This game left me quite speechless in a lot of ways. I've had this game sitting in my library for many years and always thought it's just a fun little metroidvania. Oh boy, how wrong I was.
Now that I've nearly 100%'d all achievements, I feel like I am able to leave a proper review here now which I've been dying to do for a while now.
First of all, I am quite a die-hard fan of metroidvania/metroidbrainias. I guess brainia wasn't a term back in 2015, but would definitely fit this category at this point. I'd say it's 50/50 both unlike for example Animal Well which is more 80/20 brainia/vania. Despite the game looking very very unassuming, partly due to it's graphics.. it is most definitely not a simple/small game by any means.
The game is clearly incredibly strongly inspired by Super Metroid, the game I first played on a console as a kid and have the fondest memories of and still regard to be my #2 favourite Metroid(vania) game. So obviously this game hit me quite well considering the myriad of similarities and inspirations you see through-out the game.
Like Animal Well, there's a main game and a post game that requires a lot of thinking and digging to get through. I did this together with a friend who watched me play and it's been such a blast to try and figure everything out by ourselves. If you're the type of person to not like cryptic puzzles/pixel hunting and memorizing things for secrets and/or TONS of backtracking. This isn't for you. Not to mention that the game (if not played on easy mode) can be rather difficult, even for me as a VERY seasoned player in terms of platformers. So that probably means I can say the game is flat out very difficult in terms of platforming and combat. Some of the bosses are no joke.
The best element this game has to offer is the atmosphere, which is also something I am most drawn to in games like these. The post-game section feeds strongly into that and makes the game rather scary/eerie. The music is fun/nice and fits the atmospheres very well, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the OST. (Well done Roope!). The graphics were a little rough at times mainly due to the distinction between foreground/background. The minimalistic style grew on me and came to really enjoy it, which I guess isn't that hard since I also make pixel-art myself. But I can see why some people don't enjoy it.
I also have to give a shout out to one of the games upgrades which I can't spoil here. But it's incredibly fun to use and you'll likely know exactly what I mean if you end up playing it. (It's an early one). No doubt the most fun version of any game I ever played.
Personally, I really enjoyed all elements of this game (I love you Hempuli!) and really only have 1-3 minor gripes in total, which is nothing if you think about it.
Gripes:
- The South-West section of the map has really rough traversal in regards to getting around. I really wish that they maybe made some small change to make it easier to get around. (Maybe make one ... thing not a one-way street? You probably know what I mean later)
- An ability requiring you to hold fire down, this became very difficult for me for certain sections and groaned about it a lot. But this is probably a me issue.
- Some confusion around a certain ending triggering a certain thing. I guess it's more achievement related, but it's a bit funky.
- A little too many new paths will end up blocking you immediately again. For me, this piques my interest, but I can definitely see how this isn't well-liked by people and even got to me 1/2 times during the game.
All in all I give this a game a 9.9/10 and wish I could delete my memory and re-experience it. Hempuli, you've given me a top #3 metroidvania and I can't praise it enough. This game was incredibly inspiring and I hope to be able to make something as amazing as you have one day. And if I do, I will credit you. See you in the future?
There's so much more to say but I have to stop writing now. Enjoy playing the game, perhaps!
