Beat pretty much 100% on xbox game pass core. At first I was annoyed with the difficulty because I could not beat the first level no matter how well I played. The game did get a lot more fun after unlocking enough stuff to make winning possible. I loved the retro Castlevania vibes, and the music was one of the best video game soundtracks of all time to the point where I would pause the game for a few minutes just to jam to the music. The starting guy Antonio was terrible because the whip absolutely sucked as a weapon, especially without spending gold on permanent upgrades; it could only attack forward until it was levelled up enough to get a back attack (or find a duplicator). This was terrible when trying to kite the enemies. As I failed runs and accumulated gold, I spent it on greed (for faster upgrading), then passive recovery so I could rely less on health items. The main problem early on was damage output as I inevitably became overwhelmed by enemies, so next I upgraded offensive stats, like might, amount and the others.

Very early on I bought Imelda and ditched the first guy. Her magic wand weapon was amazing, and her faster xp gain helped immensely. However, she could not manage to beat the first level. I found that I absolutely needed the garlic powered at least a few levels to avoid damage from the swarms of weak enemies. So I bought Poe who started with garlic to make sure I always had it. I eventually gave up on the forest level and went to the library. Poe managed to get my very first win there, with key being garlic, clock lancet, laurel, bible and evolved thunder ring. One of the most important tricks was walking through frozen enemies and using them to block other enemies from attacking. As I purchased the armor, health and revive upgrades I discovered that I could take a lot of hits, especially from weak enemies. So garlic was no longer the end all be all weapon and I switched back to using Imelda. I went on to beat each level and unlock more and more things, including playing as other characters. Kirochi was good with his extra revives, though I always came back to the power of faster xp gain. I looked up the weapon evolutions to make sure I made the right accessory choices, and looked up how to kill the reaper and ender. I had already survived for quite some time against the reaper while using the clock and laurel, but having at least 1 of their evolved forms was required to beat him. To that end I had to get the 4 special items spread around the map; again the library was the easiest because it sprawled in 2 directions rather than 4. For the other stages I used endless mode to survive past the reaper rather than fooling around with collecting the ridiculously spread out items. I switched to using the guy who started with the clock lancet because he had even better xp gain than Imelda. Beating the ender boss was very difficult because of the blue reaper that flooded the stage. I had to keep moving up instead of staying put to farm xp. I eventually looked it up and used a rosary to kill him, then proceeded to beat the final boss. Though I managed to beat this level as Imelda without killing the drowner during the side adventure mode, likely because of mad groove summoning all the xp to me.

Then I finished up the remainder of the tasks. The bridge stage was the most difficult because it was a narrow horizontal path and the enemies got stronger with time. This meant that I could not circle around to try and create safe gaps, so often had to just plow through the enemies. It was only through using multiple revives that I beat that stage. I used the werewolf who started with the upgraded whip then selected weapons that attacked horizontally; the whip, other ventri whip, knife, and glass fandango. For most of the game I always went for the attract orb for ease of accumulating xp. Once I unlocked the mad groove arcana I always started off with it, though I still needed the attract orb for the bridge to get the xp that was off the bridge. I chose other arcanas based on what would most benefit my current weapons. I also realized that I could go beyond the 6 weapon 6 accessory limit by waiting until I was full before picking up the items present in the stage, so it was fun trying to become as overpowered as possible. At the end I used cheats to unlock all of the secret characters. Though I did not try most, Queen Sigma was the best by far. She even beat a stage using only her weapon and the bone, as I did the banish challenge to banish every other weapon. I thought I was rich, but I was not able to afford all of the seal upgrades. I never did buy the curse or charm upgrades because why would I want to make the game even harder? The 2 side adventures were lame and not worth doing. They were just rehashing the same levels with fewer characters and equipment, and having to re accumulate gold for permanent unlocks. I did not play the dlc but the music was just as amazing.

My opinion on each weapon and accessory:

Whip: D tier. Absolutely terrible starting out because it could only hit directly forwards, in a game about avoiding massive hordes of enemies. Later it could also hit behind, which was decent but it still lacked area and damage. The evolved form healed me, so it was useful to counter having to run through enemies. But it was better to use a more powerful weapon that could kill the enemies before I needed to move through them. The heart accessory paired with it just increased max hp. They synergized well but again offense was more important.

Magic wand: A tier. Single target auto aim, which was one of the best weapons early on; just focus on avoiding enemies and it would do all the work. As it gained in power it became like a submachine gun, mowing down single targets like nothing, until reaching the crazy fast fire rate of the evolved form. The tome accessory reduced the cooldown on every weapon, which was a massive boost to damage and survivability.

Knife: C tier. Like the whip it fired forward, but it had the range of the full screen. It was a bad weapon early on because of the awkwardness of having to face enemies, but when combined with other weapons it allowed me to snipe specific targets. The evolved form fired at an insane rate, which I aimed towards the biggest threat. The bracer accessory just increased the speed of projectiles; decent but not important.

