rejj Having played a little more this morning I’d be quite happy in saying that it’s somewhat of a mishmash of elements taken from Dead Cells and the Mystery Dungeon series. From Dead Cells there’s obviously the 2D realtime combat mechanic, though I would, so far, say that the difficulty is noticeably lower than Dead Cells but by no means easy. I’ve beaten the first main boss twice and whilst it’s not as tough as the first boss of Dead Cells it wasn’t exactly a pushover either. After beating the boss for the first time I ended up fighting a variant of it with slightly different attack properties - whether it’s random for future runs I don’t know yet.
You’re also given a selection of seemingly predetermined weapons at the start of your run, of a possible 40, I believe. Later during your run you’re rewarded with accessories, new weapons, etc that are also randomly determined. Once you unlock one weapon though it’s registered back at your base and you can level it up with (many required) gifts to get extra buffs if you get that weapon again on any subsequent run.
From a Mystery Dungeon perspective, the obvious takeaway is the vibe that the game gives off. It’s twee, typically light-hearted, Japanese fantasy. You can also upgrade your base in a number of ways like in a lot of the Mystery Dungeon games. For example, early unlocks include extra base attack damage, extra starting money, extra healing potions, etc, and these are unlocked by spending mana, which you accumulate from transforming all of the collectibles that you’ve acquired on a run after you die.
Again, from Mystery Dungeon, there are random challenge rooms. From what I’ve encountered so far there are ones for clearing a room without taking damage, clearing a room within a certain time, and clearing a room full of buffed enemies (these last ones are optional but not difficult in the early game).
You can also assign one of your weapons to a stronger skill that recharges on a short cooldown. Which weapon you use determines the skill that’s used. It’s a similar system to, say, using skills in Chocobo Mystery Dungeon but the cooldown is more generous in Little Noah (around 10 seconds depending on the weapon - at least for early game weapons).
Finally, the game follows a typical three-world structure that comprises of two stages, a mini boss, a third stage, and a main boss. Or, I say three worlds - there could well be a secret fourth one but the game has alluded to three. Going into the second and fourth stages of each world gives you the option to enter a different, branching stage if you fulfil certain criteria, and you will also be front loaded with info on the types of rewards that you’ll get from each stage.
I get the impression that this is going to turn into an ideal roguelite game for me in that it appears to have a definitive ending / end condition. When you consider the optional, spiralling difficulties of Hades and Dead Cells I get a feeling of exhaustion and a sense that they’re outstaying their welcome when I play them on their higher difficulties. Little Noah, however, I don’t get that impression of, and that is promising to my enjoyment of it.