The narration and story is pretty good. There are a lot of options and paths. The only weak point of the game is that half of the paths are pretty shallow and not very rewarding. Only a few of the paths have good endings.
This is a an Castlevania-lite. There is almost NO Metroidvania-like abilities or ability-gating in this game. It's not really a souls-lite either. The player character stays roughly the same throughout the entire game and barely picks up any skills. Overall, I found Blasphemous to be more fun than most Castlevania games but less fun than most Metroidvanias. It's a very bleak world. There is almost no character-driven story, but the exploration and lore are very strong. In terms of difficulty, it's well-balanced and easier than most Castlevania/Metroidvania games. I beat most of the bosses on my first try.
Samurai showdown is fun turn-based mini-roguelite. It kind of reminds me of turn-based card games. Getting to the final boss takes 1-3 hours first time. There are 7 stages of difficulty that get progressively harder each time you beat the final boss.
This does NOT feel like a game. It's work. This is the worst possible kind of work: pure grind where the reward for grind is getting even more activities to grind. Forager feels like working 3 brain-dead jobs at the same time without getting any breaks. Whenever you level up, you acquire another activity to grind IN ADDITION to all the other activities you still have to grind. It's so stressful. Game is also broken in the sense that the best ways to beat it are to exploit the game mechanics. It's like the game was designed that way, which feels like cheating, but it's the only way to beat the game in reasonable time. Lastly, Boon shrine sucks and destroy your game.
Among of the hundreds of games I've played, Prey is easily in the top 10. It's a better version of Bioshock, System Shock, and Jedi Fallen Order that incorporates Metroidvania gameplay and a really good story. The atmosphere of the game is absolutely amazing and as good as Bioshock. Each floor and environment (especially Arboretum) is gorgeous and beautifully-crafted.
I love the horror game genre, and this game ranks at the top. It's incredibly beautiful and immersive. The story is top-notch and has a strong sci-fi presence. I've found it to be more enjoyable than Bioshock or Last of Us and on-par with System Shock 2 simply because the story is that strong. It's a long exploration game; after hours, it just feels like you're there.
