i beat: tombwater
the good: link to the past meets bloodborne meets spaghetti western. lots of possibilities for combat (weapons, spells, and guns). unlike traditional “soulslikes”, the story is a lot more straightforward and digestible, which is nice. like any good adventure game, tombwater gives you tools for traversal and exploration at a pretty decent clip and never feels like it’s holding you back. there is a ton to do, lots to uncover, and even a few genuinely creepy/uncomfortable moments.
the bad: as a fairly complicated game developed by two people, it’s pretty rough around the edges. more than once i had instances of bizarre framedrop or the player character teleporting while moving or getting stuck on invisible geometry. tombwater also makes what i consider a huge misstep in using soulslike exploration (very little guidance on where to go or what to do) in a 2D adventure format. combined with a truly awful map, figuring out where you are or where anything is can be extremely challenging at times.
the verdict: jog to your nearest digital storefront and pick this up. tombwater feels very unique in an ocean of same-y looking games. if you can get past some of its warts you will find yourself rewarded with a cosmic horror western. how cool is that?