Ultros is a terrific game that takes a bit of digging to really sink into. While not a particularly difficult game, it is a dense game, but if you work through you'll find it unfold beautifully both in gameplay and theme.

Early on you may be inundated with a lot of things happening at once, many words you don't quite understand yet, and game systems that seem too simple or don't make much sense. But the main strength of the game is discovery, of getting to a part where you are signposted well into trying something and learning how much more of the game it unlocks. And it never stops; I was maybe 5 hours into the game when I reached an area, discovered something and thought "waitaminute...can I do THIS?" and learned I could have been doing that all along. And with that discovery I had just discovered a new way through an area.

Ultros never stops giving you that awesome feeling of figuring things out, of making attempts and learning new things. Your voiceless protagonist is much the same, waking up while you read and listen to others relaying nonsense words to you that as you explore you figure out what exactly they are and how they slot into what is happening on the station and to you and the other characters. There may be times that frustrate or confuse you, but I promise it's worth soldiering on.

The artstyle, at first, had me waiting to play this game. It wasn't my favorite, unique tho it is, but once in play and motion I loved it. There is such vibrancy and life to this game when so many others are going for dour and grey, which fits very well with your powers and thematically what is happening. The music is also an eclectic mix of great tracks, whether it is ambient in foresty areas or a bopping jazz explosion in an important fight. Movement feels extremely good, especially once you start using some of the 'powers' you get, and combat rewards complexity as your rewards from beaten enemies are better if you vary things up. Occasionally readability can be an issue, as there is a lot going on onscreen at any given time but it never became a frustration that killed me or stymied my exploration. The leveling system and gameplay loop may rub people the wrong way at first but trust me it's not as bad as it seems at first.

This game is a tremendous expression of passion, a blooming flower that gets prettier the more it opens up. There's so much to uncover, discover and play with and so many ways to solve obstacles or puzzles that it really feels like an 'open world' by the end. For Metroidvanias that do their own thing, this is something truly unique in the space and I can't recommend it any harder. There is not another Metroidvania like this.

An innovative metroidvania. Gardening and exploring the sarcophagus was a joy.

There are cycles, and the prospect of having my skill tree reset bothered me at first, but there are means around this. It's not about filling out the skill tree, it's about finding what you need. Which, admittedly, can sometime be a challenge, but it was a pleasant one.

The first half, where it plays like a frustrating Metroidvania with strange game design choices, almost made me give up on it. Constantly losing your skills and especially the tools you need to progress does not feel good in the moment - especially if you go into the game not knowing what to expect. I wondered if they were just wasting my time on purpose, or if I might end up in an unwinnable state due to lacking the right upgrade at the wrong moment. (That will not happen - despite looking open world, the first half of the game is practically linear)

Luckily though, I decided to switch on godmode, instead of quitting, and just sped through that meh first half. Until finally, I got to the part where it suddenly turns from a semi-linear frustrating action game to a mesmerizing, chill gardening puzzle and dreamy open world exploration. And boy did I absolutely love that second half of the game! I'm very glad I stuck with it and am now sad to have reached the end credits already.

I feel like the game would have benefitted from letting players choose much earlier, which of the two games they want to play, instead of gating the mechanics needed for the puzzle exploration game behind playing a large chunk of the fighting game first. But I can also see how that might have made telling the story much harder, so it is what it is.

We may have started off on the wrong foot, but in the end, I loved it <3