A glorious demo of what's shaping up to be a possible breakout title.
Although it starts off a bit slow, Arietta of Spirits is a fantastic top-down action adventure game in the making. It evokes several games in its execution: Stardew Valley, The Legend of Zelda, CrossCode, and every 2D game with the Dark Souls dodge roll, among others. Yet, it keeps its own distinct feel and charm that sets it apart from other games.
Graphically, it does have that Stardew Valley feel, and it works without feeling like a blatant rip-off.
The sound and music is phenomenal. The sound effects do resemble those of Zelda, but the music sets itself apart. Save the boss battles and dramatic moments, the music is surprisingly chill.
The gameplay is alright, mixing Zelda and Souls-like into a fluid affair. I am a little turned off at the slow attacking; I feel, with a game like this, a faster attack would greatly improve the playability.
Overall, Arietta of Spirits is a game to watch in 2020. If the devs continue to improve an already great demo, there's no doubt in my mind that this will be a possible breakout indie title when it's released.