Devil's Dive

Hi. Here's a review from someone who didn't receive the game for free, has played for more than 1 hour, and will give an honest opinion on the game. I stumbled on this game, and it's a cheap buy. It isn't bad, but it also isn't great. Ultimately, I do enjoy it when I play, but it definitely takes you back to the days of NES difficulty, which is a time in gaming I do not miss. While I like a challenge and don't want my hand held, no difficulty setting in today's gaming world is a big downfall. Many indie devs have an obsession with making their games difficult opposed to "fun for everyone." Just a simple difficulty mode that increases the players HP's would be a nice feature. There's only one mode and you have 5 HP. While some might get far with this, others may struggle. This is why 90% of developers have a difficulty setting. They want to sell their game to a broader audience. You can even have a "hardcore" mode for really good players that only get 1 or 2 HP for an added challenge. Personally, this does hurt the game. Are there players who do well with the current way the game is setup. Absolutely. And then there are players, like me... where clearly my accuracy is a bit off, …

Permanent upgrades. And not just the cute, minor ones based on max combo - there's a whole merchant dedicated to stuff like permanent +1 max hp. REALLY a shame devs make that choice, the game looked promising.

really liked the core concept of the game. It has a solid roguelike style with some good ideas, but the lack of controller and keyboard remapping makes precise control almost impossible. On top of that, the audio settings reset to their default values every time you open the menu. The game would really benefit from some extra polish. Until then, I can’t recommend it.

Absolutely obnoxious. I'm not averse to difficult games, but Devil's Dive is difficult in an annoying way, not an engaging way. Hitboxes are unreadable, environmental hazards are obscured by the viewport, character acceleration swings wildly upon input. The game does not respect your time whatsoever. DD also tries to be a more feature-rich version of Downwell but misses the point that simplicity is one of the things that makes Downwell great. For example, the 360-degree aiming doesn't really add anything to the gameplay, but it does necessitate more awkward controls on a gamepad. Why would a platformer use an aim design that requires migrating the jump command from a face button to a shoulder button? In the case of DD, it feels like the answer to that question is "to be different from Downwell". It is different, but it's not better - I'd say it's actually worse, since using a trigger to jump in any game has, and always will, feel awful. DD looks and sounds great, but, unless you enjoy a very specific kind of old-school, teeth-grinding difficulty, you will not find this game fun. Avoid.

Great game. For it's price, definetely worth it. If you are looking for something new, this quick little game is it. The gameplay is amazing, the difficulty is great, the style is very charming. Has a few bugs that can hinder your experience, but not by much. Definetely recommend.

Awesome game, addictive and playable. Killer graphics appealing to an old gamer like me :) and LOVE the chipchune soundtrack. Highly recommended.