Emberbane

It had potential, the enemies were interesting up until after the first boss, but then it shows three major flaws: - The fact that instead of being a fluid experience of changing between elements while instead it's evident that some enemies are dependent on an element alone because their attack speed is basically diminished to feel fair to that element, even because changing element in this game is one the less fluid I found between many games with style changes, which also influences the parkour, while expanding the moveset and making the element change fluid would have made a way better challenge considering the enemies and the parkour up until the first boss; - The second is related to the first and it's about the air dash being exclusive to the fire element, also worsened by the unfluid elemental change mentioned before, which basically tells that it has been done on purpose to make exclusive parkour for an element for everytime there are specific parkour elements instead of expanding the parkour possibilities, but the main thing is that the air dash should be a basic upgrade like in all other games, while just powered up with damage for a specific element, that or like other games sharing movement powers between elements even if it's originated by the one that you're not using at the moment, also because the earth parkour power is very unreliable on its own, because yes it's not an uncommon power in games, but it's meant to be used for specific places that do not require as much precision as dashes or normal jumps that you can really rely on to grab little handles in the air; - The third flaw is about special unlockables moves, I mean aside from the needed parkour ones, the only useful upgrade on an element, be it through buying element upgrades or by finding powers, is the one that passively raise damage, because the other moves aren't that powerful and leave you very vulnerable to dangerous attacks, so they are basically useless and/or even counterproductive. So even if you fix something, there are some things that should be really reworked from scratch, like enemies, special moves and the element swapping fluidity, like at least using the classic LB and RB to rotate between elements instead of the analogic if it has to be fluid, that or having the movement powers not linked only to one element

Combat feels clunky and unrewarding. The distance between save points is annoying, especially when each long platforming section is ended with an annoying arena-style combat challenge.

there was a bugs in this game but now they fixed and ıts a good game for metroidvania gamers

the game is finaly playable. took you long enough...

