Is this game a masterpiece?. It is a decent Metroidvania, and there can never be enough good Metroidvanias. But it is probably no masterpiece. The game was programmed by a small team - essentially just three people. A typical indie game, even if the experienced publisher has ensured that many of the usual rough edges have been sanded down. You can also tell that fans of the genre were at work on this game. The visual similarities to the genre primus Hollow Knight are not entirely coincidental. The three developers are not rookies, of course - all of them have previously learned their trade with other developers and have now written their first game together.

Deeply hidden in or under a mountain range is a mysterious city. Few attempt to enter, and even fewer have ever been seen again after their attempt. We play a - rudimentarily human-looking - creature that hatches from the sacred egg cell. A talking statue tells us to explore the city and awaken its siblings... the Keeper of the Shrines explains to us shortly afterwards that the city is inhabited by corrupt beings and that he will support us in setting things right (and silencing the Council of Elders). He also wants us to gather followers around us who will support us. It's all very mysterious, but some things are explained during the game, at least if you pay close attention and follow the conversations. There are always encounters with friendly creatures with whom you can talk about several points - or you can just keep walking without spending much time on unnecessary chatter (and thus never understanding the story). Information you find is automatically noted in the compendium. You can find out a lot about your enemies and the strange town by reading through all the entries.

At the beginning, we can jump and strike with our claw-like hands. No dash, no double jump, no roll. All this (and much more) has to be learned first. As is typical of the genre, you have to continuously improve your character in order to stand a chance against the (relatively soon respawning) monsters. To do this, you can find and equip relics and souls. Dying enemies often leave behind Ichor, the blood of the gods, or other resources. A map is automatically drawn, and unusual locations are marked. The level of difficulty is quite high, especially at the beginning, but surprisingly it even gets a little easier as the game progresses. This is mainly due to the higher damage you can deal. At the beginning, your attack hardly deals any damage, and you must hit your opponents several times before they die. Of course, this often means that enemies can easily hit you, causing you to lose your life and wake up at the last save point. In general, you will suffer damage even if you only touch your opponents. The first skill you learn is a roll, but rolling through the enemy without taking damage is not possible. Your roll will be stopped by the opponent, and you will take damage before the enemy has even struck. The roll is therefore only suitable for getting away from the enemy to safety. Or to roll through narrow passages. Jumping onto the platforms is tedious. Even with the non-moving platforms, I always miss the mark, not to mention the moving platforms. Mega Man was easy in comparison! The bosses are quite interesting and, with a little practice, can be beaten. Provided you have the right timing and location, you can hit the bosses' vulnerable spots at the right time and eliminate them - and collect nice rewards for doing so.

Conclusion:
Hand-drawn Metroidvania that contains varied environments and challenging boss battles, with tight controls and full of hidden secrets to find. It is no new Hollow Knight, but a well-made representative of its genre, made primarily for experienced players who are not afraid of a little challenge. Lots of jumping in dangerous environments and a variety of different enemies are your daily bread as you explore a mysterious city.

This is not a bad game. It's just definitely not a good game. Everything in this game felt tedious and boring. Once you get the ability to turn into a blob, all other means of travel aren't even necessary to beat the game. In the 7 hours I played, I beat every boss, got every portal except one I didn't feel like hunting down, and fully upgraded the hub. This game felt like A.I. made it after being fed the description of "Metroidvania" and "Lovecraft". Everyone that got this game was like me, and wanted something to tide them over until Silksong. This, unfortunately, wasn't it. Go play Nine Sols instead, that game is worth every cent.

I finished this game because i felt like maybe it would get better.

The visuals are very nice, and combat is decent, however it is marred by a few things.

The combat is too easy, your character has way too much HP and way too much damage later on.
Tedious hidden breakable walls, and 0 way to know where you have to go next leaves you wandering the map searching for any area's that you haven't fully explored yet.

I finished the game without aquiring all the upgrades, because the game doesnt push you towards those upgrades. you are left to your own and have to figure out after every little progress where to go next. this involves a ton of backtracking.

what could have been a solid game is just held back by poor design choices sadly...