Blade & Bones

Blade & Bones is an action/adventure souls-like yet colourful rpg/metroidvania combat driven game (wow what a mouthful but it delivers enough to validate all these tags) and it caught me by surprise, as it will catch everyone who comes across it.
This game is, according to me, the quintessential indie game. It is casually self aware while being incredibly fun at the same time.
For me it was the best surprise from the indie side this year, although it is a little on the short side (around 4-7 hrs depending on playstyle it does also have a NG+ mode which significantly alters the experience)
Gameplay-
The gameplay consists of exploration and combat basically, both can be fun and not very tedious. Combat can turn from easy to unforgiving in just a short while as you run out of health or stamina. It is basically swordplay and some relics found through the world.
You have 'lives' called purity (total of 6 purities) and if you lose all, there is permadeath and the save game is erased...
But you can find the lost purities, BUT they are scattered at random places after you lose them.
Exploration is mostly fun and the world design is expansive, vibrant yet compact, I know it sounds contradictory but just play it and you'll know what I mean.
You can access some areas only at some specific nights and you can control when to summon those nights through a contraption of stone.
Character design is nice and hits a lovely spot between scary and aesthetically pleasing.
Graphics and performance have been good for me and I run a gtx 970 with 8gb ram and i5 4690k. No crashes, no memory leak, no bugs..
Lore/Story-
The lore is deliberately vague, obscure and fragmented and is explained through hieroglyphs and some character dialogues here and there. It is interested and fun all the same, replete with references and hints of cosmic horror. You have to collect seven swords to break an ancient curse, in those terms, the objective in game story is pretty clear but the world lore and origin is somewhat lovecraftian, as in not unknown but unknowable.
Sound-
Sound in terms of voice acting is fairly above average but some sounds in-game of the world, such as that of the impact of your sword on stone can be a little off putting because it lacks the resonance of striking steel upon stone.
Overall the experience of the game is satisfying and really fun for the casual gamer, and for hardcore ones there are always achievements and NG+ and understanding the complete lore, etc...
For the price it is worth it and at a sale it just just a steal, if its on a sale then definitely get it.
Pros-
+good lore
+simple and clean
+vibrant graphics
+many swords
+enjoyable exploration
+trading cards
+achievements
+good character design
Cons-
+some sounds
+a little short
+combat a little repetitive
+might come across as a little 'easy' to some

This game isn't perfect but there was clearly a lot of ideas behind it and the mechanics and exploration are very impressive. I wouldn't recommend this game at full price but on a sale, yeah grab it.
Just don't go into this game with expectations of Dark Souls because not all developers have a couple hundred grand to spend. A damn good effort went into this and it deserves some love. I just wish they polished the combat system a bit before abandoning the game, it would have made all the difference.
EDIT: Even after recommending this game previously, I feel I still didn't give it the credit it deserves. The lore is all there if that's what you're into, the boss fights are clever, the secrets are great and genuinely rewarding. And mechanics that are completely unique. Great game

I'm here to go against the grain - I wouldn't say this is bad. I might even reccomend this to a certain kind of person - By far, it's not GOOD. it's not super well designed, with interesting mechanics, or a real sense of story - but it is fun to explore the world. If it ever goes on sale, or you have 10 bucks burning a hole in your pocket and you like overly vague experiences and you want to see whats in this, then i'd say go for it. It's not a gem - it's not even a stone. It's a piece of coal that someone put a sticker on. Some people can find a use for it, and if your artistically inclined enough you can enjoy this sticker. It's not as bad as everything else in my steam library that's mostly negative - What's here is complete. The game is done. There ARE mechanics, and there is something here to have fun with, even if not many people will like it. I wouldn't exactly call it a metroidvania - and it's combat isn't anything to write home about, and it's slightly too difficult to really enjoy the other aspects of it.

I got this game for $1.50, so this recommendation is for a price like that. It is a fun interesting game to experience if you get it on sale. Combat is a little weak, but exploring the world is actually pretty entertaining. I enjoy playing indie titles, so people who want like a Triple A quality game might hate it. I appreciate what the developer was trying to do with it.

Most reviews for this game tell you not to play, but i think if you give it a chance you may find some enjoyment. It may not be on the calibre of Dark Souls, but it is good. The only complaints form me are the fact that combat can be clunky and the fact that the game feels very quiet, with little to no sound at parts.
Also try not to fight enemies at the very start, you will struggle until you find new swords, artefacts or blessings.

feels like a rushed student project finished on the day of submission deadline, made by a souls fan. mechanics are a bit confusing for no reason, animation is clunky, hitboxes are weird. but bought it for 85% discount so meh.

Where to even start? This game has been a complete joy to play. From exploring the entier open world from the very start. to the combat, where every fight is ts own battle. This game reminds me of a ps2 classic, its somthing you will never forget. So much time and effort has been put into this game and it pays off, From the sounds to the art to even the freaking lighting effects, this game is up there with one of my favorite games. I would recommon it to all, for its lore, journey, emmersive atmosphere,gameplay, sound, man i could go on for hours about how amazing this game is. Solid 10/10. Nothing about this game was dissapionting. WORTH EVERY PENNY.