Recent reviews by Ninban

This is hardcore Metroidvania, a great hardcore Metroidvania.

The game starts you off exploring in a rather limited area, so you will soon stumble upon the first dungeon, which are called fields in this game. This first field also serves as an old school tutorial: you will learn the mechanics of the game within it, to recognize some traps and to doubt others. It's also really great as you can complete almost everything in the first field without ever going elsewhere, even beating its boss.

Once you've beat the first boss and completed most of the field's puzzles, it's time to branch out into the real game. Now you will begin the real exploration! You will need to visit many areas before being able to complete one, only stopped by a lack of tools or by too powerful enemies. The hints, which were pretty self-contained in the first field, will be found pretty much anywhere.

This game is really great and I heartly recommand it. Warning tough: the jumping controls are stiff and need a little adaptation. You might also want to consider a pen and paper to take note of some hints early on - until you find an in-game software you can use for that. Besides the accumulation of orbs, the hot spring is the only way to regain health.

What I think is the most amazing thing is how understanding the lore is primordial to understand and solve the puzzles. Through its tablet hints and other environmental cues, the game has a lore to tell and recurring themes that become more and more the key to find some of the later solutions. The "second" field, Mausoleum of the Giants, introduce the concept quite forcefully, even though most of its lore puzzles can be brute-forced without much trouble.

As usual with this kind of game, you start off really weak but if you commit yourself to find everything, you will become almost overpowered by the game's end, so don't be put off by the initial difficulty (or maybe you should come back with a better weapon or more health).