I paid for the game when it was first announced and enjoyed it - the potential was there, and it was fun to play.
Then the devs updated the game into a state that was not as fun to play, and it progressively got worse for me over the coming updates.
In its latest iteration of the game, it's simply not fun, and considering the recent announcement of Monster Train 2, this game is effectively abandoned.
As such, I will not recommend it, and I am sad to see the devs do what they did. I will also not be purchasing Monster Train 2 as a result, as the possibility of what happened to Inkbound could also happen to MT 2 - and I encourage others to do the same. There are indie and A/AA/AAA devs that respect their playerbase, and are willing to take their creations through a bad period to make something worthwhile. This is not it.

With 30 hours and 15/15 achievements, I'm putting the game down and giving you, my dear reader - a warm recommendation.
This game is a fusion of Binding of Isaac and Noita, where elements intertwine and the end result is a game where you'll be chasing the highest difficulty secret boss kill for the thrill of it. It takes the roguelike nature of Isaac and introduces wands and spells from Noita. You progress through the game by defeating anything that moves, and if you need help there's meta-progression.
On the positive side, the game plays beautifully. You can craft wand and spell combinations that deal millions of damage and make lategame bosses melt in 5-10 seconds. The devs enable this style of gameplay, and the game will put your brain to work. Every run is a unique opportunity to work around a combination you have never seen before.
The graphics and animations are top of the line, and the art-style adds to the charm. The spell nonsense did reach a point where the screen might look like visual vomit, but the devs introduced a spell and summons transparency setting for that.
On the negatives, be prepared for extreme FPS drops and sound glitching when the game is pushed to its limits. Speaking of sound, the music in the game is not too interesting, and I ended up playing my own music playlists while going through runs. The biggest negative for me was the story - technically the game has cutscenes, pieces of text and different characters but they all act as cardboard cutouts that blocked my way from simply playing the game.
As for the devs, I respect any creator who enables the level of game-bending presented in Magicraft. I hope they release a DLC or add future content down the line, because the gameplay is so strong it will certainly hold an audience.

An exceptionally well done early access game, and a worthy sequel to one of the best modern games that isn't a AAA budget product. Within the 26 hours I spent on it, I managed to beat the final bosses 3 times and decided to put a stop here until the final release. There is an obscene amount of content for an early access game, and the game version currently sits at 0.9.
An easy recommendation to anyone who played the first game and wishes to get a head start on seeing what can be done with the old formula, or to future Hades 2 buyers who missed the hype train of the first. The early access story is not complete and you can only push so far, which gives it a nice time investment feeling (you will have a reason to revisit and beat the game once it comes out in full).
There are very minor negatives that may impact the enjoyment - dashing out of animations feels sluggish, and using Casts is sometimes janky. Some Gods are straight up better than others, and some boons are worth as much as some Gods' entire offerings. The harvesting tool limit of 1 primary + 1 with limited uses on the pet sometimes gives a FOMO feeling when clearing maps. All of these will likely be polished out before release, and they do not detract enough from the game to warrant anything less than a 9/10. Looking forward to the full release, I have no doubt it will be another hit and GOTY contender in many categories.

100% the game, highly recommend. A mix of Hades, Vampire Survivors and Halls of Torment, where the best elements of all games are present. Even in the first version of Early Access, I got over 20 hours of game time, and if you are interested in chasing uniques / optimising gear you can easily spend double of that time.
+Unique art direction
+Game mechanics
+Devs take feedback into consideration and patch notes always have sections with community inspired changes
+Gearing is fun
+Gameplay is fantastic and easily addictive, one more run syndrome
-5 characters so far, 3 of them feel same-y
-Highest difficulty build variety isn't the greatest but the devs are working on it

Overall an easy recommend if you like the above 3 mentioned games, and this game has fantastic potential leading up to the 1.0 release.

"19th Island Sequence - When you sat with me and looked at the moon."


I re-wrote and deleted the review 3 times by now. I can't really put it in words, but this game is an
experience . I can't really recommend it to everyone, and I don't think it's a game that absolutely everyone should play. It took me 10 hours to 100% the game, and at its current price-per-hour point you're looking at what should feel like a nice restaurant 3-course meal, and what you end up with is a dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant where the main chef is using goat blood and demonic murmurs to spice the food, the servers look like they're on acid and they smell of whiskey, and the other patrons are loving it.

So in what case would this game be a good purchase for you? Should you be able to look past minor inconveniences and don't mind an indie feel to a game, you end up with what I can only describe as a "I wish I could play this for the first time again" type of experience. Paradise Killer is very unique in a lot of ways, and I struggle to piece together a Frankenstein of similar games that can fill all of its parts - and this is is what alienates the game from the mainstream gaming audience. What you should know is that the game is an Open World Mystery, but it doesn't stop at that. The trailers also don't do justice to the game's movement, which once mastered will leave you zooming from location to location, progressing plot points and collecting bits and pieces of the world being spoon-fed through collectables and dialogue. And what a world it is! If you made it this far in the review and like what you're reading, I warmly suggest stopping and getting the game. There's more I'd love to tell you, but the experience of going in blind and reading the reviews later will do you proper justice.

Is the game perfect? No. Should you play it? Maybe. Overwhelmingly positive worthy? Yup. And finally, best girl? Crimson.

An 80% hit chance on a unit that hits 5 times only hit once, and the situation happens both ways
The only gambling I will ever need in life