There's something about Metroidvanias. I'll just keep playing the same damn game every time, lol.

The twists this time are that it's also got strong ties to Zelda: Link to the Past and bullet-hell shoot em ups. It's not groundbreaking but combined with a cute, polished aesthetic and a lot of personality it'll make for a very pleasant ten hours of your life. Really enjoyed it in a way that reminded me of another, older game, "Incredibly Twisted Shadow Planet" that I played on the Xbox 360 back in the day.

Although you could describe it as "Zelda + bullet hell" and get an accurate overview, there's a lot of love put into this, clearly, and it shows in the little quality of life tweaks; the stuff they didn't have to put in, but did for the love of the game, so to speak. The map is littered with powerups and bonuses that you don't *have* to find, but really give you a passive edge in a pinch. Each area has its own distinct, refined style to it but they all flow into each other seamlessly; for the most part you know exactly where you are from what's on screen, it's THAT unique.

And another nice touch: levelling up gives chunky, satisfying upgrades, but you're not locked into them. At all. Going into a boss fight, you're completely free to reconfigure your ship and, say, upgrade your range at the expense of dodge speed, if you want to. And by the end of the game you probably still won't have everything at top level; but you can shift stuff around to get two or three aspects maxed out and everything else where you need it. It's a nice touch.

Cheap and cheerful, yes, and doesn't waste your time; you'll be done with it in twelve hours. But they'll be delightful.

There's something about Metroidvanias. I'll just keep playing the same damn game every time, lol. The twists this time are that it's also got strong ties to Zelda: Link to the Past and bullet-hell shoot em ups. It's not groundbreaking but combined with a cute, polished aesthetic and a lot of personality it'll make for a very pleasant ten hours of your life. Really enjoyed it in a way that reminded me of another, older game, "Incredibly Twisted Shadow Planet" that I played on the Xbox 360 back in the day. Although you could describe it as "Zelda + bullet hell" and get an accurate overview, there's a lot of love put into this, clearly, and it shows in the little quality of life tweaks; the stuff they didn't have to put in, but did for the love of the game, so to speak. The map is littered with powerups and bonuses that you don't *have* to find, but really give you a passive edge in a pinch. Each area has its own distinct, refined style to it but they all flow into each other seamlessly; for the most part you know exactly where you are from what's on screen, it's THAT unique. And another nice touch: levelling up gives chunky, satisfying upgrades, but you're not locked into them. At all. Going into a boss fight, you're completely free to reconfigure your ship and, say, upgrade your range at the expense of dodge speed, if you want to. And by the end of the game you probably still won't have everything at top level; but you can shift stuff around to get two or three aspects maxed out and everything else where you need it. It's a nice touch. Cheap and cheerful, yes, and doesn't waste your time; you'll be done with it in twelve hours. But they'll be delightful.