Put a few hours into this today instead of starting Jedi Survivor - I really like it!
80% feels about right I'd say. It looks decent enough (nothing spectacular) and the combat is solid. There is definitely a bit of jank (I managed to immediately find a skip to let me see the Duchess naked (I was the naked one) and the camera is very frustrating in combat at times) but platforming is solid enough and exploring is extremely rewarding. I cleared out the starting area before going to the Moon Snail Cave and felt very powerful as I moved on. It's tough but not awful and gas a nice power creep if you're exploring everywhere and utilising your souls cleverly.
On that note I love the aquatic skin they've given everything. Instead of enemies' souls, you're collecting their microplastics . Magic is "umami" and the stat that affects it is MSG.
It's cute seeing how they've made trash into weapons and the environment. Love the early "don't fight this guy yet" boss' weapon which is one of those padlocks with a long metal loop and a razor blade to make a guillotine.
The skill tree is cool and each branch of it seems viable. I went down the parry tree as it gives you a bloodborne esque "get shell health back by attacking quickly" trait, and the parry itself is so much fun. Letting go of block before the attack hits you is very engaging alongside the satisfying "pop out of shell" animation you get mirroring your letting go of the shoulder button. Just matches up nicely.
On shells, they are a really cool conceit.. Making armour disposable with their own unique magic attack encourages/forces you to swap often and try everything out. In Dark Souls you pretty much lock your armour in early and never change it. As you're constantly switching styles you get slightly different feeling fights all the time which is engaging.
If you're worried about being it being too hard there are some great assist mode options. Do yourself a favour and just check out that bottom option in that menu when you get a chance.
Did not to expect to enjoy this this much but looking forward to seeing more!