This little game has a lot more gravity than you may expect. It plays as a classic riff on Metroid with a standard-but-tight lineup of abilities and a challenging roster of bosses and areas, wrapped nicely in a disorienting-but-cute ultra low-res artstyle and topped with a brilliantly laid-back soundtrack.
That's not the whole of it, though. What escalates ESA from decent to important is tricky, because even mentioning it kinda spoils the fun - be warned.
Of course it's the postgame, a knot of secrets and weirdness that descends far deeper than I think anybody expected it to. This is a polarizingly ridiculous progression, one that requires puzzle solving and codebreaking for which I can't think of many obvious analogues. It reinvigorates that early sensation these games were always meant to evoke - there's no way of knowing what's truly out there, and it's always more than you think.
It all makes ESA feel almost essential for metroidvania enjoyers, with both rock-solid fundamentals and plenty of unique appeal. I've got high hopes for the sequel.
That's not the whole of it, though. What escalates ESA from decent to important is tricky, because even mentioning it kinda spoils the fun - be warned.
Of course it's the postgame, a knot of secrets and weirdness that descends far deeper than I think anybody expected it to. This is a polarizingly ridiculous progression, one that requires puzzle solving and codebreaking for which I can't think of many obvious analogues. It reinvigorates that early sensation these games were always meant to evoke - there's no way of knowing what's truly out there, and it's always more than you think.
It all makes ESA feel almost essential for metroidvania enjoyers, with both rock-solid fundamentals and plenty of unique appeal. I've got high hopes for the sequel.