Good Metrovania with a bad pausing bug
First of all if you like metrovania like games then this one will definitely scratch that itch. I found the fights difficult but not too difficult and for the most part fun. There is a bit of a grind to the game to get upgrade materials. So far it hasn't been too terrible since I die enough, and given the stuff in your inventory doesn't disappear on death, that I have been good so far RNG wise. I bank my "shards" for coins as much as possible so my losses can be minimal even if I don't get to retrieve my corpse/blood stain like in Souls series of games. The setting is good, the story so far is mediocre, but I still find myself playing it often.
Now for my issues. There is a pretty bad pausing bug. It was not so prevalent to me at first but as I got further into the game, it started happening more and more. It basically plays fine, then it will just pause for a second or two then continue on as if it didn't happen (along with none of the buttons you pressed during happening either). It is potentially game breaking as you can die easily if it happens at the wrong moments. It's not my rig it's in the game itself (Threadripper 3970x + GTX3090). The controls are for the most part fine, but it doesn't feel tight. So the jumps feel off at times. Jumping to some platforms the lose controls cause you to over correct and fall (sometimes fatally). Some areas don't have maps, and that is a big issue IMHO. You will forget your way especially if you wait a day or two before you play again.
Good news is it works fine on steam deck but exibits the same issues with the frame pausing so that is 2 systems of mine and many others from other forums I frequent that have the issue. Be aware though that some text (like ammo amounts in the on game inventory) are not really readable on the steam deck screen.
Overall a 2.5/5 but I rounded up. Technical issues are what dropped the score otherwise I'd give it a solid 4/5. The pausing needs to be fixed, or I really can't recommend the game.