Seems like the dev is more or less done updating this game, so I’ll go ahead and make my post.

• Void of Lilly
  

  4 hours playtime

  14 of 14 achievements

This game combines overworld RPG exploration with real-time twin-stick battles, but you mostly only have a melee sword attack. There are a couple battles around the middle (and one part of the final boss’s fight) where you actually shoot, but it’s mostly a twin-stick slasher rather than a twin-stick shooter. It has clear Undertale inspiration, but it doesn’t quite play like Undertale since 1) battles are entirely real time, without any turn-based elements, and 2) you don’t have the option of placating enemies; only attacking them. Also, the overworld sometimes has easy block-pushing segments, but there are only three of them in total (one of which is for an optional segment), so it’s not so much a gameplay focus as much as it’s just there to break up the monotony of the RPG exploration.

The game is fairly short; its description claims the game will last around 60-120 minutes, but I must be slow because I reached the two-hour mark when I first beat the game despite picking up from my demo save. Either way, my point is that its short length results in a steep difficulty curve. Even in the demo, I noticed that its last battle (the bit-matching segment) was quite a bit harder than what came before, but the first battle after the demo (immediately after the unnecessarily tedious password-brute-forcing) already reaches the point where it requires some trial and error to avoid everything. The battle after that one is actually easier on account of being fair, and besides the final boss, the only battles left are two optional ones. The hardest one of those, the White Knight, is chock full of cheap shots, and although the dev claims that it’s possible to avoid all of its attacks and beat the boss without taking any damage, I’m not entirely convinced. Plus, if you’re an achievement hunter, you might like to know that the only way to get one of the game’s achievements is not only to beat the game after having defeated the White Knight, but to do so WITHOUT having beaten the other, easier optional boss, as that will lock you into the True Ending which has its own achievement. I definitely recommend following the spoiler-free All achievements and endings guide instead of doing a blind playthrough if you want all the achievements.

Overall, the game can be kinda rough in spots, but it’s also free, so I can recommend it.