i liked the atmosphere and music of this game; the story didn't seem too bad either, but the gameplay was terrible. the bosses were sponges with very few attacks, and none of them were fluid to fight. every enemy has contact damage, making the game become less enjoyable the more damage i took from touching a stationary enemy. the level design was generic, and after a while, i didn't care for the art because this game was so monotonous. this would be better suited as a book, manga, or vn rather than a metroidvania, as it is severely lacking in its gameplay.

hoenir keeper of the abyss bossu bok gibi dizayn edilmiş bir boss fight'dı gangbang üzerine kurulu adil bir savaşa sahip olmamasına rağmen yapay zekasının kötü olmasından dolayı uzaktan dark witch eleine spirit'i ile cheesy bir şekilde kesebiliyorsunuz. boss'un kendisi kötü olduğu gibi bölgesi de kötüydü. aklımda kalan tek büyük eksisi buydu oyunun. aklımda kalan en büyük artısı oyunun oynanış çeşitliliği oldu. gerçekten derin bir relic ve spirit mekaniği kurmuşlar. her boss'da hatta yer yer yeni bölgelere girdiğimde bile build değişikliği yapmam gerektiği oldu. oynanış döngüsünü bu sayede akıcı tutmayı başarmışlar. müzikleri de beklediğimden çok daha iyiydi. oyundaki bütün 3 sonu da aldım. anlık olarak hepsi olmasa da haritadaki çoğu toplanabiliri de topladım belki sonra geri döner ve 100% lerim

Ender Lilies me parece un juego que, a poco que te gusten los metroidvania debes darle una oportunidad.

El apartado artístico habla por si solo, simplemente precioso. Durante nuestro periplo nos encontramos recorriendo escenarios variados, yendo y viniendo, como es típico de este género pero sin hacerse repetitivo ni excesivamente frustrante, ya que a poco que observes el mapa podrás intuir cuales son los posibles puntos por donde hay que seguir.

Además, algo que me da mucho gustito es que cuando completas una zona por completo ésta queda pintada para indicarte que ahí ya no te queda nada más por ver ni recoger.

Destacar, que en todo momento estamos acompañados de una magnifica banda sonora, temas como Awakening, Harmonious o The Witch's Breath no te los vas a poder quitar de la cabeza.

Respecto al combate, creo que cumple con creces, al menos a mí me ha resultado muy gratificante. Tenemos una gran variedad de opciones, aunque siendo sincero hay muchas habilidades que he probado y luego no he vuelto a utilizar en todo el juego, pero entiendo que esto ya es más cuestión de gustos.

La dificultad también la he sentido muy bien medida, sufriendo con algún que otro boss pero sin perder las ganas de seguir intentándolo.

También comentar que lo he jugado de principio a fin en la Steam Deck y funciona perfecto.

En conclusión, si te gusta el género y todavía no le has dado una oportunidad, dale.

( Eng Below ) Ender Lilies com certeza é um dos melhores jogos que eu já joguei, é um excelente metroidvania, mas sendo sincero... Eu não o recomendaria para quem está atrás de uma primeira experiência com metroidvania e soulslike, pois, apesar de ele ser um jogo bastante equilibrado, ele consegue ser um jogo frustrante.

Só pra motivo de comparação, o primeiro metroidvania que eu fiz o 100% foi o Blasphemous, e comparado com Ender Lilies, Blasphemous é bem mais fácil!

Mas agora falando dos outros aspectos do jogo... Primeiramente irei falar da arte, a direção de arte é muito bem feita, os designs de personagens são muito bons, e os cenários são incríveis, tanto que em vários momentos do jogo eu tirei print de tão lindos que são os cenários.

Agora... Apesar desse jogo ter uma arte incrível, na minha opinião, onde esse jogo mais brilha, é em sua trilha sonora e musical, dou um grande destaque para as faixas 'The Witch's Breath' (A trilha sonora da Floresta das Bruxas é com certeza a minha favorita de todas!), 'Accolade - Intro' e a 'Main Theme'. Mas devo dizer que a trilha sonora e musical do início do jogo até o mapa da Prisão Subterrânea são as que mais me agradam, diferente da trilha sonora da parte final do jogo sinceramente não me agradou muito (Tirando a trilha do Boss final, que é muito boa!), mas ela condiz bastante com a história, então, apesar de eu não ter gostado, tem motivo pra elas serem como são!

