An alien medieval planet, giant beasts you climb blade in hand, and death prowling at every step.

Death's Gambit, still light on votes, leans the right way. Its highest peak is fun: on few votes, the early returns put it ahead of three games out of four, exactly what you'd expect from a demanding action-RPG that keeps you glued. Rediscovery and the feel of the controller follow just above the middle, still to be confirmed, but it's coherent: a game you like to fire up again for the feel of its fights. Connection and desert island stay further back, in the lower third. The portrait that emerges is a game of mechanics and challenge that hooks you by the hands more than it grips the heart.

In the family of side-view souls-flavored action-RPGs, Death's Gambit owns its difficulty and its retro touch, where others bet on story or emotion.

So, who's it for? You, if you love demanding combat, oversized bosses you learn to read, the raw pleasure of progress. Much less if what you mostly want is a game that marks you emotionally and that you bond with for the long haul.