Alruna: End of History

Surprisingly unambitious for a sequel. Most devs seem to go bigger and better for a sequel. But this game is roughly the same size and level of complexity as the first game, and if it is at all better, then the improvements are so marginal that you hardly notice. However, the original was fun, and more of the same is not necessarily a bad thing. One major point in this games favor as opposed to the original is that it does not lock your save after you finish the game, allowing you to go back and 100% the game if you wish. This point is the one reason why I’m giving this game a thumbs up where I gave the previous a thumbs down (the original was particularly egregious because there was a good and bad ending, and you could only fight the last boss in the bad ending). Honestly, both games are worth playing, but I just couldn’t give the first game an upvote because there were numerous complaints about the save file locking and no one in favor of it, but the dev chose not to change it.

制作组对着一代：好游戏，但我想稍做修改.jpg 相比一代基本规则没什么区别，一样的种子能力探索推进，一样的水滴要素，一样的巨量bug 而且和一代其实一个意思，写在游戏intro里的所谓破坏规则本质上其实就是破墙滑铲一类的隐藏要素无提示，因为能力设计不严谨带来的一题多解，以及依旧是在设计师思维范围内的小巧思 整体多了不少要素，四个基础神殿的自由度也高了，但视觉引导和设计上不太完美，强化能力有跨图要素和种子要素会导致玩家对单房解谜产生一定的不信任，有部分能力的泛用性也很低，属于是不适合放在种子栏位的东西。四个神殿都卡过关，而当我意识到其实神殿本质上不需要额外能力就能通过的时候，都已经打完了... 全地图探索要素这次有点多，而且不算太好找，外加传送点给得太抠，跑起来烦躁感明显高于前作 强化体系做得其实不太好，一是人物的基础性能过于难绷，打个骷髅基础伤害大概只有前作三分之一，二是把强化获得率这样的基础能力放在隐藏点过于恶意，三是一些外围隐藏点需要类似于强化时间up这样的能力锁对玩家不算友好，特别是能力房总体有卖哪些东西，以及能力本身提升什么都还是黑箱，不打开对应门板还不知道里面卖的是什么，四是钱货太少，如果能控制整个地图一次性获得的内容恰好可以买完所有能力就算好了，现在的设计好像一半都买不到 最后就是水滴这种隐藏要素，如果真不想搞那么多个的话可以少放点，你们懂我看到5个水滴堆一起那种无奈的解脱感嘛... 非常典型的做了更多东西，不能说失败，但整体玩起来体验还略微不如以前的续作

I played this directly after the first game [i]Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists[/i]. It felt more or less as more of the same thing. With respect to its Metroidvania gameplay, that is very much okay. Unfortunately, the nuisances of the first game stayed as well. That includes bugs (which are apparently intended - at least in parts) and a few movement issues that become annoying when looking for remaining, well hidden secrets. The map could contain a bit more information. Backtracking is painful and accumulates. If you do not memorize certain things and do not have a working idea right away to solve a secret, you will have to walk around the same paths again and again and again. Even if you open up some shorter routes, some ways are one-way only even later in the game. Being on the fence about giving a bad review again, I think there are improvements to the first game. For one, this time your save does not seem to get locked when you enter the final area. So taken with a grain of salt, it is possible to enjoy the game, but it will depend on your skills and frustration tolerance how much.

