Criminally underrated, compact, cheap, combat-first roguelite. However you wanna slice it, Savara is fantastic - especially if you enjoy a wealth of varied and impactful builds, ROCK-SOLID combat, a brisk pace, and a game that doesn't overstay its welcome. There are a few design issues that can cause tedium here and there, but so long as you're willing to go just a LITTLE out of your way, the overall experience more than makes up for it. The common shorthand comparison is that Savara is a mix between Hades and Monster Hunter. It's a little cliché, but it's more apt than not. The gameplay loop is nearer to Hades (level layouts, boons, meta progression), while the weapon types, combat tempo, and buildcrafting are moreso Monster Hunter. I think the reason people argue with the comparison largely stems from Hades being associated more with its strong narrative and character focus (which are BARELY present in Savara, and only during prestige runs) than with its gameplay loop. Instead of a narrative and endless content, Savara is a (genre comparatively) short experience that takes the basic structure of a roguelite and fills it to the brim with simple-yet-refined combat. In line with its size, Savara has few bosses, fewer zones, simple weapons, and a small pool of enemies to work with - but thanks to the clever use of assets, the fun combat, and the eventual speed at which you blitz through levels, it manages to keep these limited assets feeling valuable and engaging, rather than sparse and repetitive for most (if not all) of it's runtime. It DOES have a few minor issues worth mentioning that can keep you from fully enjoying the game though. Savara (like most games) starts slower, as the systems you have at your disposal unlock and upgrade over time. The most notable of these systems are your weapons - of which you can equip two of at any given time. When a weapon is upgraded to +5 (and again at +10), it gains a passive that affects your character for as long as it's equipped (even if it's not the active weapon you're holding in combat). This is a HUGE increase in your power, AND in the complexity / flexibility of your builds, as the interplay between your two weapon passives and the rest of your equipment largely defines your playstyle. However, if you play Savara without making a point to unlock these weapon passives, you can hit the midgame weaker than you should be, which in turn can make the game feel slow, repetitive, and disproportionately punishing. The problem here is two-fold. One, the weapon upgrade UI that's meant to communicate the value of weapon passives is both obtuse to view and cumbersome to navigate. It's NOT awful, but it IS an obstacle. As a result, it's easy to either not see or not fully understand the system. Second, the beginning weapons feel FAR more costly to upgrade than latter weapons (a result of player skill, character power, later multipliers on resources gained, and raw numbers). This means - during the transition from early to midgame - you could be one quick upgrade from getting both the power and mechanical variety you need to keep Savara from feeling stale and just not know it (leaving you stuck in tedium until you fall off). Or, you could be well aware of weapon passives, but be so behind on the required resources that you have to grind out runs for the upgrade (tedious transition to midgame). Best case scenario, you upgrade your weapon to +5 without much hassle and transition to midgame easily - but the resource investment required can make you feel somewhat trapped, unhappy or unwilling to trade the sunken costs and raw power for the novelty and fun of another weapon. BELIEVE me when I say this is a problem that resolves itself later on (and isn't as damning as I might make it out to be), but to mitigate the potentially damning issue in the early game, I'd recommend: - Experiment with multiple weapons in the beginning until you find a couple you like - Set aside materials to upgrade at least one of them to +5 before spreading your upgrades too thinly - If things start to feel repetitive, fight the urge to keep your strongest weapon, and swap to a different weapon type entirely - even if you have to lose passives and power in the process. The boons you get per room are also not as interesting as you'd see in other roguelikes, but they're still interesting enough to be fun and warrant experimentation. Each category of boon mainly caters to a few select playstyles or weapon types, so it's usually obvious what category you're hunting down when you start a run, based on what you have equipped. That doesn't mean your choices are practically made for you, but it usually shakes out that there's a boon category you'll always go for, a few you'll be happy to see, and one you'll avoid at all costs. Thankfully, the game is aware of this, and provides a form of player control via "rerolls" (changing the boons offered to you in a specific category) and "alterations" (changing the category of boon offered to you entirely) so you don't feel screwed over by luck. At times though, it can seem like you're given too much control over the boons you pick, which can make runs start to feel the same - monotonous IF you allow them to be. It's a shame too, because oftentimes two "mediocre" or presumably "inapplicable" boon categories (when picked enough) will eventually combine into both interesting and powerful combination boons that retroactively and refreshingly power up your entire kit. Sometimes, I'll want a fresh experience and intentionally pick a boon category I usually avoid, and often end up surprised by its power in the end. But it's hard to remember to pursue those novelty powers when you can just as easily use the flood of tools you're given to find exactly the boons you're looking for. By far the most interesting (and powerful) boons you can get are called "Contracts". Seen only thrice per run, and accessible only if you forego a visit to the shop (which often results in 3-5 boons per visit), Contracts give you massive bumps in power (at the cost of an equally massive drawback) and drastically change the way you play. It's a classic risk v reward, and there's nothing wrong with that - but Savara is (for the most part) easy enough to not require the risk at all. So practically, the choice is between risky and unnecessary novelty, or easy consistency, and over time, that easy consistency can become a little... boring. Tedious. The solution is simple, and obvious, but not always instinctive in the heat of the moment. Don't let my obsessive nitpicking fool you - Savara is awesome. It looks good, sounds good, plays well, etc. Once a game is good enough, it's more interesting (and I think useful) to point out faults than to sing obvious praises. The worst I can say is that sometimes (like in the examples above), Savara will inadvertently create little ruts and grooves and well-trod paths you can get stuck in. Savara is good despite these brief tedious traps - but so long as you're willing to put in the smallest amount of legwork when these small flaws arise, you'll have a great time from start to finish.