Em relação aos bosses do jogo, eles são muito bem feitos, as lutas são muito legais (Com um grande destaque para a luta contra o Julius, contra o Wolve e contra o Rei dos Corrompidos , que foram as que mais me divertiram!).

Em relação a história do jogo, ela é muito boa, é contada de uma forma muito clara, que dá pra entender todos os acontecimentos, o que, sinceramente, eu prefiro!

Bem... É isso, eu gostei muito do jogo, fazer o 100% foi muito legal, recomendo demais pra quem tiver querendo se aventurar em um metroidvania (Mas lembrando que ele é um jogo um tanto frustrante em alguns momentos) <3

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Ender Lilies is certainly one of the best games I've ever played, it's an excellent metroidvania, but to be honest? I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a first experience with metroidvania and souls-like, because although it's a very balanced game, it can be frustrating.

Just for comparison's sake, the first metroidvania I 100%'d was Blasphemous, and compared to Ender Lilies, Blasphemous is much easier!

But now on to the other aspects of the game... First of all, I'm going to talk about the art. The art direction is very well done, the character designs are very good, and the scenery is incredible, so much so that at various points in the game I took screenshots of how beautiful the scenery is.

Now... Although this game has incredible artwork, in my opinion, where this game shines the most is in its soundtrack and music. I'd like to highlight the tracks 'The Witch's Breath' (The Witch's Forest soundtrack is definitely my favorite of them all!), 'Accolade - Intro' and the 'Main Theme'. But I have to say that the soundtrack and music from the beginning of the game to the Underground Prison map are the ones I like the most, unlike the soundtrack for the final part of the game, which I really didn't like (apart from the Final Boss soundtrack, which is very good!), but it's very much in keeping with the story, so even though I didn't like it, there's a reason for it to be the way it is!

As for the game's bosses, they're very well done, the fights are very cool (with a special mention for the fights against Julius, Ulv and the Blighted Lord which were the ones I had the most fun with!)

As for the game's story, it's very good, it's told in such a clear way that you can understand all the events, which, frankly, I prefer!

Well... That's it, I really enjoyed the game, getting 100% was really cool, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to venture into a metroidvania (but remember that it's a rather frustrating game at times) <3

This is a tough one for me. While I think that star or number ratings are limited in their breadth, I do think that they are a quick and simple representation of a game's overall appeal. That being said, I typically operate on a 10-point system and treat Backloggd's 5 stars as 1 point per half star. The reason I'm boring you with all this is to say that I don't normally screw around with fractional points on a 10-point scale, something is normally either 7 or 8 out of 10. But I have to say that I give EL a 7.7 because it has so many really great elements but is also let down in several ways that I feel I have to deduct some points, but it wouldn't be fair to it to reduce it all the way to a 7.
TLDR: I'm rating this game 4/5 stars but its really like 3.7 stars.

Gameplay ★★★★★
Quick stuff first, movement feels good and I like the "pull yourself up from a ledge" which I was surprised about because I don't normally. The early game dodge is slightly clunky which is fitting to the character design but still is effective and doesn't impede your ability to fight effectively. Late game you get a quicker movement option which makes revisiting old areas much easier to enjoy.

Combat is based around spirit summoning which allows for some really cool stuff. You unlock more spirits by defeating bosses and taking on an imprint of them that mimics one of their moves. Your main spirit is basically a melee attack (ranged ones unlocked later) but you can have 3 different ones equipped and there are two equipment sets that you can quickly swap between. There are a variety of spirits from melee to ranged, familiars, and many that are kind of "fire and forget" which is where most of my enjoyment came from. It is really cool to run in, set off a spirit quickly and then dodge out to safety, and feels great to effectively utilize all 3-6 spirits in sequence or even simultaneously, as some of them have effects that stay out for a while.

