4.5/5 ★ – kahooftheblade's review of ATLYSS.

Note: Early access and game in development! Things are currently positive! Earlier in 2024 I played through and completed Pseudoregalia which was a low-poly (reminiscent of Saturn/Dreamcast styles) action parkour platformer which happened to be an awesome play. I mention this at Atlyss has a similar but not identical style in a few ways. Atlyss reviews on Steam are as of the time of this review 'overwhelmingly positive' and in its current early access I'd have to agree! 40 hours and 2 characters at level 22 and 19 respectively. The first was without any class with all content available to me right now completed. The second time I went Mystic and completed all current objectives at level 19. Gameplay is fast but fun, requires some mastery and the ability to switch between almost all weapons regardless of class is really nice as I like less conventional setups. Obviously depending on the stats you put points in to and your gear some weapons will be way stronger than others, but if your stats are all in to mind and gear prioritising attack power you have a lower total attack power and magic power but you can wield anything you want and still be effective, and specialising will mean life is easy (easier - the game is still hard). Personally my novice build prioritises attack power and I move between a spear and sword with sword as primary weapon - instantly changable using 'q' on your keyboard, and my mystic build prioritises magic power but I have a scythe as a secondary weapon. Depending on the situation I find myself in I'll switch between both in the middle of battle on both characters. Jump + Attack is different depending on the weapon you are holding too and can be leveraged on demand, weapon switch to something that favours AOE damage, dodge out with 'e' on your keyboard as you're about to be hit, switch and Jump+attack to gap close with knock-back again without much of a cooldown penalty meaning it becomes part of your abilities and it feels good to pull it off. There is a little waiting for cooldowns for skills so some planning and strategic use is still required. The game does get hard so you will pick up your own flow as you play. The game is extremely responsive so you won't be left wondering why your dodge (e key) didn't acknowledge randomly and you got killed because of it. Recurring thoughts as I was playing is that it reminded me quite a bit of SEGA's Phantasy Star Online and I believe in its current setup is supposed to play like it with players being able to move between single and multiplayer as they see fit. No content is barred behind multiplayer mode unlike PSO:BB's final years which required multiplayer toward the end. Obviously Pseudoregalia comes to mind also for its art and play style at times. I'm looking forward to seeing where the developer takes this!