I really love this game. It came out during one of the hardest moments in my life. It was my distraction. I dived into this game. I loved the first one so much. And I looked forward to it a lot. It released at the perfect tme for me. I will always look fondly on it for that reason. Just know while reading this review, I can't separate my bias for this game. It literally kept me sane during the worst month of my life. I am still going to try and criticize it though.
I want to first say, the whole point of this game was to take influence from the other inspiration of the MetroidVania genre. The Vania...aka Castlevania side. If you are expecting Metroid from this game, you are not getting it. Play the first game if that's what you want. This game was always advertised as more Castlevania melee combat than Metroid ranged combat. So all the reviews angry at that fact seem disingenuous by acting as if it was a betrayal or some kind of surprise. It was not. Kind of like when you read Amazon reviews and you see a one star because there was a problem with shipping but no problem with the product itself. The first game is a love letter to Metroid. This game is a love letter to Castlevania.
This is a prequel to the original game. You don't need to play the first game though to understand it. Story yet again has some twists and turns yet still takes a backseat to the world building and exploration. Yet again, has some great interactions and characters.
The world is yet again super vibrant. Really varied. Traversal is much better this time. The game has much less jank.
A few complaints, it takes a bit for the game to get going. A little slowing in letting you traverse the world. Keeps you in a box for a bit too long. The drone areas are not as fun as the main areas. They don't look as good and the 8-bit music isn't as good as their normal renditions.
Combat is more like Castlevania this time. Melee combat instead of ranged. This is what got me to try the Castlevania series. At time of writing I only have 2 more MetroidVania style Castlevanias left. That's how much this game influenced me. Yet again, once I found a weapon to my liking, I rarely changed.
As I said in the the Axiom Verge review. The music is amazing again. I know I said something about the 8-bit versions of the music being not as good. But even so, they are still soooooo good.
If you love MetroidVanias or Castlevania play this game. This game leans more on the Castlevania side of things. I feel like this game was kinda slept on. Please play it. I highly recommend it.
I want to first say, the whole point of this game was to take influence from the other inspiration of the MetroidVania genre. The Vania...aka Castlevania side. If you are expecting Metroid from this game, you are not getting it. Play the first game if that's what you want. This game was always advertised as more Castlevania melee combat than Metroid ranged combat. So all the reviews angry at that fact seem disingenuous by acting as if it was a betrayal or some kind of surprise. It was not. Kind of like when you read Amazon reviews and you see a one star because there was a problem with shipping but no problem with the product itself. The first game is a love letter to Metroid. This game is a love letter to Castlevania.
This is a prequel to the original game. You don't need to play the first game though to understand it. Story yet again has some twists and turns yet still takes a backseat to the world building and exploration. Yet again, has some great interactions and characters.
The world is yet again super vibrant. Really varied. Traversal is much better this time. The game has much less jank.
A few complaints, it takes a bit for the game to get going. A little slowing in letting you traverse the world. Keeps you in a box for a bit too long. The drone areas are not as fun as the main areas. They don't look as good and the 8-bit music isn't as good as their normal renditions.
Combat is more like Castlevania this time. Melee combat instead of ranged. This is what got me to try the Castlevania series. At time of writing I only have 2 more MetroidVania style Castlevanias left. That's how much this game influenced me. Yet again, once I found a weapon to my liking, I rarely changed.
As I said in the the Axiom Verge review. The music is amazing again. I know I said something about the 8-bit versions of the music being not as good. But even so, they are still soooooo good.
If you love MetroidVanias or Castlevania play this game. This game leans more on the Castlevania side of things. I feel like this game was kinda slept on. Please play it. I highly recommend it.