Axe: C tier. Tossed the axes upward at a slight arc, to then fall off the bottom of the screen. This was one of the worst projectile patterns in the game. The evolved form instead shot out in a circle in all directions, making it pretty good. The candle accessory increased the size of projectiles, making just about every weapon hit more enemies.

Cross: C tier. A boomerang that passed through the character rather than being caught. It had poor range at first and was more of a boss killing weapon that screen clearer. I usually avoided it unless it was free. The evolved sword was better, but the clover accessory was one of the worst ones.

Bible: A tier. They circled around the character like Mega Man’s leaf shield. I found them critically important for surviving massive hordes as it focused the damage exactly right where it was needed; in a safe area around my character in all directions. It benefitted greatly from speed and reduced cooldown, and could even be used aggressively to decimate enemies. The evolution simply removed the cooldown, making it active at all times. It was not that much of an improvement so it was not necessary to get the spellbinder accessory, which only improved the duration of attacks.

Fire wand: C tier. It fired slow moving fire projectiles at random enemies. The evolved form allowed those to pass through enemies. I found the dps on this weapon to be remarkably low, almost always being on the bottom of the list every time I used it. The spinach accessory was one of the best though, improving the damage of everything.

Garlic: B tier. Created an aura of death around the character that could instantly kill the weakest enemies. Higher levels allowed it to kill slightly stronger enemies. It greatly protected the character from swarms of weak enemies and enemy projectiles, but also encouraged an up close and personal style of play. It also knocked enemies back, making it useful for both moving through enemies and keeping them at bay, though it could be rendered redundant with enough area damage from other weapons. The evolved form had larger area, more damage and healed. The healing accessory gave passive hp regen. Both the weapon and accessory were useful early game before many permanent upgrades, arcanas and better weapons were unlocked, or any time survival was a struggle.

Holy water: B tier. It put damage over time areas on the ground. At low levels it was difficult to use, but with more bottles thrown in an overlapping arc it was easy to camp inside to force enemies to get killed. This weapon was great for standing still, but lost most of its use when moving towards objectives. The evolved form moved a bit and did not lose as much effectiveness when moving around quickly. The attract orb was my favourite accessory until I unlocked the mad groove arcana, after which I usually skipped it.

Runetracer: A tier. Fired projectiles that bounced around and penetrated enemies. This was a screen clearing weapon which ended up with massive amounts of damage, but the damage was spread all over the screen rather than near the character where it was needed most. The evolved form was better, and the armor accessory was great for mitigating randomly touching enemies or having to move through them.

Lightning ring: A tier. Randomly called down lightning bolts, like the Diablo 2 sorceress thunder storm spell. It was only mediocre until evolved, because the damage and xp were spread throughout the screen rather than where it was needed most. The evolved form did such massive damage that it could clear the entire screen. The duplicator accessory significantly improved the damage of every weapon and was probably my overall favourite.

Pentagram: D tier. Instantly killed enemies on screen just like a rosary, but it also destroyed xp gems and chests. Levelling it up improved the chances of it not destroying goodies, but the simple fact was that using this weapon made it take longer to level up, delaying the growth of power and making it less likely to survive the end of the run. The evolved form did the opposite though, generating extra xp gems. Worthwhile tradeoff? Maybe if I took steps to minimize the loss. The crown accessory increased xp gain, making it an excellent choice.

Peachone and ebony wing: B tier. Both did area attacks in a pattern around the character, but not necessarily where damage was needed. I found I often had to retreat into the area these weapons were attacking, thus letting the weapons dictate where I went. When they combined into the evolved form they did massive damage and were a welcome addition, but I had to make sure that if I picked up 1 bird that I left a weapon slot open for the other.

Revolvers: B tier. I am not typing out their names. Like the birds they were 2 different weapons that could combine into the evolved form. Both fired a steady stream of projectiles in an X pattern, which made them somewhat awkward to use. The evolved form was a screen clearer that did rotating beams in every direction for massive damage. It needed the trigasi accessory, which granted extra revives. Thus the evolved weapon required 3 different slots, so I had to be willing to commit to getting all of them because not getting the evolved form was a waste.

Cats: B tier. Summoned cats that randomly attacked enemies throughout the entire screen. Nothing really special about it, it was just another screen clearer that did not focus the damage where it was needed most, other than that it could damage the player and consume powerups. I noticed the self damage but it was never a problem for me with maxed recovery and armor. The cats also got into fights that made comical area effect damage zones. Reading up on this weapon the evolved form was actually worse due to less area damage. Instead it was good for making money. The stone mask accessory improved gold gain, making it very low value unless specifically farming for gold.

Song of mana: B tier. Only fired vertically, which greatly limited its versatility. It was amazing in the tower stage, useless in the bridge, and decent in every other stage. The evolved form slowed enemies, making it quite useful, but the accessory was cursed and made enemies stronger.

Shadow Pinion: D tier. I hated this weapon because I had to create a line or arc, then stop to let them fire at the enemy; manual aiming with additional complication. It used the wings accessory, which just increased movement speed. This would be the first weapon I sealed because the play style just did not gel with this game.

