The negative reviews at the top are pretty exaggerated and misleading.

Its definitely a fun little metrodvania platformer. Its easy to recommend for fans of the genre. Especially if you want a lighter experience.

The story is a tad dry and don't get me wrong its not the best in class but its good. Better then good in many ways. Its got a nice retro feel. Like NES Zelda: 2 turned up to 11. Theres a nice mix of fairly straight forward exploring and backtracking for secrets. Theres loads of secrets big and small. Theres some cool items, clever elements, and fun surprises. It really achieves alot and was an ambitious project. The game has some replayability and extra challenges if you want to add them.

It is a tad light and found it pretty easy on the normal difficulty. You could plow through it in a day or two if you rushed. I took about 9 hours but backtracked whenever I could, got 100% explored, and made sure not to miss much of anything.

I also found the art, sounds, and music enjoyable. Not sure how some are ripping on these elements. Its not hiding its style.

One reviewer said the game got old but I found the end games stages the best.

Overall I had a great time. I'd love to see it get a sound pass but I doubt that will happen. Some quality of life improvements to save you time would be nice. Maybe some new areas, items, characters. A magic overhaul could be great too. Maybe for Chasm 2 fingers crossed.

Cons:

I was pretty disappointed the characters appearance didn't change the whole game. I like to customize and feel like I'm growing. Tho you do get a little of that from the different weapons. I wanted more. Would been so cool to see the equipment change your appearance.

It get a tad tedious at times. The back tracking. short cuts, and save locations, can be annoying or feel unnecessary. Back tracking through the early stages is not threatening at all. It could have been a little more dynamic. Like maybe some new enemies populate at certain points. One thing desperately missing and an easy fix would be to be able to save at any portal. Instead you got go in the portal, switch area, then walk over there, then save, then back track to the portal... All extra steps for nothing really. You are just clicking and switching screens for nothing. Also, I wish I knew the map had a marking system sooner. Mark those chests and areas you can't get too it will save you loads of time.

Mild spoiler, there are invisible walls. They are kinda annoying tho because most of them have boring rewards. Theres also no indication they exist. I found my first one by complete accident. Which made my ocd kick in overdrive. Now I had to check every wall and they were are pretty rare. Only a couple times did it feel worth it and rewarding. More interesting stuff coulda been done with this for sure.

The magic system is kinda lack luster. Well it does have a retro nes feel but thats kinda dated. They dont really explain it much either. So you gotta buy and try your spells to know how they work. Id really recommend looking them up online before buying any. You'll only want one or two. The magic could be more dynamic for sure. This is one thing I think could really be reworked to add alot to the game. Have some more progression and flavor. Maybe add some secret spells and interactions with items and monsters.

I should add I only did one play through on normal. I wanna try it on hard or hardcore with the classes add on.

The negative reviews at the top are pretty exaggerated and misleading. Its definitely a fun little metrodvania platformer. Its easy to recommend for fans of the genre. Especially if you want a lighter experience. The story is a tad dry and don't get me wrong its not the best in class but its good. Better then good in many ways. Its got a nice retro feel. Like NES Zelda: 2 turned up to 11. Theres a nice mix of fairly straight forward exploring and backtracking for secrets. Theres loads of secrets big and small. Theres some cool items, clever elements, and fun surprises. It really achieves alot and was an ambitious project. The game has some replayability and extra challenges if you want to add them. It is a tad light and found it pretty easy on the normal difficulty. You could plow through it in a day or two if you rushed. I took about 9 hours but backtracked whenever I could, got 100% explored, and made sure not to miss much of anything. I also found the art, sounds, and music enjoyable. Not sure how some are ripping on these elements. Its not hiding its style. One reviewer said the game got old but I found the end games stages the best. Overall I had a great time. I'd love to see it get a sound pass but I doubt that will happen. Some quality of life improvements to save you time would be nice. Maybe some new areas, items, characters. A magic overhaul could be great too. Maybe for Chasm 2 fingers crossed. Cons: I was pretty disappointed the characters appearance didn't change the whole game. I like to customize and feel like I'm growing. Tho you do get a little of that from the different weapons. I wanted more. Would been so cool to see the equipment change your appearance. It get a tad tedious at times. The back tracking. short cuts, and save locations, can be annoying or feel unnecessary. Back tracking through the early stages is not threatening at all. It could have been a little more dynamic. Like maybe some new enemies populate at certain points. One thing desperately missing and an easy fix would be to be able to save at any portal. Instead you got go in the portal, switch area, then walk over there, then save, then back track to the portal... All extra steps for nothing really. You are just clicking and switching screens for nothing. Also, I wish I knew the map had a marking system sooner. Mark those chests and areas you can't get too it will save you loads of time. Mild spoiler, there are invisible walls. They are kinda annoying tho because most of them have boring rewards. Theres also no indication they exist. I found my first one by complete accident. Which made my ocd kick in overdrive. Now I had to check every wall and they were are pretty rare. Only a couple times did it feel worth it and rewarding. More interesting stuff coulda been done with this for sure. The magic system is kinda lack luster. Well it does have a retro nes feel but thats kinda dated. They dont really explain it much either. So you gotta buy and try your spells to know how they work. Id really recommend looking them up online before buying any. You'll only want one or two. The magic could be more dynamic for sure. This is one thing I think could really be reworked to add alot to the game. Have some more progression and flavor. Maybe add some secret spells and interactions with items and monsters. I should add I only did one play through on normal. I wanna try it on hard or hardcore with the classes add on.