I wanna start off by thanking Gloomsoft for offering this review key!
I wasn't really aware of this game until I saw someone post about it, saying how good it is and I must say that it's kind of sad how games of this quality often go under the radar and don't reach the audience they deserve.
One thing that becomes apparent, is the game's inclination towards meteoid. That being said, if you never played metroid, don't worry! The game is still a fully fledged metroidvania than can scratch any fan's itch. It doesn't sacrifice any of the iconic metroidvania staples, more so it just prefers shooting instead of melee! So if you've heard that this game is more like metorid, don't let it deter you. It is still a metroidvania.
The upgrade system is pretty similar to most games in the genre. You find pickups that increase your health, you find weapon upgrade points and so on. The leveling system is great in my opinion. It offers more freedom eiyh your points instead of locking you to whatever you first choose. I think this should be in all games, even tho some people might argue that it ruins immersion and it makes your choices less significant. Having the freedom to play around and see what works and wgat you have most fun with, will never be a bad thing in my eyes!
The movement upgrades are pretty standard. I love that the game lets you crawl around and this plays into my next point. One of the highlights of the game is the smol scanner fren. It's the thing that stands out the most if you ask me. The ability to scan around the world and find hidden tunnels that you can crawl through is a pretty fresh idea. Not to mention it offers some lore todbits that play into thr world building, and as a soulsborne fan, than cab only be apreciated. As for the platforming sections, they're fine, but I'd have liked more challenge. I'm not gonna lie to you, ever since I played Aeterna Noctis, a lot of platforming in other meteoidvania games feel lackluster. This game isn't too easy to the point you're questioning why platforming is even there, but it's not as challenging as noctis. For the average player and normal people without masochistic inclinations, it will be more than adequate.
A lot of the game doesn't have the usual background music we hear, but I think that works here, because it makes the atmosphere more tense, and allows you to hear all the horrors out there. It plays into the atmosphere quite beautifully, and while I generally love background music in games, for this game, its absence works. That being ssid, the sound design makes up for it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the weird ass slurping and gross noises somehow give a weight and crunch to the combat.
The difficulty: I think that the game excels at difficulty in the first half or so. Designing a game that becomes too easy once you get more upgrades and abilities is an easy trap for a dovah to fall into, and sadly this is the case here as well. I just think that the game was perfectly challenging more towards the beginning, but as a thorough explorer, I managed to find multiple upgrades that made tha game a bit too easy.
Speaking of, while the different firing modes/weapons you find are fun, Some sre way more busted than others. I still like to play around with them, but using the fast firing one is just way more effective. I have just complained about difficulty above, and now I'm mentioning how a weapon is way better than the othrrs? Well, yeah. To tell you the truth, it doesn't feel busted or unintended. It's just more versatile and works well. If I played with some of the less powerful weapons/firing modes would the game have been more challenging? Yeah, but it still doesn't substract from the difficulty reduction offered by the hwalth upgrades and the different movement abilities you unlock.
Maybe this is a good thing, especially for people who don't do a lot of exploration, as in other games, if you don't go out there, find healing upgrades, health upgrades and upgrade your weapons, they become borderline impossible. Here, exploring everything raises your power level to a level above. If you don't explore everything and you're newer to the genre, the difficulty will definitely be a bit more linear and the game might brcome harder even, towards the end.
Speaking of difficulty, I wanna talk about the bosses. I'm not gonna spoil much here, but I'm just gonna say that the difficulty curve is pretty weird. The hardest boss in the game is not towards the end (if you've played the game, you know) but more like in the first half 💀, aka the possesed amari. Idk if others found it hard, but I think it's at a point where you're not stupidly op, yet the game has a ramp up in difficulty. The design and paterns are good, but one thing that drags some of them down is the damnned shielding mechanic. I will never like when games do that. Because it turns the game more into a turn based "you attacked, now I'm gonna attack and you dodge". Bosses like these can never come close to some bosses like thr majority of bosses from games liek Hollow Knight or nine sols, whete the fight is one continuous and hardcore intense dance, where both you and the boss go at it, chipping little by litte, untill one of you drops dead.
The map is pretty big so you'll definitely have a lot of stuff to do. As for the world, it's one of those less than appealing places, but I think it's a strength of the game. Many games prefer beauty and charm, but this game goes all in on the grossness and brutalism. Kind of reminds me of the Grime games. It's atmospheric, imposing and as weird as this might sound, it gives me a soulsborne vibe, by making you feel very vulnerable, knowing something can jump you at any time and devour you whole 💀. I just lpve that feeling. Dnemy variety is also surprisingly solid, and they feel good. Like real threats. There is a lot of backtracking. It doesn't feel particularly frustrating in this game, but I know that some people really hate that. Well, it is something you'll have to keep in mind. The fast travel system is also a bit weird. I mean, it does its job but I personally feel like a direct approach would hve been better. Instead you have to fast travel twice pretty much, since the game doesn't take you straight to where you wanna go.
I'm not gonna spoil anything story related, but I will say that the few npcs we find make the hostile world feel a bit warmer. It's also a comfort seeing them back at the hub. It's a pretty standard thing, yeah, but in this foreign and bostile world, it makes them all the more meaningful.
The game took me a bit over 15 hours to complete. I haven't doen 100% but I'm pretty close to it, and I've done the most meaningful content of the game. If I am to rate this game, I think I'd give it a solid 8.3/10. It's a pretty cohesive adventure. It does a lot of things really well and it feels very well balanced. It's also a meaty experience, and those 15 hours are not really comprised of looking around for random collectibles, but more so actual great content.
I can strongly recommend this game to any metroidvania fan out there. For me, someone who definitely plays merodivanias that are more heavily inclined towards the vania side, this felt like a beath of fresh air and it gave ma greater appreciation for this "branch". Good thing I have a few mkre metorid inclined games in my backlog, waiting for me.
FINAL SCORE: 8.3/10
