Exanima is unique and yet will probably feel familiar for those of you who were playing hack'n'slash and cRPG during the late 90's early 2000's, the grim visuals and macabre atmosphere brings me way back and touch my feels in places I thought long dead.

I even felt unease and stress when walking these long pitchblack corridors, my torch in one hand, a barrel lid in the other, going deeper and deeper into darkness, from which anything could emerge and pounce at my face... and then ♥♥♥♥ goes wrong : panic-running back to the nearest fix source of light to draw my weapon and face it (or them), stumbling and falling on the way, I could die at any moment. And I did, and I will again. Because Exanima is hard !

It's hard and I love it ! The game is very challenging, it doesn't guide you, it doesn't help you nor pats you on the shoulder, it just kills your worthless peasant's butt ; it's up to you to take a stand and prove you're a fearless survivor and a talented fighter.

And that's another point I love about the game and the unique fighting mechanics : you're a nobody, you're not a hero who can finish his/her foes single-handedly, you need to be tactical, careful, cool headed and smart ; you have to keep your composure or else you WILL make costly mistakes and probably die. Surviving and progressing really feels rewarding ; even more considering checkpoints are scarce, but fair.

Controls are very different from anything I've played so far, it takes a bit to get used to, and hours to master (I'm far from having mastered them after 23h ingame, but getting there!). Under pressure it works magic : if you can't keep your calm your character will feel clumsy because of your lack of precision as a player.


Right now the game feels more like a (really good) Hack'n'slash, considering it's under development and the more RPG-y aspect of the game will bloom later. But it sure is going in the right direction.


Oh, and the Arena mod is a botomless pit of entertainment !

This game has more unpleasant hugs than a family reunion. Unlike a family reunion, you can use those aggressive hugs for murder.

A game with realistic (like) combat, cool weapons and armor. The modes currently included are fun. Game isn't finished but has great potential. Is probably already worth the price especially if you like these kinds of games.

This game is too much fun for my own good.

Hardcore, refreshing, and incredibly satisfying.

Every day I scrap up some in game cash to throw some cronies at a troll with a giant claymore, only to watch them be eviscerated in around a minute's time.

Irresistable. An instant unique platnum hit in the making. Baldur's Gate just got... err... pregnat with innovation.

I found out about this game through a youtuber Skallagrim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATydHniqe78&list=PLxClq4a6GD73IK3iXnjle1p3qCPMQx2EU&index=27
I watch a lot of things about medievil combat and such on his channel.
He demonstrated some of the gameplay, with his own impression as i believe he practices HEMA, he was saying it had the closest to real swordplay he had seen in a game.
5 min in and i was hooked OMG this is fun.
I purchased the game while it was still in the VERY early stages.
Seen game progress and see that devs still make additions to the game.

I LOVE just about every aspect of the game.

Bottom line: if you like medievil combat RPGs with zombies skeletons Demons Golems lvling practical skills and random books n scrolls that sometimes tell their own story, get this ♥♥♥♥. ITS NO HACK N SLASH THIS GAME TAKES SKILLS OR AT THE VERY LEAST TACT.

These guys have a great concept here. The combat is just fantastic once the player gets a handle on it. There are basically three modes of play. A quest/journey type mode where the player navigates dungeons in search of keys and collecting items. An arena mode where a player must gain coin by participating in matches and a practice mode where one can hone their combat skills.

I wish the arena mode had an option that allowed the player to keep equipment from downed opponents as the existing mode only allows buying gear from a store. In the arena mode's existing format it simply takes too long to get interesting equipment and fight your way to the top.

The developers are also working on another game based on the same engine and physics play. This game looks to be even more promising with outdoor maps and a potentially deeper story line.

The most enjoyable part of this game for me is the combat and ridiculous combinations of armor and weapons you can outfit on your character. e.g duel weilding maces in just underware and a belt.

Would be great to see dismemberment and coop.

Git gud, Game Of The Year.
Takes a little while to figure out combat basics, but it is worth the wait.

After hours of playing. I can confidently say that I am satisfied with my purchase of this game. Imagine if a game with clunky as hell combat (like Mount & blade) had a baby with a unforgiving difficult game (like dark souls) and this is the game you get.

So what's the story? Honestly, I'm not sure. As a proctor, I'm investigating the dissapearance of somebody in this dungeon, and that's all you're told when you start. Much like Dark Souls, experiencing the story is up to you, as most of it is found in journals, and parchments. Often times, it's easy to miss important notes. I will say though that this mystery adds substantially to the interest of the game. You will see rooms in the game that are pretty interesitng. "What's with this planning room?" "Is this some sort of council room". You will find yourself trying to put the pieces together with the story, and I found that kind of fun.

More importantly, the gameplay is what is fun about this game. I will say though that it can be very frustrating in the beginning, and learning to fight takes patience in this game. Once you learn to fight though, the game can be really fun. I reccomend trying out the Arena for practice. It iwll make you better at the campaign, and half the experience is in the Arena. The combat uses ragdoll physics. Your character can get hung up on stuff like chairs, walls, doors, weapon racks, and will also trip over these things if you run into them at full speed.

Exanima is a dark game, and at some times can be creepy. this mixes really well with the tense combat, as you know anything can be a threat. Anything can kill you, and anything can jump into the fight to team up and can kill you. Often times you won't even see enemies coming because when I say this game is "dark" I mean it literally. Without a torch you are doomed.

Now on to some negative stuff. You can spend 10+ hours on this game, and have your character end up in a situation of being totally doomed. For example, if you first/main character dies in Arena, you have to start all over again. Or how about in campagin, there are no potions. You can take what is called "Lethal damage" This damage covers your yellow health bar in red. This damage is never recovered. There are 3 salves that will heal this damage all the way spread out accross the 5 floors that are playable right now. What if you lose your torch? You can't see anything (and this will happen at level 5 btw) you can either walk blind in the dark, let yourself die, and come back to life in your torch (which is a big set back) or you can find this "Special item" hidden in a secret door in level 3 that let's you see in the dark.

There's also quite a few mazes, and timed switch doors. Personally, I did not find these parts fun. a lot of the time, the game doesn't acknowledge me clicking the levers, and I have to stop my forward motion to pull them, creating a frusterating experience.

You can interact with items in this game a feature that I loved in games in Skyrim, and it's a weclome addition to this game). Often times, you can use this item interactions in puzzles. For example, take a plank of wood, lay it over a trap door. Press a button to open a gate on the other side as the trap door falls open, the walk accross the plank. I think this was a really cool part of the game. Item palcement tended to be slightly difficult, and sometimes items would refuse to cooperate with me, and not allow me to play them in certain areas.

I should also point out that the updates for this game are slow as molassis. There's been 11 updates in the past year. And the most recent one as of this review was just a week ago. Before that, there had not been an update since May. Thankfully, they do add a lot in these updates, but they are coming rather slowly.

In the end, due to this games addictive gameplay, creepy dungeons, fun combat (once you're good at it), in addition to it's item interactions, I have to reccomend this game. Updates for this game don't come often, but I will say that's because this small studio is working on a second game that seems very similar to Exanima. however, the updates are *big* when they do happen, and I can't wait for the next one, and I can't wait for their next game.

one of the few games that gets you hooked once you get past the steep learning curve