so uh, this game is actually pretty rad. i recognize im easily impressed compared to some of my fellow Reseteros, but i didnt hate my time with this like i expected to. character creation is great, and you can look kinda cool right from the beginning (the only other game i can think of off the top of my head that made me feel like i looked awesome even in low-level armor was Dragon's Dogma). plus, im a pretty big weeb from the old school and every now and then i get that itch i gotta scratch, and this really is kinda Animu Souls, even down to cutscene direction and dialogue. but the gameplay is there, and while i wont say its anywhere near as "sophisticated" as what youd get from the Souls franchise or Bloodborne (or Sekiro), it works. there's depth to the mechanics (maybe too much right off the bat...) and the Blood Code system seems interesting, if a little daunting. and while in the demo it seems like you can steamroll the lesser mobs, the boss/mini-boss fights are pretty tough.
my only real complaint is for something that cant actually be fixed, and its that i wish the game had gone full 80s/90s animu fantasy setting as opposed to this grimdark, post-apoc vampy-bois yarn. maybe they'll make a follow-up where i can kill some dragons dressed like Parn.
actually, two complaints: level design is kinda bleh, at least from the brief snippet ive seen.
im not gonna grab this at launch, but whereas i would probably never have picked it up, im certainly more inclined to nab it somewhere down the line.