A very good game not quite like anything I've ever played before. Loved Edmund's work ever since I was a teen, now in my 30s. 100 hours in and I laughed at a new boss harder than I've ever laughed at a game in a long time. Beat the game around 130 hours.

While there's a lot I like about the game, and would like the idea of 100%ing it, I'm not sure if I'll be continuing much longer. There's some unique problems in the late game that are a bit stressful and I think are worth sharing.

Unlike other roguelikes, you can't just jump straight into a fresh run with no real thought. You need to manage your cats; who's being sent away, who's going in your breeding room, your fighting room, who's going on the actual run. Then you pick your classes. Then you pick what items each one takes. Then you decide what Act you want to do. THEN the run actually begins. There's sooo many decisions to be made between runs, coupled with the fact runs usually take around 2 hours, it gets to the point where I'm lucky if I can do two full runs in a given day. And while all of this is manageable in the early stages, once your house/item storage etc gets upgraded, it becomes quite the ordeal.

There's also an issue of conflicting objectives once you really get into serious cat breeding. On one hand, you want to create the best cats possible so you can actually use them on adventures and pass down their abilities. On the other hand, you don't want to risk them dying or maybe getting a different mutation you don't want, so you're incentivized to send them on Easy or Act 1 runs to try to guarantee their survival, or just keep them at home their whole lives. And the cat breeding does get pretty tedious later on, as it's less and less "oooh lets see what crazy baby we get this time" and more "please god no disabilities please" or "please I just need this one mutation to pass on please".

There's also some late game balance issues in Act 3. The "left" path is almost comically easy compared to the "right" path.

Some of the time gating later on is kind of a buzz kill. After unlocking Act 3, you have to do no less than 13 runs spread across the 3 Acts in order to progress to the final credits. You even think you've beaten the game but nope, you have another 3 runs to do. I sort of get why they do this, but it's still a buzz kill.

I dunno where I'm going with this anymore. There's a lot I like, but the game has turned into less of a game and more of a stressful chore, so I think it's time for me to put it down.

A very good game not quite like anything I've ever played before. Loved Edmund's work ever since I was a teen, now in my 30s. 100 hours in and I laughed at a new boss harder than I've ever laughed at a game in a long time. Beat the game around 130 hours. While there's a lot I like about the game, and would like the idea of 100%ing it, I'm not sure if I'll be continuing much longer. There's some unique problems in the late game that are a bit stressful and I think are worth sharing. Unlike other roguelikes, you can't just jump straight into a fresh run with no real thought. You need to manage your cats; who's being sent away, who's going in your breeding room, your fighting room, who's going on the actual run. Then you pick your classes. Then you pick what items each one takes. Then you decide what Act you want to do. THEN the run actually begins. There's sooo many decisions to be made between runs, coupled with the fact runs usually take around 2 hours, it gets to the point where I'm lucky if I can do two full runs in a given day. And while all of this is manageable in the early stages, once your house/item storage etc gets upgraded, it becomes quite the ordeal. There's also an issue of conflicting objectives once you really get into serious cat breeding. On one hand, you want to create the best cats possible so you can actually use them on adventures and pass down their abilities. On the other hand, you don't want to risk them dying or maybe getting a different mutation you don't want, so you're incentivized to send them on Easy or Act 1 runs to try to guarantee their survival, or just keep them at home their whole lives. And the cat breeding does get pretty tedious later on, as it's less and less "oooh lets see what crazy baby we get this time" and more "please god no disabilities please" or "please I just need this one mutation to pass on please". There's also some late game balance issues in Act 3. The "left" path is almost comically easy compared to the "right" path. Some of the time gating later on is kind of a buzz kill. After unlocking Act 3, you have to do no less than 13 runs spread across the 3 Acts in order to progress to the final credits. You even think you've beaten the game but nope, you have another 3 runs to do. I sort of get why they do this, but it's still a buzz kill. I dunno where I'm going with this anymore. There's a lot I like, but the game has turned into less of a game and more of a stressful chore, so I think it's time for me to put it down.