Beat in 18.5 hours. 55% Completion. I'll admit Metroidvania is not my genre of choice, but I was looking for a fully reclined controller game and according to reviews this was the one to get. It was mentioned having RPG elements so I couldn't resist. The graphic style isn't my thing, but I'm always willing to put aside visuals for stunning gameplay. While the interchangeable skill slot dynamic was a cool way to attack the game as a tank\dps\healer, the cost of getting there was too frustrating to redeem itself. Because it's an open world, you may not run across mandatory items\skills until late in your travels. I couldn't really enjoy the game until I got the wings and walljump as I was constantly free falling from platforms or missing them entirely. In Metroidvania it's nice to revisit areas you've explored as a juiced up version of your previous self, but in ways you'll just be dodging enemies to get to a vendor FAR across the map. A good amount of the late game baddies I found were just annoying, heat-seeking bomber fireflies, bugs shooting in x-pattern, huge masked grubs blocking a tunnel that take 10 hits and can only hit when their mask is open. The game makes up for some of the tedious fights with its' bosses. They were challenging enough to make me stop and respec, but not controller throwing worthy. Made me feel like I really improved hand-eye coordination after. While they weren't necessarily memoriable fights like some of the ancestors of old NES, I looked forward to coming back to them after losing. All-in-all, the game didn't tickle my fancy in the art or music style (highly subjective), so I really missed out on some major highlights folks said about the game. I felt some of the levels and baddies were too similar, but the boss fights really had me challenge my build and try different ways of playing.
