I finally got my one rupee on Swindling. That was fun.
I think Umbral Cloud is a really cool quest overall. It's ambitious, but not so big as to feel overwhelming. The scope of the bosses is wonderful, and they've all aged really well for the most part. The SFX can occasionally be a little jarring (namely the bomb blast), but far less so than in IoR. Few places feel overtuned for difficulty, even on the hardest difficulty, and the world comes together in a really great way. The story works for the most part (even if there's one or two moments where the writing feels slightly oddly explained for the audience's sake), and it comes together as a cohesive whole overall. I've really only got a few criticisms from playing.
- Frozen as a status effect is a bit annoying. It takes all agency from the player. I spoke with Evan about this one already, but I feel like being able to mash out of the ice to thaw faster would go a long way towards making it more fun.
- The lack of a comprehensive map is a little annoying. There's spacebar maps restricted to each area, but a lot of the navigation comes from figuring out how the world (one above ground map an one cave/dungeon map) connects, which isn't always obvious when you can't see the big picture.
- F6ing not refilling HP is a minor annoyance.
- There's one or two times where there's a little too much going back and forth across the map.
- Some bosses have way too many enemies between them and the nearest continue point, making the trek back after death, even if it's only two screens, very annoying.
- The ice bombs are just generally unpleasant, and one screen in particular feels like there's no recourse for dealing with them.
Mostly minor nitpicks. It's a fantastic quest on the whole. A really different take on the Metroidvania genre that feels really well-planned and cohesive. I highly recommend anyone who hasn't played it to give it a go.