Best metroidvania ever
It's the best metroidvania ever, in my opinion.
There is a lot of exploration to do, the world is colorful and beautiful, powers are interesting and are always a pleasure to obtain and to use. These powers let you find new areas from the area already explored (typical metroidvania structure). The factor "just a little more time" is very strong here (I usually plan to save at the next "save crystal" and I find myself still playing an hour after that...)
I played the first version a few years ago, when it was downloadable for free, but I didn't manage to complete it (the last few bosses are hard), so I had to buy it -the full new version- and to play it all again, and to beat the last boss, eventually.
So, let's break this into categories :
Story: Good
Graphics: Good, colorful, varied. The seas are bright and sunny most of the time, sometimes some underwater caves get dark and gloomy and that participate very well in the atmosphere.
Opponents: Good, lots of different monsters with different behavior patterns and different sort of attacks. This is not just mindless dodging and fighting, you've got to figure out a few things if you're to make progress and beat bosses.
Main character: Great, well characterized female character, non-sexualized, interesting, well voiced.
Voice acting: Good.
Atmosphere: Great
Exploration: Great. Like taking a dive in a lush ocean and the pressure in your bottle never drops so you can always stay a bit more ;3
Bosses: Great (sometimes epic)
Character powers: Interesting
Crafting Potions and Recipes : an interesting system where you learn how to mix and brew ingredients to give you a few additional buffs or boosts (and so you can heal yourself). This system is not mandatory but can help a bit at times (especially during the long hard fights).
Music : I love it, sustains the atmosphere very well.
Learning curve: smooth
Length: About 15-18 hours. It feels a bit on the short side as it is so good, but the last couple of bosses are hard, like very hard, so they can keep you busy a bit of time.
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