Mark of the Deep (PC) (Demo)

20240223:
While the artwork was beautiful, I wasn't a fan of the gameplay. In part, I've not played many Souls-like games and therefore I found the combat unrewarding. After an hour of playing and losing some earned gold (more on that later), I decided to stop playing.

Elements I did not like:
- Death system: if the player dies before being able to retrieve the soul of the previous death, then the gold dropped is lost.
- The first time I encountered the shop felt late. I think it would have helped to indicate the importance of gold earlier in the game
- I found it strange that there was a gap between earning the hookshot ability and actually using it
- enemy attack cycles, when asynchronous and in groups, is annoying and encourages running past them which is unsatisfying gameplay
- I felt unlocking the gun could have come a little sooner
- why does climbing a ladder require pressing an action button? I feel like it takes away from immersion to press a button to climb a ladder as opposed to just climbing the ladder

Leaving on some good notes. Again I love the look of the game. The two bosses I fought were challenging but also felt rewarding to defeat. Furthermore, fighting them did not feel frustrating (especially compared to some of the "normal" enemies).

Steam Game Time: 64 minutes (cumulative game time)

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