Story ★★★
The story was interesting but it is told 90% through notes and item descriptions with a tiny bit of dialogue and memory sequences here and there. I think it would have been great if it had some whispery Dark Souls style voice acting that added to the mystery and ambiance. Unfortunately, I got bored of reading notes and stuff all the time so I only kind of knew what was going on. I watched a lore video afterward and I can tell you that it was interesting, but not terribly unique.

Characters ★★★★
Similar to the story, I didn't know much about the characters, but what I was able to surmise was very effective. All the enemies are corrupted people and many of them had duties to uphold. You understand a surprising amount about their character from just a couple of lines of dialogue or a short 2 minute memory sequence.

Art direction and level design ★★★★
The art is great all around. Characters, monsters, and environments are unique and interesting throughout. Background art features important story elements and create effective backdrops. The level design is also really good with a great mix of horizontal and vertical movement keeping things interesting, side areas to explore, and cool maze-like rooms that force you through a gauntlet of enemies but then unlock a shortcut at the end so you don't have to do it all again every time you want to pass through.

Adjacent to the level design is the map. The map has one of the games biggest flaws and one of its best design choices. The good part is that each room is colored orange or blue. Orange indicates that you've gotten all the pickups in the area (upgrade materials or equipable items) and blue means that something is still in that area. This color-coding made it incredibly simple and motivating to go back and find everything. I've 100%ed a metroidvania because I don't want to look up a guide or just go smacking every wall in the entire game trying to find a hidden one. But I am ok with going back to a blue room to looks for secrets I know I have missed there.

The flaw part is that the rooms are just squares on the map. It doesn't show where you are in the room and it only has little dots indicating the general areas of the exits. This might not sound like a problem but some of the rooms are pretty huge and have lots of complicated walls and pathways. I have a really good sense of direction and visual memory for these types of things but I found myself struggling to remember where I was from time to time. If you have a problem with navigation you will likely have a bad time with this one.

Music and sound design ★★
This was the other big letdown for me. Sound design was incredibly lackluster with prime examples being a monster's scream that is not only very flat and artificial, but is also reused on multiple enemies and that only lasts about 1 second, even though the attacks lasts several. Or a "charge up" noise during a boss lasting about half a second while the actually charging animation lasts over a full second. It sounds minor but it felt very off. Your spirit attack SFX also sound very generic.

I actually enjoyed the music in most areas but found the tracks to be way too short which led to it feeling super repetitive, even when I was exploring an area for the first time.

These facts meant that I played the game without sound most of the time which is really a bummer.

That's all, folks
Other games that want to have a little girl protagonist would just give her a sword and let you ignore the fact that a child wielding a weapon for the first time can slay a dragon. EL builds its entire concept around the fact that your character is a child. Every part of the game tells you of her innocence and the unfairness of her fate to be caught up in the sins of her foremothers. The game is crafted cohesively with no detail overlooked.
It had a few flaws that put me off pretty hard, but the rest of the game is so well done that it still deserves to be considered a great game overall. Definitely would recommend.

There is one great strength to this game and it’s the exploration. Most non-linear games like open world games and metroidvanias don’t give you really good rewards for exploring, but in this game most things you collect are either new attacks that expand your moveset or currency used to upgrade them, and it always makes exploring the map feel worth it. You can even find more meaningful things like relics and upgrades to your healing which always feel rewarding to find. Other things like the beautiful visuals and music really elevate the experience of the game.

There is also one big weakness to the game however, and it’s the enemies. I think small enemies having relatively limited movesets is forgivable, not every game needs to be Nioh, but most of the bosses are just not good. Their rhythms are very easy to learn and they rarely break away from them, if you go in with the right build most bosses don’t take more than a few tries to beat. Because of it the bosses feel pretty boring once you get a feel for them, they’re designed around a very “dodge and punish” style. You might think every boss in every game is like that, but games with really good bosses, like Hollow Knight, which this game clearly takes a lot of inspiration from, let you get in a lot of hits at times when it doesn’t seem like you’d be able to at first. Once you get used to Hollow Knight bosses, you can keep figuring out more times to get in more damage. In Ender Lillies, because of the slower pace of the combat you just aren’t able to get creative against bosses. It’s very clear when you can hit bosses, and it’s very clear when you can’t. It’s a shame and it’s frustrating because the amount of options you have to customize your moveset should give you more options to be creative against bosses, but the bosses aren’t designed well enough for it.

