Meh.

An indie Zelda-clone with almost no world-building, leaning on fast-paced combat closer to Bastion's. I devoured it entirely in a few sessions, but it's complicated to untangle whether credit goes to the game itself or the ages since I last indulged my Zelda nostalgia. I had a similar experience a lifetime ago with Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, where I finished wondering. "Why isn't this more popular?"

This time, I think I know why.

Two common complaints show up all over other reviews, though they didn't bother me:

(1)The controls can't be remapped in-game. For players accustomed to different key layouts, they'll feel unintuitive, with fingers wrestling for position. But I like retraining my hands' muscle memory for proficiency at new tasks.

(2)The game offers zero guidance. Miss an ability, overlook a dark nook, and progress grinds to a halt. But I welcome an impetus for careful investigation.

Other nits: the scenes with plot pop up so infrequently, they're jump scares. Beside the clumsy ending, those little bits are cute enough that I wish there had been more. The game lacks memorable boss battles or dungeons. It's all just overworld, and that overworld feels samey. There's a resource collection, item-crafting mechanism tacked on, but it's easy to pretend it doesn't exist.

The game is short enough, the enemies are varied enough, and the combat is challenging enough that it all adds up to a engaging ten hours. And if you're like me, you'll wonder if it's time to buy a Switch and catch up on decades of real Zelda.

Simple conscept, variying puzzle complexity, and can be a little grindy. But overall a good game, get it on sale.