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.