Really nice first dungeon! Here is a little review:
Gameplay: 6
There is a little bit of everything in here - throwing puzzles, shooters, fake walls, and lots of fights. For my tastes, the balance is a bit too far on the fighting side. The puzzles in here are not bad, there just could have been a few more of them.
There is one particular room (the one with the fitting pieces) that has a really good idea, but it seems to me it doesn't quite work as intended.
About the fireball room near the end:
I think the room is a bit too large for what is in there, and the fireballs themselves should probably stronger. They hardly damaged me, so I didn't really care about the combination.
Originality: 6
I like the basic plot behind the dungeon, though it is simple. The room I already mentioned is highly original, and I also really like the way you can recruit more champions (though I dislike that you cannot review them in any way before acquiring them), but apart from that, the rest is rather standard stuff.
Difficulty: 4
The beginning is a bit hard for the lack of food and water. The timing for me was perfect, as I found water just when my water bars were almost completely empty, but if you linger around too long, you might get into trouble. The fights usually aren't too difficult as you have plenty of room to maneuver, and if you look around carefully, you will always find a way to proceed.
Puzzles: 5
The dungeon is rather puzzle-light, and the solutions to them are mostly obvious. The room I already mentioned twice certainly sticks out, as it is highly original and practically forces you to create some sort of map - something I usually never do.
Size: 5
I completed the dungeon in 1 hour and 33 minutes, so this is a good adventure for one free evening. The good thing is that the dungeon doesn't feel dragged out.
Replayability: 5
I only found one special weapon, and there are supposed to be more. Also, since the characters are rather different, it might be worth another trip with different champions. Most of all, the dungeon is short enough to have a quick go at it again.
Craft: 8
The few levels have some nice interconnections, and you often come out somewhere only to realize you have just opened up a shortcut or a circle. Apart from the fitting pieces not actually fitting (unless I made a mistake), everything works as it should.
Game Ending: 5
It's a bit anticlimatic. The "boss battle" is very easy since you have so much room, and I was hoping for some more bits of plot. I was also a bit disappointed that
the villain was strongly hinted at in the beginning, but didn't appear at all in the end, not even in the form of some explaining scrolls.
Atmosphere: 7
The basic plot that is hinted at in the beginning of the dungeon is intriguing. I like the library as well as the inscriptions on the walls in the beginning. The sound effects in lower levels also add atmosphere.
Overall: 7
Girth of Life is an impressive effort as a first dungeon. It is short, but filled with enough stuff to do. I'd like the dungeon to have some more puzzles and maybe a few less monsters, but that might be due to personal preference. This is a good dungeon for some laid-back playing on a long evening. It is easily finishable in one session, and there is practically no risk of getting stuck.
Best part: The room at the very bottom of the dungeon, even it doesn't seem to completely work as intended.
Worst part: I missed a bit of a challenge and/or plot at the end.
killed them all.