[37 hours || 70% completion || Immortal Difficulty]
Absolutely fantastic game!
A definite must-buy for anyone who loves metrodivanias or enjoys platforming and intense combat
[Short Summary]
The strength of game lies in it's bosses, puzzles and platforming design which is better than some of the best in the genre.
Metroidvania as a genre have so many aspects to them and some people like certain aspects more than others.
Despite some issues with the game, I still believe it's a fantastic overall experience.
The extensive accessibility options make it enjoyable for players of varying skills,
allowing everyone to enjoy the game on their own terms.
[What I Loved]
-The Bosses were fantastic really well designed and the required use of your abilities in them
-Accessibility options is one of my favorite thing about this game,
option to retry,the difficulty options, screen cap as a marker ,option to be guided,not having to mash to unfreeze,showing interaction prompts.
-The controls are responsive and feel great.
-Platforming is fun and has a lot of great challenges.
-Combat has a great amount of depth for the genre.
-All the abilities were enjoyable, providing a smooth and responsive experience, and they were appropriately utilized for both exploration and combat.
-The puzzles were enjoyable and never felt overly tedious or overly complicated.
[ General Criticism ]
1)The Art Style, Story, lore texts, and Characters all felt quite generic. It's not necessarily bad,
but there need to be something more captivating to grab my attention
I must say that I really appreciated how the story never obstructed the gameplay,
even if I wasn't entirely enjoying it.
It didn't overstay its welcome or attempt to convey a depth beyond what it was presenting
2)I found the music to be somewhat forgettable. While it serves its purpose, it simply blends into the background, often going unnoticed
3)When it comes to platforming, failing at one section results in a complete reset,
requiring you to start the entire sequence anew.
It the management of checkpoints in between could be improved for a more seamless and fun experience
[ Gameplay | Combat and it's Difficulty ]
1)There aren’t enough enemies, like i am actually surprised how sparse enemies were
and the ones that are there, just get destroyed, even on immortal difficulty
I enjoy the combat thoroughly but it isn’t quite hard or meaningful enough
and punishing.
||Basically You mow them down or you get killed in a few hits, you never get into
that loop of killing enemies ,dodging where you can feel the tension building
The game makes me long for more pressure||.
also I don’t think the damage sliders would help this.
2)I've frequently found myself resorting to killing sargon on traps multiple times
Just to warp back to the last save.In my opinion,the act of killing yourself to cross the map is really bad and a big design flaw.
To address this, I would suggest that the game should either allow traveling to fast travel points,directly from the trees
or
provide the option for free teleportation from and to trees once you receive the task to collect constellations
3)The map is well-crafted and easy to follow, but it gives off a pre-explored map vibes ie certain parts of the game map are revealed without the player having to physically visit those areas.
that dampens the thrill of exploration and After reaching around 70% completion,
my only choices were either to painstakingly explore every corner of the map or resort to using Google for guidance
Even when I make the effort to explore, the rewards just aren't motivating enough
[Bosses]
1)My BIG problem with the the boss fights particularly >!vahram!< fights is the fancy animation sequences.
If you happen to miss a dodge or parry, you're stuck in a 10+ second animation of the boss dealing damage..
While the game's animations are undeniably impressive, having to endure these sequences repeatedly, especially when I'm already being punished with damage, feels unnecessary.
It disrupts the flow of combat and takes me out of the immersive experience.
2)Given the game's intriguing range of abilities and movement and the option for instant boss retries,
I was left with a desire for a higher level of challenge in the bosses' mechanics.
I was looking for a tougher and more engaging experience to make the most of the game's potential.
Absolutely fantastic game!
A definite must-buy for anyone who loves metrodivanias or enjoys platforming and intense combat
[Short Summary]
The strength of game lies in it's bosses, puzzles and platforming design which is better than some of the best in the genre.
Metroidvania as a genre have so many aspects to them and some people like certain aspects more than others.
Despite some issues with the game, I still believe it's a fantastic overall experience.
The extensive accessibility options make it enjoyable for players of varying skills,
allowing everyone to enjoy the game on their own terms.
[What I Loved]
-The Bosses were fantastic really well designed and the required use of your abilities in them
-Accessibility options is one of my favorite thing about this game,
option to retry,the difficulty options, screen cap as a marker ,option to be guided,not having to mash to unfreeze,showing interaction prompts.
-The controls are responsive and feel great.
-Platforming is fun and has a lot of great challenges.
-Combat has a great amount of depth for the genre.
-All the abilities were enjoyable, providing a smooth and responsive experience, and they were appropriately utilized for both exploration and combat.
-The puzzles were enjoyable and never felt overly tedious or overly complicated.
[ General Criticism ]
1)The Art Style, Story, lore texts, and Characters all felt quite generic. It's not necessarily bad,
but there need to be something more captivating to grab my attention
I must say that I really appreciated how the story never obstructed the gameplay,
even if I wasn't entirely enjoying it.
It didn't overstay its welcome or attempt to convey a depth beyond what it was presenting
2)I found the music to be somewhat forgettable. While it serves its purpose, it simply blends into the background, often going unnoticed
3)When it comes to platforming, failing at one section results in a complete reset,
requiring you to start the entire sequence anew.
It the management of checkpoints in between could be improved for a more seamless and fun experience
[ Gameplay | Combat and it's Difficulty ]
1)There aren’t enough enemies, like i am actually surprised how sparse enemies were
and the ones that are there, just get destroyed, even on immortal difficulty
I enjoy the combat thoroughly but it isn’t quite hard or meaningful enough
and punishing.
||Basically You mow them down or you get killed in a few hits, you never get into
that loop of killing enemies ,dodging where you can feel the tension building
The game makes me long for more pressure||.
also I don’t think the damage sliders would help this.
2)I've frequently found myself resorting to killing sargon on traps multiple times
Just to warp back to the last save.In my opinion,the act of killing yourself to cross the map is really bad and a big design flaw.
To address this, I would suggest that the game should either allow traveling to fast travel points,directly from the trees
or
provide the option for free teleportation from and to trees once you receive the task to collect constellations
3)The map is well-crafted and easy to follow, but it gives off a pre-explored map vibes ie certain parts of the game map are revealed without the player having to physically visit those areas.
that dampens the thrill of exploration and After reaching around 70% completion,
my only choices were either to painstakingly explore every corner of the map or resort to using Google for guidance
Even when I make the effort to explore, the rewards just aren't motivating enough
[Bosses]
1)My BIG problem with the the boss fights particularly >!vahram!< fights is the fancy animation sequences.
If you happen to miss a dodge or parry, you're stuck in a 10+ second animation of the boss dealing damage..
While the game's animations are undeniably impressive, having to endure these sequences repeatedly, especially when I'm already being punished with damage, feels unnecessary.
It disrupts the flow of combat and takes me out of the immersive experience.
2)Given the game's intriguing range of abilities and movement and the option for instant boss retries,
I was left with a desire for a higher level of challenge in the bosses' mechanics.
I was looking for a tougher and more engaging experience to make the most of the game's potential.