As We Descend

The game features a distinctive, dark-fantasy and gothic steampunk art style praised for its beautiful visuals, inspired monster designs, and cohesive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. While the graphics and UI are generally well-received for being intuitive and stylish, some note a lack of variety in environments and occasional repetitiveness. Overall, the art direction is a standout element that strongly supports the game's mood and thematic depth.

The story in its current early access state is generally seen as underdeveloped or thin, with many reviewers appreciating the intriguing premise and lore potential but noting a lack of meaningful narrative evolution or integration. Players express hope for more fleshed-out story content, character development, and narrative-driven side activities to complement the solid gameplay. Overall, the story is considered promising yet incomplete, with the developer actively working on improving it.

The music in the game is widely praised for its epic, immersive, and fitting soundtrack that complements the dark, visceral art style and enhances the atmosphere. While some users note minor sound mixing issues and desire more variety, overall the score and sound design significantly contribute to an engaging and memorable experience.

The game offers substantial replayability through diverse mechanics, faction synergies, and meta progression systems, comparable to notable deckbuilders like Slay the Spire. However, some players find the pacing slow or feel the current content is limited, with repetitive elements and only partial faction availability impacting long-term appeal. Ongoing updates and added variety are expected to further enhance its replay value.

The game boasts a richly crafted, distinctive atmosphere characterized by beautiful visuals, strong worldbuilding, and immersive art direction that effectively conveys a dark fantasy setting. Players consistently praise its cohesive blend of art, sound design, and lore, which enhances the gameplay experience without overwhelming it. While the atmosphere is widely admired for its depth and mood, some note a desire for further development of lore and progression.

Grinding in the game is noted as somewhat tedious and slow by some players, especially due to UI issues and lengthy battles, which may reduce replay value. While the core gameplay is fun, significant grinding is required to upgrade units and progress, with difficulty scaling leading to a grindy experience in later regions. However, the grind doesn't feel stat-focused for all players, though overall balance improvements are needed.

Optimization is generally poor, with consistent but unimpressive FPS and noticeable performance issues during intense moments. Users report laggy UI and slow asset loading, especially on lower-end hardware, indicating a need for significant optimization improvements.

The game's stability has generally improved, with most bugs resolved and smooth gameplay enabling consistent progress. However, some glitches remain, such as friendly fire from auto attacks and broken progression milestones, alongside unexpected changes in loot and combat difficulty. Overall, it is mostly bug-free but still exhibits a few stability issues.

Character development is praised primarily for its strong visual style and distinctive character designs, which enhance the overall atmosphere. While not explicitly focused on narrative growth, the enjoyment comes from how character aesthetics and gameplay mechanics like combos contribute to player engagement.

Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, comparing its impact to the intense feelings experienced in Darkest Dungeon and highlighting genuine investment and wholehearted support.

The humor is consistently described as funny, providing enjoyable and lighthearted moments throughout the game.

The monetization approach is widely criticized as a cash grab, initially priced high to capitalize on hype and later reduced with discounts and free copies given to boost positive reviews, resulting in an overall unfriendly perception.