Pugware

Pugware is a single-developer shop in England run by Steve Gal. I have consistently found their games tedious to play, at best, and downright near-unplayable at their worst.

Original Steam Review Text Given the experience with this whole franchise, it appears this dev has bought a game engine when it dropped down to the $12-$20 mark, and just rolled with it. Like Usurper, this game features: Poor control layout Sluggish game-loop In addition, you get the following bonus content: No fun-factor in killing enemies In short, this is a game that is tedious and just not a fun thing to play.

Summary Writeup This is a Metroidvania with a hub-and-spoke map layout that incorporates Lovecraftian imagery. You play as a knight possessed by a creature, and gain typical Metroidvania power-ups along the way. There is a sort of very limited and clumsy skill-system, which boils down to, how large do I want my guard pool, and what sort of weapon would I like to use? You progress through the game, collecting Yth stones to enable skill-wheel upgrades, and vitae, which stands in as currency after the fashion of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.