I'm going to rip the bandage off from the start and say that this combat is poor. Not every game needs to be a souls-like. While I did appreciate the various abilities you have as well as the ease in healing yourself, actually fighting enemies was a chore for a majority of the game. It lacked polish and it could have done well with a little more enemy variety. That lack of variety hits harder as the game wants you to backtrack to complete side quests and provide medicine for people. The game is open-world but it lacks a fast travel option. Running around definitely ballooned my runtime. Thankfully, the map isn't big.

That being said, I thought everything else in this game was really damn cool. I found the premise, setting, and story very engaging. The characters similarly so, thanks to the voice acting - the stand out being your main character. I liked the pathologic-like mechanic where people can get sick across the map. It gave me a very strong sense of trepidation just from the simple act of leveling up since I knew *something* unfortunate might happen. I liked the dilemmas the game gives you mostly because there was never a clear cut "good" or "evil" option to choose from. Something you think could be the most beneficial choice might doom a whole section of the city. The game really felt to me that it was more about doing the best you can with what you have then in trying to make everyone happy. I liked that. Side quests were simple enough and helped flesh out the setting.

I am very glad I got to experience this. Even with its choppy performance on the Steam Deck, I had a great time.

I'd say it's an 8/10 for me.

The game is surprisingly good after you get used to the initial jankyness of the game. The combat system is rather clunky but becomes tolerable once you get the hang of it and after you have tweaked weapons and potions + skills so that they work for you. The graphics are on a medium level but they are very atmospheric which helps to elevate the game presentation a lot. I did not like this game at first, due to the clunky UI and combat system, but decided to give it another go and now having played a bit more, I can say I like it. Imagine being a vampire detective in a setting that feels like London during Jack the ripper scare. You really play as a doctor, healing people so you can consume their blood and receive more xp, or decide to let them be which makes the game harder to play. This is how game difficulty is adjusted. I would rate this game a 7/10.

its good im doing it on hard mode and im sooo over it but its enjoyable