Seals of the Bygone

Risk of Rain-esque gameplay with some unique systems ensures that the game is fun to play, and importantly it plays well with most things balanced rather well.

The start of a good game sadly left to rot. Regret the purchase. These games live on diversity which just doesnt exist.

Disclaimer: Received via Jingle Jam bundle. Honestly, it's a decent game. The core gameplay loop is present, there's some form of permanent progression, there's a couple unique features that give it a distinct flavor from other similar titles, and there's plenty of interesting items and potions to make runs feel at least somewhat different. But I still wouldn't recommend the game at the current price or in the current state. Crucially, I have a few issues that I just can't get past. Gameplay-wise, this game wants to be at least partially a platformer. The controls just aren't precise enough for that, in my opinion. And balance-wise, numbers feel pretty meaningless. After the first stage or two, you enter a pretty one-shot-or-be-one-shotted type of experience. Some stuff is survivable, sure. But most really isn't, and there's no strong recovery system in place to help "rubber band" your HP when taking heavy, consistent damage--it's usually just a one-tap or a two-tap. (Which means even with a RoR-style OSP mechanic, you probably won't see much of an improvement.) Permanent progression, potions, the various currencies, and a lot of items--the game just... Doesn't make a lot of them especially memorable. Maybe that's just due to not having literally everything unlocked, but I found myself pretty quickly finding a character that suited my preference for ability behaviour and just never switching from it--unlike other games where different characters have sufficiently different feelings to their gameplay to entice you into experimenting. In the same vein, synergy with items is pretty arbitrary--to say nothing of item-to-skill synergy. The pieces are there, but the game really just doesn't explore the landscape it has created for itself. So it's fun in the moment, but not terribly memorable overall, and worse--can make you want to play a "similar, better game." Which is never what you want as the take-away from a session of play. There's potential here, truly, but it is, as yet, untapped. The final issue I have is more of a principle-based one, and your mileage will vary on this. The community presence of the developer is non-existent on Steam. Yes, yes. I know. There's a Discord, they're active there, and you can get more information there--allegedly. Thing is, it doesn't matter. Not to me. I bought this game on Steam. Not on Discord. This game is in Early Access on Steam, where the intent is for the community to interface with the development team and guide the growth of the game through the Steam community, discussions, and other Steam-based tools. Not. Discord. Not everything needs to be outsourced to Discord. I get it, it's easier. But Steam is the official platform, and it is publicly visible. Having a small dedicated group of cultists that don't publicly face the primary purchasing community is not helpful, and putting all formal communication beyond major updates behind a Discord server owned, operated, and overseen by the creator of the game just... I mean, I don't need to explain the concept of an Echo Chamber, do I? We're all on the same page? Again, this is principle-based. I have no idea if that's how the Discord server is, nor do I care. I'm not joining it. It's the developer's responsibility to engage with the community in the public forum upon which their game is hosted and purchased. Discord should be--I would say needs to be--secondary. And as far as I can tell, never once has the developer engaged with the community outside of patch/version update post--no comments that can be tied to any individual. This is an abdication of the responsibility you have to the community that in good faith has purchased your game before it is complete. And on this alone, I cannot recommend the title. I will return to this review at a later date and update it accordingly if the need arises; take stock of the date posted so you can determine for yourself how recent and accurate the information is. That said, don't expect me to be in a hurry to do so--it doesn't seem the developer is in a hurry to push any formal updates either.

https://youtu.be/cGtIBCKMhvA Left abandoned many features are incomplete, what may have been a good action rogue like is just the shell of good ideas.

Best game ever, exile is the best class. PLEASEEEE make mod support, ill give you my soul and my inheritance. :D :D

its in an ok state but its abandonware.

mmm