"Top-down" implies you aren't at a positional disadvantage for how you can view the playing field. Yet if you aren't placing the enemies in front of you (the fact that there's an "in front of you" at all is already a problem...), you're likely to be hit by whatever might come from behind due to dodge lag and lack of starting i-frames (at least in the early game, though even the red i-frames don't seem to trigger all the time). The problem of this low camera angle is only exacerbated in the last boss: the trick is to gain dodge charges to damage the boss and clear adds (who, since I guess the varied attack patterns and low health aren't difficult enough, have more health than adds in other bosses...). This requires that you don't end up dodging into a group of enemies. Where is such a group of enemies? If you're attacking backwards, you won't know until you get hit by them. Hell, the camera angle is so low that you need only a few enemies in the foreground and you won't be able to tell when attacking upwards, either.
If it was a genuine top-down experience, things might be much, much more manageable and enjoyable. We could see paths, see gaps in enemy positioning, preempt enemy movement, and dodge to weave through those gaps to safety. As it is, the last boss feels like a "dodge and pray then die then repeat until you get lucky".
The worst part is that this entire facet of the game completely ruins immersion in any sort of story it might have (the fact that I phrased it that way should be telling...). I want to enjoy it, but I'm busy on the last boss spamming dodge through enemies and praying they die so I don't get smacked by someone off-screen due to the dodge lag that could have gotten me off to safety.
Reviews for "These Remains"
I love the look and how the game plays, but man, there is just way too much bullshit at just the first boss. If you switch focus to the minions he summons, by the time you finish, he summons more just as fast. Not to mention there's no indication of if you're doing anything to him. It just doesn't feel like it should be the first boss, and that hinders the rest of the game if you can't move past that.
It's smooth but the enemies are op
The game is fun I guess, but the first boss does way to much damage by simply touching him, not to mention the depth perception in this game isn't the best. The first boss also shouldn't use projectiles considering that you have to get close to him to do any damage, which he can take way to much of. His projectiles do way to much damage and there isn't much of a warning either. The projectiles also spawn more enemies that are also very hard to deal with. I personally believe that regular enemies should stay out of boss rooms, if you can't make a hard enough boss then adding a bunch of minions is not the solution, instead fiddle with boss damage and health to make it challenging yet fun. There should also be a health bar or something for the boss because I might be 100 hits away from killing him or I may be 1, but it doesn't matter because I'll never know.
First impressions are definitely important, but last impressions are almost as important in my eyes. No one wants to leave the player with a bad taste in their mouth. Unfortunately, the game contains something that can singlehandedly ruin a player's experience, as was the case with me. The final boss is one of the worst bosses that I have ever had the displeasure of fighting, and that is no exaggeration. There is simply too much going on, and the game does not have any invincibility frames, so the amount of quick damage that can be taken is utterly disgusting. Sure, the attacks are telegraphed since there's a sound effect that indicates what attack is going to be used, but that doesn't matter when the next attack starts before the player has much of a chance to even deal with the repercussions of the previous attack. There are so many enemies. The issues with this fight could have easily been avoided if the boss either had longer grace periods in between attacks, if there were invincibility frames in the game, or if there was a cap on how many enemies there can be at one time. How anyone has managed to defeat this monstrosity is honestly beyond me. I have tried everything I can, and the fact that I haven't been able to even gauge how close I have been to defeating it is nothing short of infuriating, as I feel like, no matter how much I damage the boss, I'm not getting anywhere. This game has solid enough mechanics and is good fun, but all of that comes to a screeching halt at a game ruining experience. When a boss is more infuriating than fun, then something is seriously wrong. The thing is, I'm not the only person who has taken issue with the boss. Sure, say that I need to "git gud," but the boss definitely has some serious issues that need to be dealt with. This two star rating shows the power of last impressions, as I'm now left with a sour taste in my mouth.