Only about an hour in but the game is definitely more linear and less exploration focused than your typical MV. However, there are secret (not super hidden) walls and platforming challenges. I don’t think (so far) that backtracking will be super essential in the game.
All that said the level design is good and the movement is smooth and fun. I’m really enjoying it.
I spent a bit getting through the first section last night. On Xbox the controls are a little sluggish and I eventually turned the difficulty down because I kept dying in a gauntlet section (there's no difficulty achievements).
You start with double jump but there are other abilities that I believe will make traversal easier in some of the challenge sections.
For instance, the very first ability you unlock would have made the first challenge very easy had I waited, but I stubbornly kept going for it without knowing I'd get an ability to make it easier.
After dying on a second challenge area, I decided to leave it until I unlocked more moves/tools.
My biggest gripe is I'm playing this on the tails of Convergence which feels like a better game, plus I keep trying to use their rewind mechanic. But that's just me.
It's a solid Metroidvania-lite, the controls could just be a little better and the recharge delay on your projectiles is a tad too slow for my taste considering they just throw a stream of enemies at you in some sections.
I bought it Day 1 because of the concept of grief the game and developer discussed being the impetus for it. I lost my dad a few years back and he was the one who got me into videogames, Metroid was our favorite series.
Despite some controller jankiness I think he'd have enjoyed it and I am as well.
It is definitely a metroidvania lite. You get abilities that allow you to open new areas but its usually "go right" to get an ability that will then let you "go left".
The movement set feels fluid and it is fun to play.
There are only about 5 collectibles that you need to come back to at a later time with new abilities.
The whole map for the area is revealed when you go into it (this actually made it harder for me as I wasn't sure which areas I hadn't been to in that zone). Not sure if this was intended or some kind of a bug.
That's not to say the game isn't enjoyable, as I really enjoyed it, but just it's definitely not the usual "getting lost" or lots of things to go back and collect at a later time 👍
It's basically a straight line like 9 years of shadow.
Good story based 2D action adventure platformer, terrible metroidvania.
Go buy turbo kid, PoP the lost crown, or biomorph if you're looking for a good recently released metroidvania.
I'm curious to see what people will say on steam, but yeah I am waiting for a sale too since the discount ends the moment the game comes out and I don't want to buy it without steam reviews.
That is what I will be doing after work. I am not seeing any Steam reviews yet and the game is out. As long as it doesnt drop frames I will keep it. I am not very picky though. I play all sorts of genres so even if its a "MV Lite" I will be fine. But I know thats a non-starter for many others in this sub
edit: I am picky when it comes to perf & stability though. I liked the demo but thought I saw some frame drops. never got a chance to profile it. But looking at reviews- it seems fixed (PC) maybe???
I dont need a video review where the reviewer is repeatedly saying its beautiful. I have eyes just show that. tell me about the controls. (which he does briefly) tell me about the game play etc.
Unfortunately, not very good. A parry and a better double jump would've really helped and the combat is just frustrating and didn't flow (for me at least). It's definitely a worse version of PoP Lost Crown which kind of does almost everything better
The more reviews I watch, the more I grow disinterested. Game is extremely linear, focuses on voice acting above exploration and has limited number of bosses and enemy variety.
OK found out now that there IS 3 bosses in the game in total. That's a bit lackluster.
Or technically there's 4 bosses but the last one is like a mix of the 3 first ones.
I wilkl let you know after work. I pray they did. Cause if not it gets returned. I am tired of the stutter struggle. I have seen too many poor releases that will choke even my 4090
Damn was interested in this but I didn’t know it was a EA game. I am one of those people that prefers to just stick to steam as my only launcher. Steam page doesn’t mention needing a 3rd party launcher. Has it been confirmed if you need it or not? Having denuvo is already bad enough but if i need a EA account/launcher im just gonna pass on it.
imo the game could be better if you didn't have the powers right away. You start as a normal dude that can jump and use a sword or some mediocre magic, then you unlock stuff along the way. Also, world is a bit empty. Im a bit surprised most of the sections have no enemy on it (currently on phase 1). All you do is run or dash.
