I just played the most recent demo of Yancy, and it was >2 hours of fun with sprinkles of rage (I am bad at games). Its combat was almost aggravating initially and became fun and rewarding after some practice. Additionally, the game has many swords to craft that change your stats and approach to combat. To top it off, the art is very cute and leaves you desperate for more. Yancy is engaging and doesn't ask for more time than it is worth, I would recommend playing the demo.
[Disclamer]
I have been friends with the developer for over a decade, although this was my first taste of the game he has poured his soul into for years.
Yancy does not hold back any punches, it is a challenging game, but failure leads to a minor setback and a quest for redemption. At first, I struggled to beat the simplest of enemies, but over time, I learned the controls and how to exploit enemy attack patterns, which allowed me to progress much faster. In many RPG's your character mainly gets stronger through levels and gear, but in Yancy, you as the player must "get good." Yancy also has progression mechanics, such as max health increases and sword crafting, but after all, the sword is only as strong as the person who wields it. Overall, Yancy is a tough yet rewarding game with tight mechanics begging to be mastered.
So what is this about sword crafting, you might ask? Well, Yancy has numerous swords, each with their own mechanics that you can craft or sometimes find. If you want to shoot projectiles, there is a sword for that. If you want to do a ton of damage but swing slowly, there is a sword for that. If you want a long-reaching attack that looks like a fleshy pool noodle, you guessed it ... there is a sword for that. There are so many swords with different strengths and weaknesses that it makes you want to try them all. The sword crafting mechanic is simple and adds tons of gameplay options to the game.
Yancy's characters and visuals are very cute, and the demo leaves me wanting more narrative. Yancy doesn't have a lot of music, but what it does have is quality. Notably, I couldn't help but jam and sing the melody during the Rock Lord boss fight. The narrative and music are great, I hope we can see more in the final product.
The Yancy demo proves its mechanics and narrative direction, and I can't wait to see more. The combat is tight and rewarding, the sword-crafting system is fun and adds variety, and the narrative and music are well-designed. I can't wait to see more content, and Yancy will definitely remain on my watchlist. I don't believe it is fair to rate a video game demo quantitatively, so I will leave it with my qualitative experience. Yancy has many enemies to fight, swords to collect, and bosses to conquer; if you have the time, I recommend picking this demo up.