Played via the DRM-free itch.io release on Windows 11 (Gigabyte B560 HD3, i7-11700 @ 2.5GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070).
I should probably preface this review by stating my experience with metroidvanias is rather minimal - I've put a fair few hours into the original Metroid whilst never being able to finish it (the lengthy rooms and lack of map feels near intentional to waste my time) but haven't touched a Castlevania outside of the franchise's original incarnation as an action platformer (OG, Bloodlines).
So it always seems to be the indie metroidvanias that hold my attention longer, and while Redo! seems to borrow equally from the genre as well as survival horror, it's a solid title, clocking in at just under a 4 hour experience if your goal is the ending.
I found movement to feel limiting at first (the other reviewer isn't entirely wrong about the jump) but finding that the level design is built with it all in mind made me relax into the flow of the game easier. Enemy design and item placement felt satisfying to me, easily encouraging the "come back later if you feel overwhelmed" feeling whilst not being above allowing the player to cheese through some areas if they're smart with rolls, weapon usage and health.
The art style and soundtrack were the personal standouts however - aesthetically it feels similar to 2012 game Lone Survivor at first but where that game planted it's feet firmly in the disturbing, Redo! isn't afraid to go fantastical with enemy and world designs. The soundtrack is more of a soundscape though and whilst there's not many in the way of "bangers" here it very much supports the art's strengths and lends itself to keeping you on edge rather than pumped up.
Overall I enjoyed my time with this game - I don't doubt that it could be better in some aspects and I'm looking forward to the developer's follow-up, Sessions, but for Redo!'s length and cost I was thoroughly pleased with my end experience.
I should probably preface this review by stating my experience with metroidvanias is rather minimal - I've put a fair few hours into the original Metroid whilst never being able to finish it (the lengthy rooms and lack of map feels near intentional to waste my time) but haven't touched a Castlevania outside of the franchise's original incarnation as an action platformer (OG, Bloodlines).
So it always seems to be the indie metroidvanias that hold my attention longer, and while Redo! seems to borrow equally from the genre as well as survival horror, it's a solid title, clocking in at just under a 4 hour experience if your goal is the ending.
I found movement to feel limiting at first (the other reviewer isn't entirely wrong about the jump) but finding that the level design is built with it all in mind made me relax into the flow of the game easier. Enemy design and item placement felt satisfying to me, easily encouraging the "come back later if you feel overwhelmed" feeling whilst not being above allowing the player to cheese through some areas if they're smart with rolls, weapon usage and health.
The art style and soundtrack were the personal standouts however - aesthetically it feels similar to 2012 game Lone Survivor at first but where that game planted it's feet firmly in the disturbing, Redo! isn't afraid to go fantastical with enemy and world designs. The soundtrack is more of a soundscape though and whilst there's not many in the way of "bangers" here it very much supports the art's strengths and lends itself to keeping you on edge rather than pumped up.
Overall I enjoyed my time with this game - I don't doubt that it could be better in some aspects and I'm looking forward to the developer's follow-up, Sessions, but for Redo!'s length and cost I was thoroughly pleased with my end experience.