Great concept, horrible execution.

Having a metroidvania that has a main idea of repeating the game over and over to change the outcome of an area while you cultivate plants and nutrients, feels very interesting.

However, this means...you have to repeat....every...single...thing...you have done from the start at least a few times just in order to progress a little bit. It does not feel rewarding. It does not feel like progress. It feels like repetition, it is boring and it is dull. Not enough things change. Not enough of the map is interactive in this way, mostly just "secret areas" and shortcuts. Oh, and did I mention that some of these areas have tutorial parts...that are repeated every time you come next to it (looking at you, combat tutorial while 3h+ in the game)?

Combat is awful. The idea is that you get better nutrients (xp and life) if you kill an enemy without repeating the same move two times in a row, is great. On paper, this is interesting, however, all of the enemies play the same, making this extremely repetitive and not interesting. Not to mention, enemy density and variety is very low, making this redundant.

I really tried to play this game as long as I could in order to try and see how the game is going to change. It really didn't, at all, and I felt like I was just wasting time for hours, making me just quit. No point of playing the game if it is not fun to play.

At least, the art is cool and unique.

There are far better metroidvania games out there. Skip this one.
2/10

THIS GAME IS NOT A ROGUELIKE!!!!
I feel like this games reputation has been kind of stained by people calling it a roguelike, and spreading misconceptions around abilities resetting.
The game does not reset upon death, and the scripted resets don't lose you anything but minor abilities, and a sword and multitool you will get back within literal minutes. So no, you do not need to redo large portions of the game. Any ability that opens progression gates is kept in your multitool, again, regained in literal minutes after a loop.
The game's closer to a timeloop, but even that doesn't really describe it.
In reality, there is nothing currently out there like Ultros, which is partially why critics have struggled to actually explain it. It's a weird game, and not just in tone or artstyle. It's bizarre gardening mechanics open up so much potential for both puzzles and player expression, and as you go it just get's deeper and deeper. While it can feel quite janky, particularly the combat and the game sometimes not accounting for things when you break sequence, Ultros is special. If you like metroidvanias, I think you should really try this one.

A visual mess where everything looks the same so it's very difficult to tell what is important. The typeface they use is awful, and they clearly know it because everything written in it is written again in an actually legible font. The lore is unintelligible nonsense. The loop system resets everything, all the way down to your weapon and double-jump. Just not a good experience.