ok, I'm back a few days later with a better review after about 17 hours in the game.
early on, i got pretty frustrated by my inability to control my character as tightly as i wanted to. there were moments of fun, but lots of frustration.
after the first couple of hours spent switching between different weapon styles and learning how to move/block/attack more effectively, I'm hooked.
This game is a shit ton of fun, and I've spent the last few nights glancing at the clock and going "holy shit, ok one more game"... only to do the same thing an hour later...and an hour later
it's a "physics sim" game in that the combat is kinda ragdoll janky, but it gets much better as you play. as it turns out, the janky control is the star of the game, even when you've gotten much better at it. There's a lot of room for "get good" skill progression, which I've really enjoyed, and it remains challenging even after putting in a lot of time learning how to play.
the matches have different rulesets, some are 1v1, 1v Many, Many v1, Many v Many, FFA, Team FFA, etc.
the crowd is constantly reacting to how you play, and it affects the fame that you earn (if you win).
they throw in weapons and shields, sometimes branches and clay pots, and sometimes food if they're displeased with your play
in some matches, you go in without weapons and only use what the crowd throws in.
in other matches, you can take weapons and shields from fallen fighters back to your Ludus to use or sell
there are different Ludus patrons (promoters) that you can fight for/against, and they grant boons and penalties depending on how you've pleased/displeased them.
in between combat matches, you're back in the Ludus/Management mode, where you can train your character, heal yourself, repair your gear, buy/sell weapons, improve the quality and efficiency of your Ludus services, bribe sponsors, launch campaigns to grow wealth at the cost of fame, or vice versa, etc.
there's a lot to do, for a simple game, and this dev has really made something fun and unique all on his own.
it's definitely worth a go, and from what I've seen, the dev is really stoked and the game's reception at launch is giving him a lot of energy to plow ahead with more content and balancing