You can watch a video review here: https://youtu.be/NtSxyzvyyOY For those who don't want to watch the video: Playtime: 9 hours (story completed) Completion: 90% (A bug kept me from going for 100%) Pros: - Story-wise, this is an engaging and straightforward tale of revenge presented in, both, beautifully rendered, semi-animated cut-scenes as well as pixel-perfect scripted sequences, always accompanied by incredibly solid voice-acting that delivers some interestingly lyrical conversations and soliloquies. - The game’s world is absolutely beautiful to look at, courtesy of the fantastic pixel art style utilized to bring it to life. - Great music. - Platforming is, unconditionally, the central foundation of the game as well as one of its most entertaining aspects, though whether you’ll fully enjoy it or not will largely depend on your tolerance for frustration at times. For starters, the vast majority of the map is actually comprised of platforming gauntlets that boast varying challenge levels, and said challenge is mainly connected to the game’s elemental system. More specifically, as you progress through the story you’ll gain access to a total of four different elemental forms, namely fire, earth, water and lightning. Switching between said forms happens instantaneously by tilting the right analog stick to one of four directions, with each form bringing with it its own modes of attack as well as specific traversal abilities that help reach new areas. The thing is, while the initial acrobatic segments you’ll have to overcome are somewhat simple, things start getting harder once the need to switch forms during platforming instances becomes mandatory. Now, while having to move back and forth between two forms is fairly easy, some of the latter set-pieces will give you a run for your money as all four forms will be mandatory to progress, since those instances require snappy reflexes as you make instant observations on which form is necessary during platforming, which can lead to confusion as you try to make the right selection while also struggling not to fall to your doom. - Combat-wise, Emberbane does make an admirable effort to offer a multilayered battle system, which I did appreciate. On a basic level, each one of your four forms has its own set of attacks of, both, the melee as well as ranged variety. Depending on which element you’re using, your close quarters battle capabilities will vary in weapon type, attack speed and damage, such as brandishing a flaming whip while in your fire form and a massive hammer in your earth form. Melee aside, each element also allows for a specific ranged assault, such as fireballs or electric shurikens, which you utilize at the cost of an energy bar that fills up while you’re attacking and, once full, keeps you from further ranged attacks for a few seconds while it cools down. In addition, the aforementioned artifacts offer special benefits when equipped at a save point, with each element allowing for one artifact to be utilized, for a total of five slots, including an element that you cannot swap to but whose slot you can use. Furthermore, your journey allows you to unlock additional special attacks either by interacting with specific altars you come across or by leveling up your elemental powers at save points via the use of sparks, which truly diversifies your arsenal. Healing is carried out via the use of the aforementioned life flasks, which replenish at save points and whose number can be increased via their purchase from merchants. Finally, death carries no penalty, aside from you restarting from your latest checkpoint, which can sometimes result in a runback to your last location, though all bosses have save points close to them so nothing to worry about there. - When it comes to bosses, my final impression of them leans heavily on the positive side of things. While most of them weren’t that impressive from a visual design perspective, the fights themselves were quite fun, with each big bad boasting a solid set of attacks that kept you on your toes and required your undivided attention if you were to emerge victorious. Cons: - Story-wise, while I absolutely enjoyed all of the aforementioned narrative tropes, I frequently felt that, in its attempt to come off as sophisticated, eloquent and refined, the writing often came across as somewhat pretentious and needlessly convoluted to the point where I had to do the occasional mental gymnastics in order to decipher the meaning behind the words. I’ll also note that some of the dialogue can overstay its welcome, especially the King’s monologues, which often feel like an exercise in refined excess and more of a writing flex than anything else, since the same information he delivers in a minute of talking could have been achieved in less than half that time, though, to be fair, said instances are not that frequent, the voice actor is awesome and cut-scenes can be skipped. - Exploration does leave a lot to be desired here. Even though there are six different types of collectibles to find, with the exception of the two of them the rest of them are actually more of purchasables, meaning that the vast majority of them are earned via their acquisition from the numerous sellers populating the setting. Overall, secret areas were nearly non-existent here, with Emberbane being the first metroidvania I’ve played that had zero breakable walls to access hidden places, as far as memory serves, and this is something that is connected to another issue I have with the game, which is its odd mix of linearity and non-linearity. More specifically, while Emberbane does allow for a non-linear approach to which bosses you’ll face first, at least to an extent, the biomes themselves are largely horizontal and, while backtracking is necessary to reach previously inaccessible areas, it didn’t feel that prominent given the aforementioned merchant-based approach to collectibles, thus giving the experience a largely linear feel. - Speaking of the map, collectibles are not marked automatically and, even though manual markers do exist, they are somewhat problematic to use. More specifically, the cursor movement when sliding over the map overview is incredibly sensitive and doesn’t allow for the exact pinpointing of a location to mark manually when using a controller, making it necessary to briefly switch to mouse and keyboard if you want to be precise, which was a bit frustrating though very much bearable. - When it comes to combat, with the exception of a few artifacts, I never found the need to make use of anything other than my basic melee attacks, with the occasional ranged assault only during the early hours of my playthrough, thus making this whole system kind of obsolete, especially if you decide to use an artifact that allows you to leech health from enemies. - My main gripe with the bosses is that they got progressively easier the stronger I got, with only three of them managing to take me down once while the rest fell during my first try, something that I also attribute to the aforementioned life leech artifact, which took a lot of the bite out of those fights. - There are a few technical issues I dealt with that I need to point out (check the comments for details, since I'm out of space here). TL:DR: While Emberbane did not live up to my expectations, I still found myself enjoying my playthrough, though I’m not sure if all players will be as forgiving as I was of the issues that drag it down, both from a gameplay as well as technical perspective. That being said, if what you’ve seen of the game in its trailers or my video speaks to you, do give it a go, though I’d wait for one more patch if I were you. Final Grade: 6.2/10

This game is in a much better state than when it first launched. My playthrough was quite enjoyable and I feel this game deserves a second chance. The movement and platforming in this game is some of the sickest I have experienced in a metroidvania. If you wrote this game off initially due to the bugs and poor launch consider trying it again.

I'm still at the beginning of the game, but so far it's been enjoyable. The balanced mix of parkour and combat offers variety without becoming repetitive. I can't wait to try out other elements and combos. I encountered no bugs so far. I think all issues are resolved with the last patch.

Что ж, прошёл месяц после релиза. Багов поубавилось, игра не виснет на ровном месте, не трещит в меню и не забывает карту. Но интереснее, увы, не стала. Неспешная беготня по огромным пустым пространствам. Простой, но довольно неприятный платформинг. Бестолковая боёвка: уворот, тычка, уворот, 4 фаерболла, повторить. Мобы крайне не любят, когда сквозь них дэшишься: мгновенно разворачиваются прямо во время замаха и лупят по жёпе. Боссов за 2 часа пока не встретил. Гринд, много гринда, всё за деньги, а денег мало и ни на что не хватает. Карта отвратительнейшая: тупики не отличаются от проходов; автоматические метки только на чекпоинты и телепорты; ручные - только одного вида, их ни хрена не видно (пометил квесты и торговцев - и гадай теперь, какая из них какая), а удаление - весьма нетривиальная задача; зум супермедленный. Понравилось ли хоть что-то? Озвучка классная) Музон тоже норм.

I highly recommend Emberbane! The gameplay is incredibly smooth, fast-paced, and satisfying. If you're into Metroidvanias with fluid combat and great platforming, you should definitely give this one a try—it's a blast to play!