Graphics and hype. No attachment or build up for any characters or bosses, lackluster combat that banks on the notion of "get good" to cover for bad balancing and enemy attack scripts. Zero sense of progression or build up towards anything. Is it really even a boss fight if every fight is a boss?

Not worthy of GOTY. The combat feels dull compared to the last couple of action adventure games I’ve played, like Sekiro and DMC 5. While the level design look stunning, the invisible walls make the whole experience a frustrating guessing game about where you can go.

- Weak narrative - very fragmented and boring story that barely tie in together
- Poor level design - lot's of unnecessary clutter that can even be an obstacle during the battle, tons of invisible walls in places that look accessible
- Boring and annoying combat - the most efficient way to deal with most of the enemies is spamming the power attack; most enemies are not staggered long enough to complete light combos and the attack animation cannot be cancelled to dodge, so the best way is to charge power attack by moving around (AI is very stupid and will allow you to do so); charged attacks have also super long animations, so be prepared that an enemy will hit you before you will land the attack, but on the other side the enemy will be dead after the attack
- Unsatisfying character development - not many actual new skills to unlock, most of them are useless as the charged power attack is the only viable method to fight; you can focus on upgrading the charged power attack and use other skills on special occasions

While it's not a terrible game it's also not even remotely as good as ratings would lead you to believe. It's a pretty game with good graphics but it's probably the least fun I have ever had playing a souls like game.

The game is just a linear boss run. The combat mechanics are incredibly simple. The story is an adaptation of a fandom written in the 1700s about Chinese mythology, if that's your thing then so be it. If you're an extreme casual when it comes to soul-likes and you want a game that looks 10x better than has actual quality content then this is for you. I can't bring myself to finish Act 2, I'm not interested in the gameplay loop.

How in the monkey balls, did this badly made Sekiro, wannabe win goty? I guess slow people really will enjoy anything, as long as it has a lot of colors, and animation... The gaming community as a whole can hold this L

mediocre boss rush game

Over 1 million reviews say yes! Curiously only 6% of them are in English.

Grabbed this when it first came out but quickly returned the game, because honestly was hoping it was more souls-rpg (with build variations) than just action boss rush. And performance was odd unless I cranked DLSS up. Maybe I'll play again when it's on sale.

The game isn't bad, but I personally can't recommend it. Some of it it due to preference, but below are some areas I think could have seen improvement.


Map
The environments are visually beautiful, but lacking in clarity. There are invisible walls EVERYWHERE making it very hard to tell where you're allowed to walk or jump. It seems that they tried to hide the linearity of the game, but it results in a frustrating feeling of being constantly blocked by unseen barriers.


Gameplay
The movement is stylish, but extremely imprecise. Your character will auto-jump over things that you're trying to simply walk up to and interact with. You will overshoot doorways because of momentum, and struggle to stop within the pick-up range of crafting materials on the ground.


Gameplay Loop
The game feels like a boss rush. You will fight a dozen or less enemies for a small stretch of map, before encountering another boss. If you enjoy fighting lots of enemies across larger areas with interesting designs, this game may not be what you're expecting.


This is not really a full review, but rather a list of some pain points I think you should be aware of before starting. If I end up playing more of it I will come back to update the review.


Make sure to read some other reviews to learn about the things people love about the game!

Before I go, please note that this is not a "souls-like" game. If that's what you're looking for, you will probably be disappointed.

This is sitting in my steam library next to Starfield, under the list, games I regret buying but cannot get a refund for. This game was boring, it looked good, but it had no substance. I played for 10 hours and couldn't even play it out of guilt for money spent. This game does not deserve GOTY, and the 3 million players that were playing at launch were bots to build more hype so people bought this CCP garbage. The game is actually mid.