This game is growing on me. I still sort of loathe the fact that there's no checkpoint system, because I think the game pulls just a little too much cheap one-hit-kill bullshit to justify that decision (I'm sick of being flattened by boulders rolling down stairs), but once you fall into a rhythm and get a feel for how the game works, it becomes ridiculously hard to put down.

I think the difficulty of the individual fights is actually perfectly fair. It teaches you to be extremely cautious, and you're usually fine so long as you're blocking a lot and aren't consistently charging into battle without getting a hold of your surroundings first. There have been a couple of times when I would rush an enemy and then get immediately sliced from behind by another enemy I didn't see. Or when I'd time an attack poorly, thus lowering my guard and taking a massive blow as a result. Combat's really fun, though, and the boosted challenge really makes it more satisfying when you overpower an enemy without actually taking much damage. Also, the bosses so far have been pretty rockin'.

Checkpoint system really does suck, though. I'd be okay with it if we weren't forced to put up with so many insta-kill scenarios that threaten to send us all the way back to the beginning of the level. Like when you're walking across an innocent-looking bridge and then a fucking dragon comes out of nowhere and torches you. Sometimes I get the feeling the game isn't so much testing my skill as it's testing how closely I'm paying attention. This kind of bullshit has no place in a game where the penalty for death is so high.

Still, I'm sticking with it, at least for the next five days until that one game I'm slightly excited about gets released. I definitely considered giving up at one point, and I'm glad I didn't.