It's a very interesting game, the artwork is gorgeous and is pretty much the main selling point of the game. I was pleased to see no visual aspect of the game was neglected; everything is on point. Same for the visual and audio effects, as well as the music.
The character feels very good to control overall, tho you'll need to setup you control scheme before starting the game. I couldn't get a scheme that fit my needs properly, so it felt a bit clunky at times, especially when the game asks you to do the more reflex-based platforming and combat sections.
Overall, there was a lot of polish put into making sure the character felt as good to control as possible, and that the game looked as appealing as possible for a good first impression. It feels very much like a game made by professional game devs, and for a solo dev, this is a very high praise.
The problems with this game lie more with the mechanics and the level design. First of all, armor is worthless. Every enemy will two-shot you without anything you can do about it. Even later in the game, when you start getting ranged weapons and more armor options, you will fold very easily to the next new enemy that pops up on your screen. Special mention to the kobold miners, who will snipe you from across the screen with very little you can do about it. Very annoying. I like the random bonuses the different equipment items grant you, but that's not enough to ignore the lack of balancing with the combat.
Secondly, this is a minor gripe, but the level design is a bit confusing at times. There are a lot of branching paths and interconnections between different sections of the level, and it's very easy to get distracted, thinking you're on the right track or on an optional one to get some treasure, only to discover that's not the case.
After the kobold village, I stumbled upon the second boss before freeing the kobold girl. And I didn't discover the first saving room until after I lost to the first boss, and so after my first defeat, I had to do the entire level all over again. Thankfully monsters don't respawn, but that's still anoying.
There are also a couple bugs here and there, like one when the game wants to pick up more than one item at a time, or a freeze when changing levels in the kobold mines that made me restart the game twice. But nothing that can't be solved with a quick bugfix.
It was a nice experience, tho a bit frustrating too with the lack of balance of the difficulty.
