In short: Solid arpg in a fresh setting with souls map design. After playing dark souls games i was looking for something a bit different for some novelty and Asterigos fulfilled that desire while still giving a familiar exploration experience. The story is told openly in scenes and dialogues between npc's with bonus lore found in notes. I think the environment looks more upbeat due a brighter color palette and perhaps also a more stylized look. Combat follows ARPG design with combo moves and special attacks unlocked in a branching skill tree. There is a limited reset option and in combination with the savefile system you can abuse that to try alternatives without cost. There is animation cancel for dodging while block is limited to shield&sword. Asterigos also has difficulty options. Overall i died on max difficulty less so than in dark souls games. The primary reason i think Asterigos is easier is a higher potion amount right from start and easier to read telegraph attacks on heavy hitters which i do consider a positive change. You can make it even harder as there are some weird wearable items you can find early that will reduce your stats and a ring that locks xp gain (no idea if achievement or some deeper meaning behind those) and of course other players should welcome the option to scale difficutly down. Lastly Asterigos runs very well. No crashes, lags or weird glitches. 4/5 for a good game with 5/5 is reserved for genre defining titles.
