i love the idea of combo attacks, but they need to be more controllable and consistent. having random events increase the chances of them being available isn't enough. you should have some way to know when and where they will trigger, or let you trigger them yourself by performing certain actions in a certain way, as well as let you target specific enemies rather than weak ones that are about to die. also the actual timing of the attacks themselves should become more strict and varied the longer you keep the chain going, or some kind of skill-based mechanic.
otherwise, i don't really see the point in critiquing the minutiae of this demo, like the apparent uselessness of switching sword decks or the purpose of directional attacks, or fussing about elemental weaknesses or damage types or any minor systemic detail that's clearly a long way from being properly implemented or balanced. i'm pretty pleased with the immediate changes to the controls and the overall responsiveness and balance as it pertains to this specific demo. i find getting into massive furballs with a herd of monsters and having several waves of soldiers dropping in isn't an annoyance anymore- i'm actually having fun with the combat and getting caught without buffs is no longer a huge pain in the ass. the lockon is still weird, but i find it's more of a hassle than it's worth seeing how effective the auto targeting is if you point him in the right direction since you still get full control of the camera and it wont get crammed into an awkward position when fighting in tight spaces.
it feels pretty nice to run around and hit things now, so i'd say they're making good progress. i'll fret over the other stuff when the game is closer to completion.
