Metroidvania

13Apr

By JoseNo Comments

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance – PS5 Review

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance, developed by Bit Bot Media and published by Crystal Dynamics, is a retro pixel-art 2D action platformer and the first original entry in the series in over two decades. The long-awaited follow-up arrives 23 years after 2003's Legacy of Kain: Defiance, the franchise's previous installment. After three remasters in recent years, Soul Reaver 1, Soul Reaver 2, and Legacy of Kain: Defiance, fans of the franchise finally get to explore never-before-seen characters, places, and timelines. Which, at first, may sound intriguing and interesting, but unfortunately, new personalities like Elaleth do not feel like an organic addition to the lore. Instead, the execution falls flat, burdening a beloved franchise with retroactive continuities, or rather, I should say retroact...

Fallen Tear: The Ascension – PC Early Access Preview

16Mar

By PaulNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Fallen Tear: The Ascension – PC Early Access Preview

If there's one genre of game that has a tonne of fantastic indie representation already, but I'm always willing to accept more of, it's Metroidvania. Enter Fallen Tear: The Ascension, a new and debut entry from a studio in the Philippines. Winter Crew Studios, a sub-company of publisher The CMD Studios, was spun-up in 2020 with the express purpose of creating Fallen Tear. They launched a crowd-funding effort on Kickstarter in 2024 and garnered the attention of over 3000 backers. Now, they are bringing the game to Early Access on Steam with the intention to use this period for balancing combat builds and in-game economies along side the games community of players. The Early Access build represents a small portion of the beginning section of the game, and I've spent about a dozen hours tr...

10Mar

By KieranNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

God of War: Sons of Sparta – PS5 Review

Announced and shadow drop released at the end of PlayStation's State of Play livestream back on February 12th 2026, and to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, God of War: Sons of Sparta is a 2D Metroid Vania-inspired side-scroller and prequel to the famous God of War himself, Kratos. Zeus! Your son has returned! (With his younger brother) Story - A tale of two Brothers Sons of Sparta tells a fun prequel story of Kratos as a young adolescent boy, joined by his younger brother Deimos, who previously featured in the PSP spin-off game, Ghost of Sparta. The game’s narrative is framed as a story being told by Kratos to his young daughter, Calliope. The original Kratos voice actor, TC Carson, is reprising his role as the game’s narrator. The story is fun and simple. Fo...

16Feb

By Ruddy CelestialNo Comments

Gaming, PC Reviews

Kotama and Academy Citadel – PC Review

Kotama and Academy Citadel is an Action, Adventure, Metroidvania from the minds of Atomstring Games. With their publisher 2P Games, Kotama and Academy Citadel starts you as Kotama, a candidate for the Carmel Star and the labelled exchange student of this tale. You venture through the four parts of the academy to collect votes for the election and retrieve the keepsakes. Can you successfully become the new Carmel Star? Or will you discover the many secrets that lie behind these academy's walls? Do you think being the Carmal Star gives you the right to do the Caramelldansen? Gameplay You have now entered the labyrinthine that's both a city and a school known as Carmel Academy. A place that has 4 branches of academies is what makes Carmel, well, Carmel. You've got your Art Academy, the B...

23Jan

By PaulNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

MIO: Memories In Orbit – PS5 Review

We're starting 2026 off with a bang with a very strong indie Metroidvania offering from Douze Dixièmes and Focus Entertainment. MIO: Memories In Orbit is, if you'll excuse the pun, stellar. Whilst I certainly have gripes with some elements, I'm very much captivated with the whole experience. I wrote a preview on MIO in June last year when I played the demo, and most of my thoughts there still stand, I recommend reading that too. Following my time with the full game, I now have answers to some of the burning questions I had. Holy Mother of Pearl! Mio Is Precious I don’t really like talking about story details in my review, at least beyond the initial premise. That is especially true for games like this - where the journey of discovery for each player is so important, and will uniquely ...

