Dark Deity (2021)

Gameplay
There's actually a lot to like with the gameplay. There's a lot of options with the class system, almost to the point of it being overwhelming, but I'm always a fan of customization. Then there's the mission objectives. This game tries really hard to make the objectives diverse so the gameplay doesn't get stale. The characters also have access to different skills and passives, making them feel distinct. Even if you have units that are a part of the same tree, taking them down different branches makes them feel completely different.

Writing
I actually enjoyed the story and characters. It wasn't perfect, but I think it was about as good as any of the FE games I've played. I love that they gave everyone dialogue throughout the game, even the characters that aren't important in the story. It was a bit jarring seeing characters talk in the story after they haven't said anything for the last 10 chapters, but I appreciate that the attempt. The quality of the bonds can be a bit hit or miss. Some are pretty enjoyable and flesh out the characters and their relationships, but some don't really feel satisfying. Some of them go no where and some come to a resolution that didn't feel earned.

Final thoughts
This honestly felt like a Fire Emblem fan game, while not being as enjoyable as any of the ones I've played. It wasn't bad, but I always thought "I would rather play Fire Emblem instead" while I was playing. The biggest issue I have with the game is how unpolished it is. The difficulty curve is pretty wonky and the game is riddled with bugs like the game not showing the enemy range properly, the game thinking that characters are on a different tile than they actually are, and the game lying to you about what a skill does (I'm assuming this is a result of a patch that updated what a skill did, but the devs not updating the description everywhere). The ideas are really great, but the execution could have been better. I did see the trailer for Dark Deity 2 and that looks really fun. I'll probably skip that game just because I need to get through my backlog.

Edit: Forgot to mention before, but I also had a problem with the game's world building. Details weren't really mentioned until they were relevant and it was made to be a reveal of sorts.