QUICK SUMMARY: The most apt review for this game I can give is it's very clearly the dev's first project. Made with love but flawed in the fundamental aspects of what makes a game fun. Such as:
- Worldbuilding and lore are surprisingly deep, with a huge map to boot. But with a temperamental stamina bar slowing you down and a ticking clock of a hunger bar, its absolutely zero fun to navigate.
- Both the enemy and weapon variety are very impressive, so there's a lot to uncover. But an extremely cumbersome stamina bar tied with a TEAR-JERKINGLY slow weapon swing speed means combat WAY too clunky to get any real joy out of.
- There's a quite long list of items to keep your runs spiced up. But having to buy almost every single one in addition to descriptions of them being deliberately withheld until you pick them up enough times leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Plus both they and the weapon upgrades are extremely expensive, so it can lead to lacking on one front or the other. which wouldnt be an issue if the enemy health didnt increase at the rate it does, leading to you getting absolutely eclipsed under their inflated health pools as you hit them with pool noodles.

I love the game and plan to keep playing it, but I just can't recommend anyone else pick it up.