LogFAQs > #970853199

10. Astalon: Tears of the Earth (2021)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/9/7/AABKTfAAEF0N.jpg

(the hint was a cheeky reference to "tear" being in the title :p) (also I played Ender Lilies last year) (also this is better than Ender Lilies)

Easily the greatest Metroidvania I played last year. It has some fun twists that make it feel different from typical examples of the genre, primarily playing as three different characters, all of whom have unique combat and movement abilities. It's pretty cool how they're useful at various unique situations - Kyuli is long-ranged and can wall jump, Algus is medium range and shoots through walls, while Arias is short ranged and can destroy obstacles, plus he attacks the fastest. You can only switch between them at save points, which leads to some interesting puzzles where you have to figure out how to get somewhere with a specific character.

The other gimmick I was less of a fan of. When you die, you start back at the beginning of the tower, and you can spend the resources you get when fighting to buy upgrades. It feels a bit like a progression roguelike, though without randomly generated environments. There's lots of shortcuts, and some fast travel, so that helps, but it was still boring/annoying sometimes. The most interesting thing about this mechanic was how it encouraged backtracking. Since I went back to the start of the tower so often, it felt more natural to explore old areas if I died after getting a new power. So I'd say it worked, but it probably made me like the game somewhat less.

The game's powers/upgrades are all pretty thoughtful, and feel at least somewhat unique. I always enjoyed getting new ones, and the resource progression makes you ridiculously strong as you go along. I struggled with the first boss, but every boss after that was a piece of cake, and by the end of the game I was an unkillable god. I think the game felt pretty good early on too, so this isn't one of those Metroidvanias that suck until you get the right upgrades. I don't have much to say about the non-gameplay elements: the music is mediocre, the visuals are nice in a NES-style way with good portraits for the character designs, and the story is pretty fun for what's there, though most of it is concentrated fairly early in the game. There's an epilogue you can get for doing everything in the game (I got 100% completion, but I didn't do the bonus modes that unlock after beating the game, so I just checked it out on Youtube) that hints about a sequel, so it'll be cool to see what the dev does next.