Xanthiom 2

Excellent game(s), well worth the price!

I couldn't find a single thing I didn't like about this game. The quality of life features solve any problems that someone could have criticized. Although some may argue that the game may be too easy for them I feel like it's a fun and non rage inducing game that I can enjoy after having beaten Hollow Knight and HK Silksong and it never makes me want to take a break from it because of the decreased difficulty. I would rate this game a 10/10

Very fun with a lot of different weapon combinations. A few too many upgrades to the point that you sometimes forget that you had something but overall a very enjoyable experience. I 100% the game in about 6 hours playtime and am about to go into the remake of Xanthiom Zero that is also included.

It's more Xanthiom! If you've played the first game you'll definitely like this one, and if you haven't it's worth a try. I enjoy the gun modifiers and Metroid feel. QOL improvements like being able to screenshot and have it show up on your map is really nice. Overall just a fun and well made Metroidvania.

It's fun, the weapon customization system feels like they just through some things at the wall and let you just have fun with it, because it's very, very unbalanced, but also there aren't a lot of places for that to manifest outside of bosses, so it both feels like too much and also unobtrusive, but also like you want more despite knowing it's ridiculously broken. The game doesn't seem to have a sequence to break, there might be an intended one, but it does feel like the levels are designed that you can do them earlier with specific gear. Feels like could have benefitted from more bosses, and maybe more use of certain mechanics, but it all comes together feeling pretty decent without too much frustration. No mechanics are overused, there are very few frustrating skill checks, it just feels fine to good all around. Relatively short (100% in ~4-5 hours) and it exists in that valley of both not having overstayed its welcome but could have been a few hours longer. Also, comes with a remake(?) version of X0 (X1?), which is cool, and both games have replay modifiers that include modifiers (including randomizer) that give reasonable built in replay if you want. One review mentions something about "getting stuck" and being forced to restart, and I'm not sure what specifically they would be referring to, but I ran into one case of "stuck in what turned out to be a tutorial room" and had to shut down the game and restart, but it appears that it saved my progress despite restarting, so it feels like saving only sets your respawn point, picking up items (and dying) might checkpoint your progress, so it's pretty generous in that. Also might have some speedrunning implications.

Fun game, it's always nice to see a metroidvania that leans more towards the metroid side of the name and this game delivers. I really liked the gun customization the game has, it was super fun to experiment when you found a new modifier or bullet type while exploring. That in turn made exploring much more rewarding when compared to other MVs, as instead of getting some health upgrade or static damage boost or what have you, you're a modifier to your weapon that might completely change how you handle combat encounters. Speaking of exploration, I also like the fact that the game made 100%ing it easy instead of a slog in the form of a later game power up that reveals collectables you missed on the map. Some people might take issue with that and say it makes the game too easy, but I'd argue that it's perfectly fine because it's much important to figure out HOW you're going to get that power up than simply just knowing where it is. There's not much else to say, the biomes are nice, the bosses are inventive and take into account how overpowered the gun customization may make you, and the puzzles on display here were a very nice change of pace from previous MVs I've played. I had a great time with this game on my steam deck. It's well worth the asking price, and even has a remake of the previous game included, which I plan to play very soon. Plus, there's even unlockable modifiers for the main campaign for added replayability. Easy recommendation!

This is a game for MEN.