Neon Chrome, Rogue Legacy, Dead Estate.those games taught me things through the gameplay which made me get better, there were little rewards/unlocks or pieces of knowledge which made the next attempt(s) more interesting or fun, and I just had to finish them. Each attempted run made me dislike the game more than the prior one, which is the antithesis of what a good roguelite should do. It's not a terrible game, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a good one.

I didn't experience any satisfying sense of progression unlocks, the real world feels like 'the Seattle experience' of coffee shops, libraries, parks, and other hangouts for emo millenials to feel pretentious and deep in, while the 'characters' around town are essentially silhouettes who say one or two uninteresting lines, and want gifts on an incredibly gamey, point-based system (yes, I realize this IS a game, but all immersion and characterization is ruined, while the game takes itself so seriously that there's no winking parody feel like in Dead Estate). It's like mastering a Mega Man map, but not knowing the boss' attack patterns and only having one life on every single run, which would make for a pretty miserable Mega Man experience, wrecking the map and then getting frustrated when the boss of the map is the only moment of interest, and it's fleeting.

Since the first map is so easy and you have to keep playing through it, I would get obliterated in the second map, then had to suffer through the yawn-inducing first map again and again. While I like difficulty to ramp up, it's too steep, and - more importantly - you have to play through the first area each time, which is incredibly boring.

The first map can be a little challenging as you learn the ropes, but eventually, it becomes a cakewalk, while the second map is a chore with a boss that's exponentially harder than the first. Unfortunately, there's nothing else I can really say positive about this title. It's nice to look at for a bit, and the dream world and real world premise is a neat one for a roguelite.

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