Throwing the cons out at the beginning:

There are some enemies that just feel way too tanky, regardless of how many upgrades you have which makes backtracking to do quests a bit of a slog.

Another save point or two in certain areas would be really beneficial.

It's easy to get into areas you really shouldn't be in yet and run up against a huge difficulty spike.

The platforming can be....hit or miss with insta-kill spikes and bottomless pits like we're suddenly playing Megaman again which doesn't feel great in a game with long run-backs and some tanky enemies.

The quests, the items, the triggers for stages of certain NPC quests, and what you have to do can be really incredibly cryptic. I usually try to avoid using a wiki the first time through a game but I couldn't avoid it this time to figure out what certain items or for or what certain NPCs are asking me to do.

Powerups are kind of a mess with lots of weird limitations like: why so many types? you've got sword skills that are different from sword hearts which is different still from sword level. Magic Spells. Combat relics, which are different from exploration relics. The latter have no combat impact but we can only ever equip three so you constantly have to juggle them - why not let us equip them all at once? The combat relics sometimes have cryptic or poorly written descriptions and it's hard to know which are good or worthwhile.

THAT SAID, I am enjoying it quite a lot. The challenge is there. The enjoyment is there. The music is wonderful - I feel like you don't hear many games that rely heavily on spanish guitar. The visuals are excellent. The boss design is creative and astounding (even if the actual difficulty of them is all over the place).

Definitely recommend it if you like Metroidvanias OR Dark Souls-style games.

Throwing the cons out at the beginning: There are some enemies that just feel way too tanky, regardless of how many upgrades you have which makes backtracking to do quests a bit of a slog. Another save point or two in certain areas would be really beneficial. It's easy to get into areas you really shouldn't be in yet and run up against a huge difficulty spike. The platforming can be....hit or miss with insta-kill spikes and bottomless pits like we're suddenly playing Megaman again which doesn't feel great in a game with long run-backs and some tanky enemies. The quests, the items, the triggers for stages of certain NPC quests, and what you have to do can be really incredibly cryptic. I usually try to avoid using a wiki the first time through a game but I couldn't avoid it this time to figure out what certain items or for or what certain NPCs are asking me to do. Powerups are kind of a mess with lots of weird limitations like: why so many types? you've got sword skills that are different from sword hearts which is different still from sword level. Magic Spells. Combat relics, which are different from exploration relics. The latter have no combat impact but we can only ever equip three so you constantly have to juggle them - why not let us equip them all at once? The combat relics sometimes have cryptic or poorly written descriptions and it's hard to know which are good or worthwhile. THAT SAID, I am enjoying it quite a lot. The challenge is there. The enjoyment is there. The music is wonderful - I feel like you don't hear many games that rely heavily on spanish guitar. The visuals are excellent. The boss design is creative and astounding (even if the actual difficulty of them is all over the place). Definitely recommend it if you like Metroidvanias OR Dark Souls-style games.