Мне очень понравилась эта игра! Она определенно войдёт в мои "10 лучших метроидваний". [b]Жанр[/b]. 2д-метроидвания-платформер-головоломка. Редкая комбинация. Если базовое "бегай убивай врагов" звучит как довольно незамысловатая идея игры, то придумать интересные НОВЫЕ головоломки - задача сложнее и у автора это отлично получилось. Как и бывает в хорошей метроидвании - часть времени ты проходишь игру как это задумано, а часть - пытаешься раньше времени пройти то, что проходить еще рано, используя инструменты, которых еще недостаточно ) Классика метроидваний, тут это реализовано хорошо. [b]Визуал[/b]. Одна из самых сильных сторон игры! Стильный и оригинальный главный герой - нуарная женщина-цветок из 60ых в виде ретро-8-битного персонажа. Приятные глазу локации, враги, боссы. Боссы заслуживают отдельного внимания - они хоть и не очень сложные, но некоторые запоминаются своей оригинальностью. И еще это одна из редких игр, где CRT-фильтр действительно хорошо реализован, с ним играть приятно. [b]Интересное прохождение[/b]. В первую очередь это всё же головоломка, враги в целом не такие уж сложные, а вот загадки и поиск неоткрытых частей карты - здесь придется подумать. На текущий момент я нашел 74 капельки и облазил всю карту в поисках 75ой, но пока так и не отыскал её ) Подводя итог: для меня это редкий случай того, что я обычно пытаюсь найти - красивая 2д головоломка-платформер с ретро уклоном, без визуального перегруза, оригинальная и интересная. Я считаю этой игре нужно больше внимания! Буду следить за новыми проектами автора, надеюсь он выпустит еще что-то подобное )

I loved the first! Couldn't wait for this and it didn't disappoint. Hoping for a thrid.

fun steam deck title. tho it could use some redesign on the art direction for better functionality (for example making the main character sprite actually match the hitbox instead of it being a tall rectangle with a lot of "free space" on top?) and sometimes the controls feel odd, but nothing terrible

I really enjoyed the original. The sequel, truthfully, is not as good. I enjoyed my time with it but it could have been better. I think the problem leans more heavily towards the pressures of following up the original than misunderstanding what made that game work, but it is a mix of both. [list] [*]As far as I can tell, there isn't really an emphasis on sequence breaking or choosing your own path like there was in the original. You have to do unintuitive things to make progress on the critical path, so even if it seems like you are breaking the game open, you had to do it that way to make progress. [*]In the original game, maybe 90% of all dialog was lyrics from metal, punk-rock, and/or anti-capitalist music, as well as titles of songs, movies, video-games, and pop-political slogans (such as Fukuyama's "the end of history"). The result was an eerie, oppressive, very beatnik but still mysterious, otherworldly vibe. This game has a lot more original writing mixed in that is going for the same effect, but it just comes across as cringe. All of that cringe is coming from one new NPC that you run into repeatedly and who is constantly bombarding you with innuendos. Her whole personality is just that she's horny! What are we "saving" her from, exactly? The plot of the original seemed straightforward and worked thematically. What is the point of everything in this game? I only got one ending where (you can't make this up) this NPC seems to [spoiler]kill the final boss at 50% health and basically say, "ok, I'm over this whole Heaven thing, let's just rub each other out," and the game just ends.[/spoiler] [*]This game seems slightly smaller than the original. The last area is rushed as there are pickups holding multiple counts of the hidden dew drop items. [*]Less interesting bosses [*]Buggy [/list] Cautious recommendation. The price is alright though.

I have been anxiously awaiting this game since it was announced and it lived up to all my expectations! If you're a seasoned veteran of the genre this will be a fun experience but would also be a good introduction to someone who is newer to this style of gameplay. It has a great retro, familiar feel but is unique and dark while not taking itself too seriously. There are a lot of fun new things like time-limited power ups, cool upgrades to customize your play style, unique movement modes and mechanics. There are some familiar faces with a couple cool new enemies as well. The story is great and the dialogue is lyrical (literally) but it explains itself well enough that you don't *need* to have played the first one to enjoy it. I restarted a couple of times because I thought I had soft-locked myself. I reached The End at 75% and that save file was for about 16 hours. It is fairly short but packs a lot in there and I feel you could probably 100% the whole thing in about 20-30 hours max. TL;DR This game is a metroidvania with cool mechanics, rewarding puzzles, beautiful art direction, and a good story. It is a relatively short game start to finish but has different modes and upgrades to customize and extend your play. It is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it!

Thank you very much for the sequel! Now the game is in 16:9! The world has become much bigger. Cool power-up elements! New movement techniques! Puzzles! Secrets! And Our Alruna!!! Yes, Thank you! I really LOVE this game! (I bought it on the first day!). Alruna, dear Alruna!

Like the first game, but more! More screen, more moves, more slamming soundtrack!