Steam Community :: Essence

Essence

Taiwan

Level

Years of Service

650 XP

- ◄═════════════▓► + Luck
- ◄▓═════════════► + Aim
- ◄══▓═══════════► + Map Awareness
- ◄▓═════════════► + Skill
- ◄══▓═══════════► + Communication
- ◄▓═════════════► + Teamwork
- ◄═════════════▓► + Toxicity
- ◄═════════════▓► + ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ness

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Artwork Showcase

Favorite Game

Counter-Strike 2

3,216

Hours played

Achievements

Elite Crewman

100 XP

Achievement Progress 1 of 1

Screenshots 29 Review 1

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Total Badges Earned

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Game Cards

Achievement Showcase

4,555

Achievements

Perfect Games

25%

Avg. Game Completion Rate

Review Showcase

Nine Sols

31 Hours played

Goated game up there with Hollow Knight but just be warned there is a learning process and it took me about 6 hours to get invested and acclimated to the game. Has a pretty tight parry window coming from Sekiro it is more on the Lies of P timing. There is a ton of trial and error especially with the final boss but the pure euphoria you will have when you beat them will be worth it.

Cons:

Jank hitboxes kinda, they really want you to parry but there are attacks you can just dodge, however the hitboxes will linger even if the attack is past you
Early game you will feel pretty weak damage wise but that might have been my lack of utilizing the talisman mechanic enough
Having to hit an input to climb a rope feels a little awkward sometimes
You can get stun-locked with attacks since there isn't i-frames after you get hit, this is circumvented by an early upgrade but get use to dashing up yourself after getting hit
Unbounded counter would've been nice to have earlier just to get more muscle memory in and having the opportunity to use against more bosses/enemies
Very heavy on dialogue/text there is a setting so you can hold A/X to speed it up (I skipped a lot but still got the gist of the story)
Would be nice if there was a way to place markers on the map to remember places you want to explore again
There is a dedicated stealth and platforming section which I thought both were okay but putting it here just in case

Pros:

Has one of the most satisfying combat systems in a game once you get use to it
Interesting boss mechanics
Great visual/soundtrack
Light platforming
Shuanshuan
Very easy to get most achievements in one run
Story mode has very customizable difficulty options, standard has none
Taiwan
Internal damage is fun
Perfect parry sound is the best asmr
The best final boss I've fought

Tips:

Talisman damage is key
You will learn
Unbounded counter is huge
Rhythm is key
Believe in yourself
Take breaks and let your brain rest
Ground parry is directional, air parry is not
You can hold parry in the air to get an unbounded counter right as you hit the ground
Do the true ending :)

TLDR:
If you're looking for a challenging, fun, kinda janky, metroidvania w/o a lot of platforming/exploring then this is for you. If you don't want trial and error bosses until you learn certain patterns then I would pass on this, it can get frustrating sometimes but its worth it in the end.