There's a couple of upgrades you can buy that meaningfully effect combat, and a half-dozen more that just add stuff like +5% crit rate or more hitstun, but those were competing with essential upgrades to my durability and stamina management so I didn't bother with them.

Weapon upgrading is very simple, just increasing damage. None of them were very fun to use until I found a few towards the 3/4ths mark that had decent aesthetics and slightly less painful move sets.

Most of these weapons are very similar to each other with only really the damage numbers being different, with a few notable exceptions. Weapon variety is pitifully small, with only four types of weapons each, two single-handed and two double-handed. Mechanically however it's pretty rough, which is a big deal when that's the main thing you do when you're not looking at pretty environments.

It's certainly a cut above most indie soulslikes, and it has certain style and air of mystery to the world that makes exploring it very fun. Edited to mention: supposedly this game has passive drop-in coop but as of June 2023 this game seems to be dead, and I did not encounter another player at any time during my playthrough.

Download steam ashen