Clock lancet: A tier. Not really a weapon because it did no damage unless evolved or with specific arcanas. However its defensive bonuses were the best in the game such that I always went for this weapon. The only times this weapon was not necessary was with extremely high area damage weapon combos that could wipe out even the strongest enemies before they got close. Otherwise, it was hiding in the frozen enemies to avoid dying. The evolved form did Final Fantasy gravity type damage, which was great for the strongest enemies, but it required both bonus ring accessories; 1 which had mediocre stats and the other that was cursed. Plus getting those accessories spawned annoying bosses that could stop a run if I was not already strong enough to keep moving around.

Laurel: B tier. Not a weapon though some arcanas could allow it to do damage. It made the character immune to damage, making it excellent for occasional hits or walking through enemies. It would not keep me alive from being unable to keep the hordes at bay though, so it was not a run winner. The evolved form could keep me alive through almost anything, but it was troublesome to evolve it before the end of a run. It needed the 2 red metal thingies that were just like the 2 rings of the clock lancet.

Vento sacro, the other whip: D tier. Like the whip except it got bonus damage for moving. It evolved with the evolved form of the whip, so if I got 1 I might as well get the other too.

Bone: C tier. Not very good at low levels, but at high it filled the entire screen with bones and could easily keep hordes of enemies at bay. However only the skeleton character could evolve it, thus there was little point to buy it from the merchant as other characters.

Cherry bomb: B tier. The bombs could kill weak enemies early on, though it was difficult to get them hit by explosions. Later on, this could help clear the screen. I often purchased it from the merchant at the beginning of a run for an added boost to power.

Mine cart: D tier. This sent 1, later 2 mine carts rolling back and forth horizontally. Its limitation was much like the song of mana, though it could be interesting to combine both to hit in a cross formation. I found the carts pretty decent starting off for killing weak enemies, but their damage could not keep up with stronger enemies.

Celestial dusting: D tier. I only used this once during the challenge to level up the dog, so I am not really sure how good it was. It did not seem like anything special, and the evolved form obstructed the screen more than any other weapon. No real point to buy it from the merchant as other characters.

Furniture: C tier. Again I only used this once during the challenge to level up the guy that starts with it. It did not seem like anything special though it might be worth buying to help with early xp gain since it hit enemies everywhere without having to worry about aiming.

Greatest jubilee: B tier. I only used this a few times since I only got it after beating the game. Just another screen clearing weapon that did not focus the damage where it was needed most.

Bracelet: B tier. Kind of like the shotgun version of the magic wand, auto aiming a slow moving tri blast. It was unique in that it evolved twice and did not require anything else to evolve, so it was a good weapon choice when I knew I could not be able to get the accessories to evolve others.

Victory sword: A tier. Probably the best overall weapon in the game. It auto aimed like the magic wand, but was not a projectile, instead instantly appearing at the enemy and staying behind for a second. Even better, it evolved into an even better weapon that did insane damage over the entire screen, and did not replace the base weapon. It needed the torrona box accessory, which gave a bunch of buffs until the final level gave a huge curse. The box should be banished before the final level unless I had the victory sword or fire of misspell.

Flames of misspell. A tier. Shot a cone of fire in the direction the character was facing, even changing direction with the character. It did extremely well early on at killing large groups of enemies to level up quickly. The evolved form required the cursed torrona box while making the flames more powerful and shoot behind as well. It kind of fell behind other weapons, but the damage could be focused where it was needed.

Glass fandango. D tier. Terrible short range with weak damage. It mostly hit forward but seemed to be able to hit in all directions while standing still. It was amazing against frozen enemies though because it massively increased in size and possibly damage. Every time I used this weapon I was disappointed. It would need to be paired with clock lancet and other weapons and arcanas to freeze enemies. It used the wings to evolve, so I guess it was ok for the 2 worst weapons in the game to evolve using the same lousy accessory. I did evolve it but do not remember how much of a benefit that was.

It was not difficult to tell this was a mobile game since I could play it with 1 hand, only needing the 2nd to press A to select something. The majority of the gameplay was just moving around. Some weapons allowed aiming. The rest of the gameplay was choosing which upgrades to take. It was annoying at times to deal with the randomness when I wanted specific items or powers, but it also made each run unique. While the game was a lot of fun later on, the new player experience was not fun. There was simply no chance of beating a level until spending considerable time grinding permanent upgrades and unlocking better characters and equipment. I hated the treasure chests with their flashy casino animation and jingle. It got to the point where I rolled my eyes at every chest and looked away from the screen, until one time near the end when I leaned down to cuddle my cat and accidentally pressed a button that skipped the animation. What?! I could have skipped those all this time? What a waste of my time. The skip button should have shown on screen. Another issue was the visual and audio diarrhea present late in a run with enemies swarming the screen, 6 different weapons going off constantly, and other effects. I eventually turned off damage numbers, and I could see turning off sound effects too, to better enjoy the music. Pretty fun game overall but I don’t see myself ever wanting to play it again. I will be listening to the music on the regular.

7.0/10