Beastfall

Pretty good. Interesting boss designs, even if the animation chaining can feel a little stiff now and then. Love the NPC illustrations, though.

Played a bit at launch. The music and art work great together. Each boss has its own BGM, but the mix has issues — battle SFX often overpower the music.

Beastfall, developed by Raven Games and published by Raven Label, takes a deliberately stripped-down approach to the action roguelite genre, building its entire identity around one central idea: every encounter matters because every encounter is a boss. Instead of guiding players through sprawling levels filled with minor enemies and gradual escalation, the game throws them directly into a sequence of high-intensity duels, where survival depends entirely on skill, awareness, and the ability to adapt under pressure. This design immediately sets the tone, creating an experience that feels lean, focused, and uncompromising in its execution. Combat is the undeniable core of the game, and it is designed to be both punishing and satisfying. Each boss encounter demands careful observation, forcing players to learn attack patterns, anticipate movement, and respond with precise timing. Dodging, countering, and positioning all play crucial roles, and even a single mistake can quickly lead to failure. The absence of filler encounters means there’s no opportunity to relax or recover through easier fights; every battle carries weight, and every victory feels earned. This constant intensity giv…

Your first destination is the challenge mode with seventeen stages, along with a tutorial on how to play. There’s not much to worry about in terms of controls. You have basic left and right movement, a jump that can be pressed again for a double jump, and a parry button that cannot be spammed because it needs a second to recharge after each use. There’s also healing, but you can only use it a limited number of times per battle. The bad news is that a gamepad is not supported, so you are left with a keyboard and mouse combination. The mouse is tied to attacking. The left mouse button is your basic attack, and it can also act as a jump substitute because you can mash it to gain height with each attack, hold it for continuous damage while staying in place, or time your attacks to create combos and deal higher damage. The right mouse button is reserved for ranged attacks. Unlike the default main attack, the ranged attack can be changed by collecting power up orbs that regularly drop from above. One thing you need to realize right away is that button mashing does not work and is actually punished. If you fail to time your hits, indicated by a constantly moving arrow and two markers be…

*Played it on day one. Level-design-wise, the dev clearly attempted to give every boss a unique core mechanic, but a few ended up feeling like filler. The upside is the genuine indie innovation. ~Overall: 7.5/10.*

This is a game that could use more "subtraction" — it tries to do too much at once and feels under-polished. That said, the boss battles and music are highlights. All in all, I'd say it's still worth a shot.