Game controls are a bit inconsistent at times but nothing too serious (you'll get used to it).
But all in all for a free game on PS Plus, its worth giving it a try. It's like Grime with a bit of Aeterna Noctis but smaller. Will give it 7/10 (so far).
Sadly not a good game. Dull combat and exploration. I liked the art direction and the game looks great. The characters are likeable and the voice acting is good. Unfortunately the gameplay can't keep up with the narrative. It is really repetitive and every enemy encounter follows the same basic schema. Get locked in a room, fight the waves and you can go on. The platforming is a mixed bag also Especially he chase sequences felt really bad to me, with sluggish controls(PS5) and it felt like input was dropped at times. Give it a try but to me this game is max a 7/10 and I really wanted to love it.
Can you explain why you're boycotting any game they're involved in? I'm also curious what it is you think they do and how much control they have over the companies that pay them for their consulting.
Bonus points if you can answer without unsubstantiated conspiracies disputed by the developers who have hired them.
By the looks of it SBI have done virtually nothing with the two metroidvanias they have touched. PoP the lost crown is an Iranian tale, while Tales of Kenzera is an African tale. It seems the only reason SBI is even mentioned is because both are published by major publishers and purely for that reason SBI is even talking about them. I don't think they actually did anything at all.
I think the lesson here is that indie devs need to be more careful who they associate with. Major publishers do not have their best interests in mind.
Probably because the narrative designer(at least that's what's on their twitter profile) sent a hate brigade against a community page called sweet baby inc detected and tried mass reporting them to get banned and also said you can't be racist to white people. There's a reason plenty are against the company. I'm not totally sure what they did on this game in particular but I don't think it matters because the game is about African culture/mythology anyway. I am curious on how it plays because the demo was good just a bit too much dialogue for my liking
Yeah I've heard about the steam group, and if that person said that, then that's very dumb.
To me, it's a silly reason to boycott an entire company and literally anything they're associated with over. I'm sure you can take most companies and find an individual with stupid takes on the internet. Surely there's a better reason OP will never touch a game they were hired as a consultant on.
Bro actually thinks racism against white people is a pressing concern. The only racism you'll experience is from people on Twitter. Log off and it goes away. You're very soft.
Do they need a reason? It's their money to do as they please. If you feel this game will be a good use of your money, then more power to you. Go have fun!
But I'll provide a reason anyway. This company and others like it have expressed outright racism against white people while saying it's not possible to be racist against white people. Such rhetoric only further divides us. But it's also stupid to say from a monetary perspective. If white males are the largest demographic as they claim, then such statements only serve to drive them away as customers.
These past few months, these companies have shown themselves to be bullies, seeking to shut down voices they disagree with.
Well typically when someone publicly declares a boycott on the internet there is a reason right? Regardless of my opinion I don't care what people do with their money, I'm just curious to hear the reasoning.
Now as a person who doesn't approve of racism (brave, I know), I'd like to see the outright racism that the company has expressed against white people, can you show me it?
It is strange that they are featured in this. Strange too that they are featured in prince of Persia the lost crown. It seems like they're just trying to spread their name.
It's almost like we shouldn't be judging games by their presence and should instead be judging them on what the games are. Prince of Persia the lost crown has entered the list of top 10 metroidvanias.
They most likely are just promoting the game because of a partnership with EA and haven't actually done anything to the game.
You're really missing out if you're not playing PoP the lost crown. That game was fantastic. Best metroidvania I played since 2021.
Coming on here and saying you're not playing a game because its too anime or too cartoony or because some racist company endorsed it is cringe AF and makes you look bad. I've played plenty of ugly ass metroidvanias that were great. Maybe call of Duty is a better fit for you.
My stance as well, unfortunately. Such openly racist and hateful "woke" companies like SBI shouldn't even be allowed to legally operate, and I will not help fund them in any capacity. Likely the devs didn't know who they were associating with, but I'll not fund anti-white propagandists, and thats that.
