Old school hack and slash that perfectly blends:

* Combo smashing: Combo goes brrr, yet you don't even have to spam since there is a skill that let you hold a button and your character will just execute the combo automatically. What matter is timing and mixing up your attack.
* Timed blocking: You have a shield, use it. Even bosses' attacks can be blocked perfectly. But being passive and hiding behind your shield means becoming a sitting duck. Your stamina is limited. You can't keep blocking indefinitely.
* Special attack: Normal attack fills up a gauge that can be used for a wide range of special attacks with devastating damage.
It starts with holding a button, inputting a fighting game style sequence of directional keys (e.g: down up) and releasing the previous button.
You would summon and sometimes transform into Final Fantasy style GF spirits.
They also grant you a short period of invincibility.
The best defense is a well timed offense.
You can negate a bunch of hard to dodge, costly to block attacks by a timely special.
Which brings us to:
* Counter attack. Block an attack and immediately counter also grant you invincibility frames.
This is a key to get through some seemingly impenetrable defenses.
It feels amazing to execute that perfect sequence of blocking, counter attack then special, throwing a bunch of numbers up while dashing through a flurry of threats being thrown at you.

Not only that, the battle system is supported by:

* A host of varied craftable weapons and equipment each with their own play style.
* Weapon mastery can give you a bunch of useful passive skills.
* A skill tree system that looks more like a skill maze.

It may sound like there is a lot of grinding but there isn't.
Even on hell difficulty (the second highest), I never had to grind.
Just exploring, walking from one objective point to other, killing everything on the way is enough to get through the game.
Not just that, before boss fights, the game always let you respec your stats for **free** so you can tinker with your build to find the best way to tackle a boss battle.
You are never trapped in an invalid build, making you grind to make up for it.
There are respec potions but I never had to use them since the game is so generous with respec points.

Also, the mixtape (music) is fire. Even in the beginning when you only have a tree branch to hit some slime, the music goes hard.
It makes me want to be a JRPG heroes and save them waifus.

Cons:

* The dialogue is kinda silly. Jokes are sometimes made in serious scenes that just breaks the mood and then characters went serious again.
* The story is pretty cliched so far. A do gooder, self sacrificing hero with insane strength (you) trying to save everyone with the power of friendship.

If you do play, I recommend starting with Hell and lower it to Hard if it's too challenging or your progression is too slow.
At certain point in the game, you can't raise it up to Hell again.
On hard, the game is moderately challenging, you do die often if you are careless.
In difficulty below Hell (second highest), the game pauses when you are inputting your fighting game style button sequence for your special attack. It makes timing a lot easier and forgiving.
In Hell and above, there are no more pauses. You have to perfectly master those timings. It feels good to do the same damage cancelling sequence said above in real time, dodging death by a hairline.
However, I admit I'm getting old and my progression in Hell is too slow since I have to keep retrying the same path and bosses.
I dropped to Hard later and the game is enjoyable so far.

Old school hack and slash that perfectly blends: * Combo smashing: Combo goes brrr, yet you don't even have to spam since there is a skill that let you hold a button and your character will just execute the combo automatically. What matter is timing and mixing up your attack. * Timed blocking: You have a shield, use it. Even bosses' attacks can be blocked perfectly. But being passive and hiding behind your shield means becoming a sitting duck. Your stamina is limited. You can't keep blocking indefinitely. * Special attack: Normal attack fills up a gauge that can be used for a wide range of special attacks with devastating damage. It starts with holding a button, inputting a fighting game style sequence of directional keys (e.g: down up) and releasing the previous button. You would summon and sometimes transform into Final Fantasy style GF spirits. They also grant you a short period of invincibility. The best defense is a well timed offense. You can negate a bunch of hard to dodge, costly to block attacks by a timely special. Which brings us to: * Counter attack. Block an attack and immediately counter also grant you invincibility frames. This is a key to get through some seemingly impenetrable defenses. It feels amazing to execute that perfect sequence of blocking, counter attack then special, throwing a bunch of numbers up while dashing through a flurry of threats being thrown at you. Not only that, the battle system is supported by: * A host of varied craftable weapons and equipment each with their own play style. * Weapon mastery can give you a bunch of useful passive skills. * A skill tree system that looks more like a skill maze. It may sound like there is a lot of grinding but there isn't. Even on hell difficulty (the second highest), I never had to grind. Just exploring, walking from one objective point to other, killing everything on the way is enough to get through the game. Not just that, before boss fights, the game always let you respec your stats for **free** so you can tinker with your build to find the best way to tackle a boss battle. You are never trapped in an invalid build, making you grind to make up for it. There are respec potions but I never had to use them since the game is so generous with respec points. Also, the mixtape (music) is fire. Even in the beginning when you only have a tree branch to hit some slime, the music goes hard. It makes me want to be a JRPG heroes and save them waifus. Cons: * The dialogue is kinda silly. Jokes are sometimes made in serious scenes that just breaks the mood and then characters went serious again. * The story is pretty cliched so far. A do gooder, self sacrificing hero with insane strength (you) trying to save everyone with the power of friendship. If you do play, I recommend starting with Hell and lower it to Hard if it's too challenging or your progression is too slow. At certain point in the game, you can't raise it up to Hell again. On hard, the game is moderately challenging, you do die often if you are careless. In difficulty below Hell (second highest), the game pauses when you are inputting your fighting game style button sequence for your special attack. It makes timing a lot easier and forgiving. In Hell and above, there are no more pauses. You have to perfectly master those timings. It feels good to do the same damage cancelling sequence said above in real time, dodging death by a hairline. However, I admit I'm getting old and my progression in Hell is too slow since I have to keep retrying the same path and bosses. I dropped to Hard later and the game is enjoyable so far.