Relics of Aurelia

I came here from your YouTube video about grindless RPG design, because that's a topic I've been pondering as I plan my own RPGs. Are you familiar with the games Wine & Roses and Teenage Costume Squad? They use a similar principle of purely equipment-based progression, but are much smaller in scope.

I hate RPG Maker's art style, but you said the art's a placeholder so I won't harp on that too much. One thing I will harp on, though, is that the framing of Makoto getting run over is very poor; I could barely tell what happened because it happened so fast and at the corner of the screen. It would be clearer if the action was centered (and if the car was accurately sized proportional to the people).

The control tutorial is a nice QoL. I know some players can be confused when playing RPG Maker games for the first time. But why does the control tutorial not highlight the more convenient Z/X?

The protagonist buying an actual, physical game already feels dated, which both amuses me and makes me feel old.

Does RPG Maker support italicized text? That might be better for narration than parentheses.

Aw, it's sweet that Makoto doesn't steal Lucant's hat. I see he's willing to steal from everyone else though.

I love how much flavor text there is. That's always been one of my favorite things in RPGs and I'm sad it's fallen out of favor in modern ones. I also like the way treasures are described, it creates more intrigue and anticipation.

A suggestion: Could the healing statues also prompt a save? I often use them as save points anyway, but this would be a good way to remind players to keep up-to-date saves in case they're not used to a save-anywhere system.

I'm a little unclear on the purpose of inns when there are so many free healing statues. Are those a placeholder mechanic?

Escaping from bosses should really be guaranteed. There's not much point in watching them slowly kill Makoto if you realize you're outmatched.

I don't see the point in fighting the same boss in different locations. Given that they're puzzles, if you can beat one there shouldn't be any question of if you can beat them again.

Damage variance is very annoying in a game where statistics are so tight. The difference between beating an enemy in one or two turns is a really big deal. I'd recommend eliminating damage variance so you can better control the intended length of fights.

The Awkward Headband doesn't seem to do very much; the Majesta and Sandasteron still dodge almost every attack even with it equipped. I generally dislike random miss rates in general, and they seem an especially poor choice for a combat-as-puzzle game like this one. Could it be buffed to make you never miss (barring accuracy drop equipment like the Hulking Greatsword) without breaking any fights?

Overall, an interesting concept, but not terribly fun to play. Almost all battles are won entirely on the equipment screen; the battles themselves are just selecting "Attack" over and over. (I also never found a use for the Crystal Dagger.) The games I mentioned earlier all start off with multiple party members and abilities, which gives the battles tactical depth. I'd recommend expanding Makoto's moveset to provide something similar.

Regarding the question of optional grinding -- it's not really optional if you're forced into encounters. I know you said you planned to shift away from random encounters, but I'd advise you to prioritize that. As it is, I quickly ended up with more money than I could ever use just by fighting the random encounters. Additionally, random drops are the absolute worst form of grinding, because the payout is not proportional to the time or effort spent. I think it would be better to take a page from Final Fantasy XII and make enemies always drop monster parts but no money; that would make money and item grinding equivalent in effort, but force the player to choose between them.

There are also a lot of typos and grammatical errors in the text. (I took screenshots but find myself unable to attach files here, alas.) You seem to have some trouble with using commas, so I'd advise brushing up on them, particularly comma splices.

I enjoyed this game, and I think it has a lot of potential going forward. It is still just a demo, but there is something here for sure.

While the story is not always apparent and "there," it has a strong base, if not a little bit of an isekai. The combat is what you would expect from an RM game, but with the many different relics introduced, it keeps combat a little more fun with its variety of items.

If you decide to play, keep an open mind!

After an hour of giving it a good play through, I am still not done with the story but have noticed some things about the game. So here's a brief review. Please note that none of this is to dissuade or put down, as I would indeed like to see this completed and do suggest the game for a download.

Likes:
-The combat is unique in that it does not rely on levels but rather gear, focusing on having the right gear and skills so that you can take on enemies. Meaning you no longer have to spend large amounts of time grinding EXP/Levels in order to put up a good fight or find victory. 

-The layout of each area is well done, having a nice feel that the world is indeed lived in. 

-Key items are more than just one and done, but rather stay for a more permanent reminder of what items do or special encounters you will face.

-The story is rather pleasing and can be equated to a light-read. While not overly deep, it is deep enough to enjoy the world and see what the other characters have to say.

Dislikes:

-While the story is interesting and not too heavily tropey or leaning too much into the isekai style of stories, there is a small problem. That problem primarily being is that the story doesn't properly layout goals early on, leaving moments of feeling without direction. 

-Random combat encounters do not feel rewarding or worth doing. While you do get some items from them, primarily essences, unless you are farming them for a craft, it is better to just run versus doing battle.

-Some of the set encounters do not feel properly balanced out. A risk vs reward customization is a novel concept, but can easily lead to frustration of how to deal with a type of enemy, especially when you find items but are not able to find correlating notes as to what the item does. (I.E. Brittle Axe is needed to beat slimes, but no notes were found before that battle saying what the axe did. Or the Rusty Metal Ring which I can only say that it does damage over time to you.)