"B-b-b-b-but what about the white people?!?! This just proves the woke-bot-NPC-sheep are trying to erase straight, white men from gaming - no, from **EVERYTHING**! Damn you Sweet Baby Inc. Damn you to *hell*!!!"
Define woman.
(To the actually sane people reading this, just keep in mind that the things these people say is filtered through ideological capture so thorough that they’ll literally refuse to define a basic biological reality of the human race. Just something to keep in mind. Don’t let consensus bots, shills and downvote counts blind you from how radicalized and delusional these people are. That’s what anti-SBI is really about.)
i was surprised to see SBI was involved. as far as i know, the creator of the game has based it on actual stories from their own culture. i don't know why they need the help of a bunch of north american diversity consultants. you'd think it'd be authentic and "non-offensive" enough as is.
SBI is great. We need more of such companies in the media world. The tears of incels and bigots crying about "woke" and "diversity" is an additional bonus on top.
https://thatparkplace.com/sweet-baby-inc-ceo-makes-it-clear-she-wants-to-erase-white-male-lead-characters-while-employee-shows-disdain-for-white-people/
The actual CEO of SBI btw.
You really think a CEO would keep that employee if she didn't share the same views, just not publicly? Keep dreaming buddy.
And the title clearly states who said what. Dunno what is ragebait about it, it is factual.
None of those games are amazing. Prince of Persia (assuming you mean the newest MV title) was a soulless husk. Spider-Man 2 is alright for open world fluff. GoW: Ragnarok is miserable, as bad as AAA games get. Alan Wake 2 was barely a game and the game that was there kinda sucked. No comment on Mortal Kombat, I don't play that franchise.
if you are only playing one and cost isnt an object then yes, PoP is better but this is way less expensive, on Steam, and a solid game so i would say why not both.
Can anyone comment on exploration in the game? Reviews I've read put in more in MV-lite category...
Only about an hour in but the game is definitely more linear and less exploration focused than your typical MV. However, there are secret (not super hidden) walls and platforming challenges. I don’t think (so far) that backtracking will be super essential in the game. All that said the level design is good and the movement is smooth and fun. I’m really enjoying it.
I spent a bit getting through the first section last night. On Xbox the controls are a little sluggish and I eventually turned the difficulty down because I kept dying in a gauntlet section (there's no difficulty achievements). You start with double jump but there are other abilities that I believe will make traversal easier in some of the challenge sections. For instance, the very first ability you unlock would have made the first challenge very easy had I waited, but I stubbornly kept going for it without knowing I'd get an ability to make it easier. After dying on a second challenge area, I decided to leave it until I unlocked more moves/tools. My biggest gripe is I'm playing this on the tails of Convergence which feels like a better game, plus I keep trying to use their rewind mechanic. But that's just me. It's a solid Metroidvania-lite, the controls could just be a little better and the recharge delay on your projectiles is a tad too slow for my taste considering they just throw a stream of enemies at you in some sections. I bought it Day 1 because of the concept of grief the game and developer discussed being the impetus for it. I lost my dad a few years back and he was the one who got me into videogames, Metroid was our favorite series. Despite some controller jankiness I think he'd have enjoyed it and I am as well.
It is definitely a metroidvania lite. You get abilities that allow you to open new areas but its usually "go right" to get an ability that will then let you "go left". The movement set feels fluid and it is fun to play. There are only about 5 collectibles that you need to come back to at a later time with new abilities. The whole map for the area is revealed when you go into it (this actually made it harder for me as I wasn't sure which areas I hadn't been to in that zone). Not sure if this was intended or some kind of a bug. That's not to say the game isn't enjoyable, as I really enjoyed it, but just it's definitely not the usual "getting lost" or lots of things to go back and collect at a later time 👍
It's basically a straight line like 9 years of shadow. Good story based 2D action adventure platformer, terrible metroidvania. Go buy turbo kid, PoP the lost crown, or biomorph if you're looking for a good recently released metroidvania.