Chronicles Of The Wolf – PC Demo Preview

20Jun

By JoseNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

Chronicles Of The Wolf – PC Demo Preview

Chronicles Of The Wolf is a metroidvania so fiercely loyal to its source material that it could have fooled me into believing it was made in the early 90s. As cliché and overused as it may sound, the game is a true love letter to the roots of the genre. Whilst the game is available now on Steam this is a preview article of the demo only. A Nostalgic Throwback, For Better And For Worse As soon as you open the game, your senses teleport you back to a time when the internet made strange noises, phones had long curly cords, and televisions were as heavy as modern fridges. The menu options, the eerie retro music, and the 32-pixel resolution all work together in harmony to deliver an incredibly immersive experience. Let's check it out. Gameplay You play as Mateo Lombardo, an initiate of ...

4Jun

By PaulNo Comments

Previews & Early Access

MIO: Memories In Orbit – PC Preview

Action, mystery, and wonder await in MIO: Memories In Orbit, a new Metroidvania from Shady Part Of Me developer Douze Dixièmes (Twelve Tenths). They are a small, French team who form part of PulluP Entertainment (formerly Focus Entertainment) since their acquisition in 2021. This should immediately give you a sense of the quality to expect, given the publisher's history backing titles such as Curse of the Dead Gods, Dordogne, and A Plague Tale: Innocence, among many others. You can play the demo and add MIO: Memories In Orbit to your Wishlist on Steam now, with a release due sometime this year. Remember MIO? MIO, an agile robot with flowing, tendril hair, is awoken on the Vessel; a decaying spaceship drifting through space. The ship's AI overseers have seemingly gone offline, leaving ...

3Jun

By Ruddy CelestialNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Siege and the Sandfox – PC Review

The Siege and the Sandfox is an Action, Adventure, Metroidvania coming from Cardboard Sword. With the help of PLAION from the publishing side. This game being Cardboard Sword's first entry into the gaming industry and is out now on Steam. Sneak in the shadow, strike like a club, but remember to be the Sandfox This game does look gorgeous with it's 2-d pixel art style. Yet, within my complete playthrough, I felt as if something was either wrong or missing. I did come across some bugs that did break my immersion during my session. Basically, the entire adventure felt well executed, but like every gem, not every gem can be flawless. Let's get into the full review. Gameplay The Siege and the Sandfox has you playing Kasha'i or better yet known as the Sandfox. An agent of the people, wh...

Revenge of The Savage Planet – PS5 Review

14May

By Cameron J KeywoodNo Comments

PlayStation Reviews

Revenge of The Savage Planet – PS5 Review

Revenge of the Savage Planet follows Journey to the Savage Planet, a sleeper hit from 2020. Raccoon Logic, a studio formed by developers from the now-defunct Typhoon Studios (the original developer), created the sequel. The game released across PC and consoles on May 8th. For this review I took a look at the PlayStation 5 version. Story Revenge Of The Savage Planet sees you wake up from a cryogenic slumber, having been sent lightyears into the future. However, things turn sour when you wake up and you discover that the corporation that sent you Alta, has fired you, leaving you to fend for yourself with the limited resources available to you. You’ll find the rest of you equipment scattered across multiple other planets, where you’ll catalogue a vast array of flora and fauna as you piece t...

Cookie Cutter Overkill Edition – Switch Review

27Mar

By Richie Vernon1 Comment

Switch Reviews

Cookie Cutter Overkill Edition – Switch Review

Cookie Cutter, the bloody yet oddly beautiful Metroidvania, makes a belated appearance on the Nintendo Switch. Can the aging console handle the collision of gross-out art and frantic button-mashing? Cut Me A Cookie, I’ll Be Back For Breakfast After six years of blood, sweat, and tears on behalf of Subcult Games, we now have this eye-catching passion project. Born from an abandoned concept its creator simply could not let go of. At its core, Cookie Cutter is a 2D Metroidvania with added RPG and beat em-up mechanics that double down on the blood and gore to the point where things get rather stomach-churning. With lovingly handcrafted character assets, the artistry required to bring Cookie Cutter’s world to life is evident and bursts at the seams with energy and charm Gameplay Game...