Very promising Souls-like. There is a lot to like about the progression system and combat. I really like the build-a-body system that changes your stat limits, and the ability to change your stats at any "bonfire".

However...
There are some very clear issues with the fundamental mechanics of the games that can't be fixed with a simple balance change.

There is no dedicated "heal flask" and all healing is through items you can pick-up/buy using the lesser heal items. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if you could equip and use multiple items, but you only get one. This creates a problem where you have to choose between being able to heal or use any other item available. You could argue this is a design choice for balancing, but the heal items not only give an initial heal but also give several healing pulses after so it will most likely beat out any other buff item in terms of usefulness, and I haven't seen any other type of usable in the demo. Fromsoft phased out life gems for good reason. The game's difficulty becomes about how many healing items you have stocked up, rather than your actual skill.

There is also a heal AOE ability or "spell", which could function as a flask, but then you also have to choose between using something actually fun or making the game vastly easier. Unlike items, you can get a second ability slot with the right build, but again the usefulness of other abilities comes into question, especially when you can use the heal on your friends and friendly fire is a possibility. This also affects the difficulty of the game as a whole, where the game isn't going to be hard unless you're dying instantly or getting hit so frequently you have no chance to heal. This will lower how enjoyable the game is in the long run, I suggest either having a dedicated heal button/slot that recharges like every other souls-like in existence. I would then replace the healing items' effects with something else. Could just be a max HP buff instead.

The inventory is, frankly, horrible. I'm not talking about the limited space, although that does become a problem when there is limited item storage access, and there is no accessing this from bonfires. Both with a controller and mouse/keyboard it is a pain to manage inventory. It's honestly a bit easier with a controller, as different buttons can quickly equip/drop/decompose items, but the controller still feels like an afterthought as you have to use a psuedo-mouse cursor to select items. I hope this is simply because the game is in early access and will be improved later.

I suggest the devs re-evaluate some of their design choices and do not try to reinvent the wheel. These problems I've mentioned make this game feel like indie Dark Souls but several steps behind in QoL. Though this is just the demo, it is entirely possible that the issues I've mentioned (other than the clunky ui) are addressed further into the game with obtainable upgrades like in the original Dark Souls. However, again, there is a reason why Fromsoft stopped doing that.

Very promising Souls-like. There is a lot to like about the progression system and combat. I really like the build-a-body system that changes your stat limits, and the ability to change your stats at any "bonfire". However... There are some very clear issues with the fundamental mechanics of the games that can't be fixed with a simple balance change. There is no dedicated "heal flask" and all healing is through items you can pick-up/buy using the lesser heal items. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if you could equip and use multiple items, but you only get one. This creates a problem where you have to choose between being able to heal or use any other item available. You could argue this is a design choice for balancing, but the heal items not only give an initial heal but also give several healing pulses after so it will most likely beat out any other buff item in terms of usefulness, and I haven't seen any other type of usable in the demo. Fromsoft phased out life gems for good reason. The game's difficulty becomes about how many healing items you have stocked up, rather than your actual skill. There is also a heal AOE ability or "spell", which could function as a flask, but then you also have to choose between using something actually fun or making the game vastly easier. Unlike items, you can get a second ability slot with the right build, but again the usefulness of other abilities comes into question, especially when you can use the heal on your friends and friendly fire is a possibility. This also affects the difficulty of the game as a whole, where the game isn't going to be hard unless you're dying instantly or getting hit so frequently you have no chance to heal. This will lower how enjoyable the game is in the long run, I suggest either having a dedicated heal button/slot that recharges like [i]every other souls-like in existence.[/i] I would then replace the healing items' effects with something else. Could just be a max HP buff instead. The inventory is, frankly, horrible. I'm not talking about the limited space, although that does become a problem when there is limited item storage access, and there is no accessing this from bonfires. Both with a controller and mouse/keyboard it is a pain to manage inventory. It's honestly a bit easier with a controller, as different buttons can quickly equip/drop/decompose items, but the controller still feels like an afterthought as you have to use a psuedo-mouse cursor to select items. I hope this is simply because the game is in early access and will be improved later. I suggest the devs re-evaluate some of their design choices and do not try to reinvent the wheel. These problems I've mentioned make this game feel like indie Dark Souls but several steps behind in QoL. Though this is just the demo, it is entirely possible that the issues I've mentioned (other than the clunky ui) are addressed further into the game with obtainable upgrades like in the original Dark Souls. However, again, there is a reason why Fromsoft stopped doing that.