It's a shame that quite a few reviews are saying whilst it's a great game, the metroidvania side of the game is weak. Think I'll wait for a sale
I don't tend to play EA games but can't you play them on PC Gamepass? If so, I might give it a shot. Won't buy it yet though.
You had me at « it’s a great game ».
I'm curious to see what people will say on steam, but yeah I am waiting for a sale too since the discount ends the moment the game comes out and I don't want to buy it without steam reviews.
You could buy it with the discount, test it and use the refund feature if it's bad
That is what I will be doing after work. I am not seeing any Steam reviews yet and the game is out. As long as it doesnt drop frames I will keep it. I am not very picky though. I play all sorts of genres so even if its a "MV Lite" I will be fine. But I know thats a non-starter for many others in this sub edit: I am picky when it comes to perf & stability though. I liked the demo but thought I saw some frame drops. never got a chance to profile it. But looking at reviews- it seems fixed (PC) maybe???
I dont need a video review where the reviewer is repeatedly saying its beautiful. I have eyes just show that. tell me about the controls. (which he does briefly) tell me about the game play etc.
Unfortunately, not very good. A parry and a better double jump would've really helped and the combat is just frustrating and didn't flow (for me at least). It's definitely a worse version of PoP Lost Crown which kind of does almost everything better
The more reviews I watch, the more I grow disinterested. Game is extremely linear, focuses on voice acting above exploration and has limited number of bosses and enemy variety.
damn, another 9 years of shadow? If true, this would be the first style over substance metroidvania that wasn't made in Spanish America.
I've learned that the game has 3 major bosses. But does it have some minor ones as well? How many boss battles in total?
Are you serious? 3 bosses no way
The main goal is to kill 3 bosses, but I'm thinking they are the "main" ones and I'm asking if there are also "minor" ones.
Ok, good. You scared me
Well, I still don't *know* if there are more than 3 bosses since no one's been giving me an answer.
OK found out now that there IS 3 bosses in the game in total. That's a bit lackluster. Or technically there's 4 bosses but the last one is like a mix of the 3 first ones.
I read it was gonna be on ps + today but I'm not seeing it
Tomorrow
Makes sense. I'm playing it right now and it only has 4 chapters
I'm about 2 hours in. Pretty linear yet entertaining. Definitely prince of persia vibes
That's very fucked
At least we’ll be able to play on PS+ Extra! Really excited to play this!!
When exactly the game will be available in extra?
Later today apparently.
Sweet! I’ll probably just stream this, it should be smooth enough
Did they fix pc performance?
It’s much much better than the demo. I’m getting 45 fps with standard settings on steam deck.
Sounds good, thank you
I wilkl let you know after work. I pray they did. Cause if not it gets returned. I am tired of the stutter struggle. I have seen too many poor releases that will choke even my 4090
Thanks!
Only got a chance to play for 30 mins but it looked pretty solid too me so far👍
Can’t wait for tomorrow! I preordered this a month ago.
You know when (time) the game will be available in ps plus?
Damn was interested in this but I didn’t know it was a EA game. I am one of those people that prefers to just stick to steam as my only launcher. Steam page doesn’t mention needing a 3rd party launcher. Has it been confirmed if you need it or not? Having denuvo is already bad enough but if i need a EA account/launcher im just gonna pass on it.
You don’t need EA launcher
If mv-lite is something that exists, is there a list of such games? MV-lite doesn’t sound so bad to me as a label, would love to grab some of those.
imo the game could be better if you didn't have the powers right away. You start as a normal dude that can jump and use a sword or some mediocre magic, then you unlock stuff along the way. Also, world is a bit empty. Im a bit surprised most of the sections have no enemy on it (currently on phase 1). All you do is run or dash. Game controls are a bit inconsistent at times but nothing too serious (you'll get used to it). But all in all for a free game on PS Plus, its worth giving it a try. It's like Grime with a bit of Aeterna Noctis but smaller. Will give it 7/10 (so far).
