I've played this game before a couple years ago, and back then, I found it extremely difficult, but I had little experience back then. For the longest time now, I've wanted to properly go back and play The Messenger again, to see if I've improved.
This game is still absolutely amazing. I forgot how good the music is, playing the game on a controller this time felt amazing, and I would not be surprised if that was what removed a lot of the difficulty. Bosses are so fun, I love how instead of having health bars, the way that their health is indicated is by them beginning to flash, and the closer they are to defeated, the faster it flashes.
I love how the game is presented, the humor is fun and doesn't take away from any of the game. The fact that you're never told of it being a Metroidvania until halfway through, and how the time periods are represented by how many bits are used. It's amazing.
Now, I started this review mentioning I found the game very difficult when I first played. Is that still true? No. It's still an overall challenging game, but aside from a small handful of rooms, the game isn't too terribly challenging.
I think giving this game another go was what made it solidified as a 9/10, it reminded me of how good the game really was, and while sure, there were some issues I had (namely with like, 2 or 3 rooms), I'm glad I finally got around to giving it a second play