Looking at a lot of reviews across the web, it seems the main gripes with this game are: a) You 'lose all progress' when you die, and B) you don't have enough time 'to get everything'. The point of this game is that you're not meant to get everything before you face the main boss. You're supposed to manage your time and make the best use of exploring the current map, to find items, and also find out more about the back story. Also, after a couple of Swords, YOU CAN EXTEND YOUR TIME. Yes, you lose almost everything every time a new Sword awakens, however there are so many toys and items, and other goodies in the game. The aim of each Sword isn't to amass ALL items, toys, etc before facing Mormo. It's impossible to possess every item in this game at the same time, and it would also make fighting Mormo just too easy. The aim is to see what you can find with each Sword, and make do with it. Every time a Sword has awoken I have found new weapons, new enemies, new NPCs. There is a lot to find on the island, and it will take many Swords to find it all. This game plays like Link to the Past stuck in an infinite loop. If you like the idea of never ending LttP you will probably enjoy this game. In some ways the gameplay seems more refined, in other ways it's less. At first I found the hit detection seemed inaccurate at times (but not all the time). Since not long before writing this, I've found the detection to be much better. I'm not sure if it's due to the recent patch, or if I've just become more accustomed to the game's mechanics. Also I found that if I quit in the middle of a dungeon, some moving platforms would stop moving when a fired the game up again, making it impossible to complete the dungeon. However I was still able to exit those dungeons and carry on. If you are addicted to closure, or you don't like repetition, this game is not for you. This is a Zelda-like roguelite that is designed to be replayed many, many times.
I expected this game to be heavier on swordplay, but it is a twin stick shooter with melee. If you like bullet hell you may enjoy this game. There is a lot of repetition and a lot of trial and error to master each boss. In my opinion the payoff for reaching that mastery is not worth it. Poor story. Voice acting isn't bad but the dialogue is boring. No combos, techniques or weapons to unlock. The 'stages' between battles consist of walking and listening to a poor imitation of Ninja Ninja/Kuma talk about the upcoming boss. And they can't be skipped, as far as I know. Graphics are simple, but very stylized, and probably the highlight of the game for me. Soundtrack is also great. Unfortunately I felt the gameplay lacked depth to keep me interested for more than a few hours. I paid AU$12 for the game, and I can't help but feel that it wasn't worth it.