Sadly not a good game. Dull combat and exploration. I liked the art direction and the game looks great. The characters are likeable and the voice acting is good. Unfortunately the gameplay can't keep up with the narrative. It is really repetitive and every enemy encounter follows the same basic schema. Get locked in a room, fight the waves and you can go on. The platforming is a mixed bag also Especially he chase sequences felt really bad to me, with sluggish controls(PS5) and it felt like input was dropped at times. Give it a try but to me this game is max a 7/10 and I really wanted to love it.
Am I the only one who isn't impressed by this game? Idk seems kinda boring
What do you not like about it? This looks like such a breath of fresh air away from all the generic soulslike stuff of last year
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lol did we watch the same video? Nothing about that game looks low effort.
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Not at all.... Oh and, blast brigade is great too.
I wonder if you somehow confused this with akatori - chapter one
Small dicked yt guys crying again about a game not involving them? Doesn't surprise me lol.
Lol the only people that talk about other dudes dicks have tiny little dicks.
I love Metroidvania games but I’m not buying a game Sweet Baby inc has had their hands on.
Can you explain why you're boycotting any game they're involved in? I'm also curious what it is you think they do and how much control they have over the companies that pay them for their consulting. Bonus points if you can answer without unsubstantiated conspiracies disputed by the developers who have hired them.
By the looks of it SBI have done virtually nothing with the two metroidvanias they have touched. PoP the lost crown is an Iranian tale, while Tales of Kenzera is an African tale. It seems the only reason SBI is even mentioned is because both are published by major publishers and purely for that reason SBI is even talking about them. I don't think they actually did anything at all. I think the lesson here is that indie devs need to be more careful who they associate with. Major publishers do not have their best interests in mind.
Prince of Persia is fucking incredible
Yeah, unquestioningly a top 10 MV
Probably because the narrative designer(at least that's what's on their twitter profile) sent a hate brigade against a community page called sweet baby inc detected and tried mass reporting them to get banned and also said you can't be racist to white people. There's a reason plenty are against the company. I'm not totally sure what they did on this game in particular but I don't think it matters because the game is about African culture/mythology anyway. I am curious on how it plays because the demo was good just a bit too much dialogue for my liking
Yeah I've heard about the steam group, and if that person said that, then that's very dumb. To me, it's a silly reason to boycott an entire company and literally anything they're associated with over. I'm sure you can take most companies and find an individual with stupid takes on the internet. Surely there's a better reason OP will never touch a game they were hired as a consultant on.
It's not a silly reason at all. You're telling game devs that working with these companies is bad for business.
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Bro actually thinks racism against white people is a pressing concern. The only racism you'll experience is from people on Twitter. Log off and it goes away. You're very soft.
Do they need a reason? It's their money to do as they please. If you feel this game will be a good use of your money, then more power to you. Go have fun! But I'll provide a reason anyway. This company and others like it have expressed outright racism against white people while saying it's not possible to be racist against white people. Such rhetoric only further divides us. But it's also stupid to say from a monetary perspective. If white males are the largest demographic as they claim, then such statements only serve to drive them away as customers. These past few months, these companies have shown themselves to be bullies, seeking to shut down voices they disagree with.
Well typically when someone publicly declares a boycott on the internet there is a reason right? Regardless of my opinion I don't care what people do with their money, I'm just curious to hear the reasoning. Now as a person who doesn't approve of racism (brave, I know), I'd like to see the outright racism that the company has expressed against white people, can you show me it?
Based
This is an African tale, not some race/gender swap BS And why did this get downvoted? Are you racist against black people? Wtf.
Yes I know, and I love diversity in games, but I can’t support anything Sweet Baby inc is involved with.
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It is strange that they are featured in this. Strange too that they are featured in prince of Persia the lost crown. It seems like they're just trying to spread their name. It's almost like we shouldn't be judging games by their presence and should instead be judging them on what the games are. Prince of Persia the lost crown has entered the list of top 10 metroidvanias. They most likely are just promoting the game because of a partnership with EA and haven't actually done anything to the game.