Overall it’s a great game with good ideas, but it’s bosses hold it back from being something really amazing that I can recommend to more people. Apparently a sequel to this game exists but I’m not sure where the story would go after the ending of this game, hopefully it improves on Ender Lillies though.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much when I finally wanted to catch up on Ender Lilies. I knew beforehand that it was a rather dark Metroidvania and that its narrative was based on games like Bloodborne or Salt and Sanctuary. Since I really like these games (especially Bloodborne), I had put Ender Lilies on my wish list years ago and had ignored it ever since :D So now the moment finally came when I had some time and was in the mood for a good Metroidvania over the Easter holidays.

It didn't take too long for the game to put me under its spell. It quickly became apparent where the influences for the world design and narrative lie. The game is very dark and the narrative rather convoluted; you shouldn't expect a clear, straightforward plot here. In typical Souls-fashion, you are thrown straight into the action and have to piece together the story piece by piece. Storytelling and worldbuilding heavily rely on item descriptions, comments from your companion and cutscenes that are played after defeating a boss or at key points in the game. I don't want to give too much away here, but I was very interested in the storyline and became quite emotionally involved. You could describe the narrative as a kind of dark, adult fairy tale. If that's what you're in the mood for, you'll be completely satisfied here.

In terms of gameplay, Ender Lilies really surprised me, as the game has some interesting ideas that I have rarely or never seen in this form in other games of the genre. What struck me right from the start was that I didn't directly control the game's protagonist - Lily - in battles. Instead, I could choose from a range of "guardians" who have different abilities and attack patterns. The variety of these guardians is truly amazing. From the classic sword wielder to rather slow hammer attacks and magical ranged attacks, everything is included here. In addition, you can summon supporting guardians and thus create a very individual play style. This was super cool and kept me wanting to try out new combinations of abilities. As the boss battles can be quite tough at times, it was also necessary to adapt my strategies from time to time in order to succeed.

In terms of exploration, I always had enough motivation to search the areas to discover items or other secrets throughout the entire game. What I really liked here was that the game shows you directly on the map whether there is still something to be found in a level section or not. However, I do have a small point of criticism here. Unfortunately, it has often happened that I still had something to do in a level area. However, as some of these areas are huge and you have no clue where exactly something is located, you sometimes spend ages walking through an area in search of the hidden item. This can be frustrating, especially in the later areas of the game, which are at times very monumental in size.

All in all, however, I can thoroughly recommend this game. The narrative is interesting, the world is beautifully designed, the exploration is fun and the boss battles are challenging. Towards the end, some of the battles get a little overly difficult but I never felt like the game presented me any unfair challenges. And hey, if you die, there's no punishment, no souls to retrieve or anything like that. You like cryptic narratives, dark moods and Metroidvania? Then definitely check out Ender Lilies.

a year ago I tried ender lilies and thought combat is clunky, unresponsive and I shelved after beating the first boss without giving it a second glance, now with the sequel coming soon (early access at the moment) I wanted to get back to the first game and oh boy did I got back to it and did my first impression aged badly. I simply had to get used to the overall feel of it and after that it just flowed from start to finish. I couldnt give my attention to games for about 1-2 months but ender lilies broke it and ignited my gaming side again with me being absorbed in this visually beautiful but storywise bitter hidden gem for 3 days straight. only nitpick I do have is that (and its probably my fault) while backtracking after getting new movement upgrades I felt I wasted my time because sometimes it wasnt clear what to do or how to find the the way even if I knew which paths got open (I checked one resting site for maybe 10 times and found the secret at the end of the game lmao), probably because map isnt detailed, I had to leave 2 areas not full so no %100 :(
also mili slaps as always, even though I knew and listened to ender lilies soundtracks before playing, it got even better while experiencing the game
I was not familiar with your game binary haze, you can cook and keep cooking. ender lilies is one of a kind game and a masterpiece at that. I'll wait for ender magnolia full release