All-round a very solid soulslike/metroidvania. And this game deserves those two genre labels more than most. Ender Lilies is so heavily influenced by other games in those genres that it almost comes off as some hybrid or compilation. The theming and enemy design is very Dark Souls, the story is very Hollow Knight, the boss design is very Bloodborne and the art style reminds me of Salt and Sanctuary, albeit a fair bit better. Don't get me wrong, Ender Lilies is good or great in almost every aspect, but it can feel like it isn't bringing a whole lot new to the table.
I guess the main innovation/gimmick that EL:QotK does contribute to the genre is the spirits system, where you unlock new moves by beating associated bosses / minibosses and recruiting their spirits to your side, and then equip up to six of these at each bonfire/bench/respite. I do quite like this system, it leads to a lot of build variability, but it does feel a little out of place alongside the other RPG elements (a copy of the charms system from Hollow Knight and a character levelling system that... I never worked out what it was doing). It makes combat pretty fun and varied, and some of the most satisfying I've played in the genre (at least once you get the dash, because the basic dodge kinda sucks to use).
I'd say the game probably puts the most effort into building its atmosphere; but I think it perhaps goes a little too hard too fast. The first couple of levels of this game are just so damn sad, and not really in a good way. You're thrown in at the deep end with an extremely bleak and hopeless seeming world before you have any time to get invested in anything, and the game doesn't offer any NPCs to talk to to show any faint sign of life or reason this world deserves saving. I dunno, I didn't feel this way by the end once the game had earned my engagement at a story and setting level, but this kind of thing has completely thrown me out of other Metroidvanias before now (main example being Ori and the Blind Forest), so I think the feeling of 'unearned atmosphere' I got from the start of this is worth a mention.
But yeah, other than that and its lack of originality at times, Ender Lilies is just good all-round. Beautiful art, great music (I particularly like how it dynamically changes between different rooms in an area), spot-on difficulty curve and no major glaring issues to point at. Pretty much the exact definition of a 4/5 game to me.
I guess the main innovation/gimmick that EL:QotK does contribute to the genre is the spirits system, where you unlock new moves by beating associated bosses / minibosses and recruiting their spirits to your side, and then equip up to six of these at each bonfire/bench/respite. I do quite like this system, it leads to a lot of build variability, but it does feel a little out of place alongside the other RPG elements (a copy of the charms system from Hollow Knight and a character levelling system that... I never worked out what it was doing). It makes combat pretty fun and varied, and some of the most satisfying I've played in the genre (at least once you get the dash, because the basic dodge kinda sucks to use).
I'd say the game probably puts the most effort into building its atmosphere; but I think it perhaps goes a little too hard too fast. The first couple of levels of this game are just so damn sad, and not really in a good way. You're thrown in at the deep end with an extremely bleak and hopeless seeming world before you have any time to get invested in anything, and the game doesn't offer any NPCs to talk to to show any faint sign of life or reason this world deserves saving. I dunno, I didn't feel this way by the end once the game had earned my engagement at a story and setting level, but this kind of thing has completely thrown me out of other Metroidvanias before now (main example being Ori and the Blind Forest), so I think the feeling of 'unearned atmosphere' I got from the start of this is worth a mention.
But yeah, other than that and its lack of originality at times, Ender Lilies is just good all-round. Beautiful art, great music (I particularly like how it dynamically changes between different rooms in an area), spot-on difficulty curve and no major glaring issues to point at. Pretty much the exact definition of a 4/5 game to me.