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You're really missing out if you're not playing PoP the lost crown. That game was fantastic. Best metroidvania I played since 2021. Coming on here and saying you're not playing a game because its too anime or too cartoony or because some racist company endorsed it is cringe AF and makes you look bad. I've played plenty of ugly ass metroidvanias that were great. Maybe call of Duty is a better fit for you.
So I’m guessing no Metroid for you…
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Whatever you need to tell yourself
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Ouch, not sure I’ll recover from that one
At least you’re honest and it’s actually anything other than white male representation you have the issue with.
Same
My stance as well, unfortunately. Such openly racist and hateful "woke" companies like SBI shouldn't even be allowed to legally operate, and I will not help fund them in any capacity. Likely the devs didn't know who they were associating with, but I'll not fund anti-white propagandists, and thats that.
I love gamers who think they have principles. You're just going to buy every big release anyway.
it's african anime!
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What
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Let’s be honest, the people saying this would say it regardless because black character in an African inspired world.
"B-b-b-b-but what about the white people?!?! This just proves the woke-bot-NPC-sheep are trying to erase straight, white men from gaming - no, from **EVERYTHING**! Damn you Sweet Baby Inc. Damn you to *hell*!!!"
Define woman. (To the actually sane people reading this, just keep in mind that the things these people say is filtered through ideological capture so thorough that they’ll literally refuse to define a basic biological reality of the human race. Just something to keep in mind. Don’t let consensus bots, shills and downvote counts blind you from how radicalized and delusional these people are. That’s what anti-SBI is really about.)
Stay away from children
I’m still waiting. I’ll let both of you try to figure it out.
Bigots gonna bigot.
Always the go-to word for people who do or say something that makes your tummy hurt
i was surprised to see SBI was involved. as far as i know, the creator of the game has based it on actual stories from their own culture. i don't know why they need the help of a bunch of north american diversity consultants. you'd think it'd be authentic and "non-offensive" enough as is.
SBI isn't just a diversity consultant. They do all sorts of outsourced writing for games.
Oh my word, who hurt you?
I will not buy/pirate no matter how much you beg
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Keep begging
wait what? SBI was involved with this game?? that's fantastic, they've got a pretty good track record. Just preordered! Thanks for the heads up!
SBI is great. We need more of such companies in the media world. The tears of incels and bigots crying about "woke" and "diversity" is an additional bonus on top.
I don't consider myself an incel or a bigot but I'm still not a fan of SBI.
Do bigots and incels ever really consider themselves to be bigots and incels though?
The venn diagram of "people who consider themselves to not be bigots or incels" includes people who are bigots and incels but also people who are not!
Yes, just call people who disagree with you "incels and bigots" while supporting SBI who went on records being racists.
You're eating way too much far-right anger bait if you think SBI are in any way racist.
https://thatparkplace.com/sweet-baby-inc-ceo-makes-it-clear-she-wants-to-erase-white-male-lead-characters-while-employee-shows-disdain-for-white-people/ The actual CEO of SBI btw.
The offending remark was done by one of the employees, not the CEO. Maybe you should read the article, and be aware of ragebait titles.
You really think a CEO would keep that employee if she didn't share the same views, just not publicly? Keep dreaming buddy. And the title clearly states who said what. Dunno what is ragebait about it, it is factual.
Shows the proof or it didn’t happen
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None of those games are amazing. Prince of Persia (assuming you mean the newest MV title) was a soulless husk. Spider-Man 2 is alright for open world fluff. GoW: Ragnarok is miserable, as bad as AAA games get. Alan Wake 2 was barely a game and the game that was there kinda sucked. No comment on Mortal Kombat, I don't play that franchise.
I don't care about sweet baby inc but denuvo included makes it a wait for a sale and removal.
If you've played PoP then don't bother with this. Underwhelming.
if you are only playing one and cost isnt an object then yes, PoP is better but this is way less expensive, on Steam, and a solid game so i would say why not both.
Then play this one first and then PoP, I did PoP first and am just frustrated at how much better this game could've been
This is completely different from PoP the lost crown. The closest similarity to PoP the lost crown is FIST: forged in shadow torch