My favorite game
EDIT:
I am rewriting my review because Exanima has left much more of a lasting impression on me since I found it several years ago. I doubt I could ever effectively articulate how I feel about this game, or earnestly express the respect and admiration I have towards its developers, but I will make an attempt.

The developers of Exanima are creating a game they want to make with no compromise, and it just so happens that other people enjoy it. In respect of this, they listen to the feedback their community provides. It is because of this feedback that the game has taken nearly a decade (as of writing) to reach the state it has now.

The community is full of fanatics, myself being one of them, who praise this game and hold everything Bare Mettle does in high regard—and for good reason! The team making up Bare Mettle is tight knit, consisting of childhood friends who share the same drive to make a game they have been daydreaming of since. They want to make highly dynamic and interactive RPGs, starting with Exanima as their first standalone experience, then onto their next game Sui Generis, which follows the events of Exanima 20 years hence.

Their ambition drives them to make games that I and many others believe will be the some of best RPGs of our time. You may wonder what there is to show for it however. What really is Exanima and why has it gripped me so tightly? That, for the most part, I can't even play other video games anymore? There are numerous points I could make, and I will definitely fail to make them all, but this is where I tell you why Exanima is different.

You could read the description on the steam store, but for some reason you're reading this. You probably know that Exanima is a physics-based dungeon crawler with an exceptional attention to detail. That alone makes it incredibly unique, but what else is there to this game?

• The combat is incredibly addicting. Easy to learn and hard to master, with a virtually infinite skill cap.
  
• Exploration in spades, with a linear yet enigmatic story in a world crafted through many rare moments of inspiration. In that, a vast underworld filled with ancient undead, demons, and terrifying creatures!
  
• An unpredecented level of emergent gameplay made possible through innumerable systems created by the lead developer Madoc Evans, who made the entire engine himself!
  
• A unique system of thaumaturgic powers available to you and some NPCs, which can be utilized in both combat and practical situations.
  
• A standalone Arena Mode for those who want to get straight into the combat and build their own company of fighters.
  
• The hardware requirements are incredibly generous, allowing almost any computer from the last decade or so run the game with little compromise.

And there's so much more I've yet to describe, and even more to come very soon. (Multiplayer, more dynamic npcs with complex social interactions, and potential mod support to name but a few examples).

With all that said, I think there is a lot to like about Exanima on the surface, and this is truly just the surface. How the game is actually developed leaves me in as much awe as Exanima itself.
I acknowledge that I, an insider to the game's development, am in such a position because I have picked my favorites. Exanima is my favorite game, and BME is my favorite game developer. If I was at liberty to do so, I would throw countless dollars just to see the game come out of early access a day sooner. The truth is, however, that money doesn't make this game come out faster.

As I've said before, Bare Mettle is made up of a small team of friends. Some have joined and stuck around over the years, but a majority of freelance artists that Bare Mettle has hired have not stayed long at all. Being receptive to criticism is a must for Bare Mettle, and being passionate about the game itself, not the money (of which there is little), is just as important. These are extremely passionate and skilled developers, whose skills have developed over the course of many years. It is understandable that the skill gap plays a role in the hiring process, but what's even more important is the artist's receptiveness to criticism.

Everyone at Bare Mettle plays a role in the game's direction. Considering how aligned they were from the beginning, it is easy to think that differences rarely occur. They do, however, and sometimes a weeks-worth of work has to be scrapped because someone didn't check in with the rest of the team to see if they were headed in the right direction. It's these lapses that make criticism and communication integral to the way Bare Mettle develops games. This is also only possible with a small team, so piling more and more artists (or god forbid more programmers) just doesn't aid the game's development the way it would for others.

You probably wouldn't if you weren't already a fan of this game, only reading this to strengthen your own love for the game. You, person who has never played Exanima, play games because you enjoy them right? Well, these people make games because they enjoy making them. Just like how everyone has what they like to enjoy; their role-playing games, simulators, shooters, platformers, you may or may not find that you like Exanima. I tell you I love Exanima. It scratches every itch from a gameplay perspective and a game design perspective. I find that there is so much to admire, but simply telling you what there is to admire isn't going to sell the game to you. All this review tells you is that I was so passionately moved by my experiences in this game to spend 4+ hours of my day compiling my honest thoughts here in this review. If these are rose-tinted glasses, I am better off being blind!

Exanima isn't friendly to people who are handheld through their gameplay experiences. Exanima demands learning! But it rewards just the same. The experiences you have are entirely your own, and the same will be said for Sui Generis when that is complete. I end my review with this:

Exanima is my favorite game.