbersome to use in fights severely drops the game rating for me.
It's a good game, if niche in taste (trust me when I say that you should not play it if you can't stomach rape and/or gore), that I want to play more but dear gods does it need more polish/rework.
Edit: Thanks to the update that makes cooking a default skill I bumped it up. But the combat really needs a polish and/or rework, especially since its one of the focus part of the game. Because real time combat using button prompts, direction, and needing to press a second button to change direction makes the combat unfair and unnecessarily teeth-grindingly clunky unless you have the APM (action per minute)/reaction time of an RTS esport player. Not to mention the enemy can dodge by simply choosing to walk in another direction for no reason. But I do love that Lona can now leave with Cocona (I think, I've only heard about that part)
TLDR for the combat: Either make the controls a hack-and-slash without needing to change directions or make it similar to nethacks where the enemy only moves when you move. Trying to make a turn-based esque directional system with key assigned abilities with real-time movement and attacks is absolutely horrible
The good:
I love the dark setting, despite such setting not being my cup of tea, and the gritty, uncaring world it presents and the damage system. I really, really, want to love and play this game to my hearts content (in private of course) BUT.
Tha bad (which unfortunately overshadows the good):
The fights are unfair, not hard like dark souls, and there is a difference between hard and unfair. An unfair game punishes you for things you can't control.
Maybe it's not my type but combat is way too fast and too restrictive with a cumbersome control, where you're more likely to miss because the enemy moved out or dodge, wasting stamina, with little or too fast cues. And I find it impossible to dodge since the enemies attack too quickly, not to mention how damage is too low most of the time. If combat was slower or gave more leeway to allow the player to calculate while in combat it would significantly improve.
This is compounded by the stamina system, which sounds like a "good on paper, bad in practise". I find it rather stupid/unfairly limiting that every action outside of walking, picking up stuff, and running out of combat costs stamina, which consumes food and takes a few seconds to replenish, where you can be interrupted. Thus half of Lona's space needs to be filled with food and also making combat a further slog, since you would go into a death spiral since its next to impossible to regenerate stamina in battle. I feel that a regenerating stamina bar, like dark souls, which cap decreases until you rest, which consumes food, would be better.
The grind. I feel that it takes too long to level up once you reach ten, especially since the higher perks are way above. Leading to.
The restrictive skills. Why in the heck must we invest three and eleven levels to sneak and cook respectively. Basically, every guide says that taking the alchemy skill is first priority but that kind of contradicts the multiple playstyle angle since a vital skill is locked behind ten levels, thus needing to grind a few levels before you can truly play the style you want. I think it would be better if Lona can cook but only basic, barely efficient, food with alchemy improving the food and allowing potions. It would allow more playstyle exploration without unfairly handicapping the player.
There is also little reason to pursue the more dangerous quest as grinding the safer ones would be enough to get out, and little reason to help.
It's these mechanics that make it hard for me to like the game.
Personal nitpicks (I'm fine if these aren't implemented, except the first)
More outfits. Since there are only four sets despite Lona having slots for top, bottom, and shoulders.
I hate that all sex is rape or basically rape. And would personally like it if there could be a scene or two, likely hard to get, where Lona can have consensual sex with someone whose kind and/or loves her, where she is truly happy in the encounter. Leading to.
Love interests. For a combination of worldbuilding and to show Lona (and players) that not everything is doom and gloom, there's still hope, and a happier ending if she leaves with them. And also give an extra challenge if the players wants them to leave with Lona.
Again. I would like to play this more but the combination of fights being too fast and restrictive, the need to grind for a vital skill, the general grind which feels way too much, and controls being too cumbersome to use in fights severely drops the game rating for me.
It's a good game, if niche in taste (trust me when I say that you should not play it if you can't stomach rape and/or gore), that I want to play more but dear gods does it need more polish/rework.
Edit: Thanks to the update that makes cooking a default skill I bumped it up. But the combat really needs a polish and/or rework, especially since its one of the focus part of the game. Because real time combat using button prompts, direction, and needing to press a second button to change direction makes the combat unfair and unnecessarily teeth-grindingly clunky unless you have the APM (action per minute)/reaction time of an RTS esport player. Not to mention the enemy can dodge by simply choosing to walk in another direction for no reason. But I do love that Lona can now leave with Cocona (I think, I've only heard about that part)
TLDR for the combat: Either make the controls a hack-and-slash without needing to change directions or make it similar to nethacks where the enemy only moves when you move. Trying to make a turn-based esque directional system with key assigned abilities with real-time movement and attacks is absolutely horrible