2024’s already been a giant 12 months for Metroidvania followers. Hardly a month in, we’ve already seen Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown launch and infuse the style with killer momentum as we careen in direction of extra surefire bangers like Animal Properly, Tales of Kezera: Zau, Earthblade, and – sure – Hole Knight: Silksong. Every one appears to have a definite hook; Prince of Persia marries the precision platforming of Celeste with trendy fight, Animal Properly is all about nonviolent puzzle-solving, and Tales of Kenzera: Zau guarantees a heartfelt story.
Ultros, the second cease on 2024’s Metroidvania hype practice, is among the coolest-looking video games I’ve ever performed. Dripping in trippy, arcane sci-fi model, its beautiful environments and characters are well worth the value of admission alone. However this journey down the rabbit gap doesn’t at all times have the tight pacing you’d count on from the style’s greatest. As a substitute, Ultros is by itself journey.
By including roguelike sport and even survival-farming mechanics to the method, Ultros’ important path turns into extra esoteric than you’d count on. Whereas these deviations necessitate better backtracking, they permit developer Hadoque to get artistic with development. I’ve solely seen round 1 / 4 of what Ultros has to supply thus far, however the seeds it vegetation early on are certain to blossom and impress in time.
Fascinatingly, Ultros’ best level of friction is intrinsically linked to its most artistic design concepts. Whereas it does characteristic numerous genre-standard skills and power-based development, you’ll have to plant seeds that then develop and finally power open lots of Ultors’ locked doorways. However seeds don’t simply develop at a second’s discover. As a substitute, you must full a selected process or attain a sure level within the sport, which then triggers a sequence that causes months to go in-world.
You lose your powers and begin proper again the place you had been at the start of the sport in a really Metroid-esque flip of occasions – solely it occurs a number of occasions right here. Ultros makes it more and more simple to get your powers again and begin off the place you left off the extra you start the cycle anew, however this doesn’t erase the handful of occasions you spend retreading the identical worn path from zero.
However you’re at all times rewarded on your efforts. That seed you planted may need grown tall sufficient to succeed in a brand new door, or possibly it’s shattered one thing blocking your path. It’s a artistic system that forces you to take issues gradual and discover each inch of the map earlier than giving up your powers to develop your house backyard. Whereas its motion and fight make backtracking by way of even essentially the most rote components of Ultros’ map extra bearable, its artwork route is the star of the present.
Artwork that leans into Electrical Kool-Help ranges of psychedelia tends to be a coin toss. For each Sgt. Pepper’s or Implausible Planet, there’s a bin filled with posters with Rick and Morty washed in sludgy Day-Glo at your nearest edgy novelty store or vacationer entice. To every their very own, however a lot artwork that wishes to cater to that style is little greater than heavy-handed pandering that lacks thematic depth. And whereas Ultros’ pacing and sense of route can often frustrate, it greater than makes up for it in uncooked texture; each creature and merchandise you decide up has dense lore that takes its cues from bizarre, old-school sci-fi novels. Creature components, which you eat to heal your self, provide several types of dietary advantages, and the sport even describes how they style.
Whereas a few of its key design selections could be difficult to come back to phrases with, Ultros boasts best-in-class environmental design backed by some spectacular tracks from composer El Huervo. If Prince of Persia is that this 12 months’s Metroidvania blockbuster banger, then Ultros would be the cult-classic arthouse sci-fi flick that deserves simply as a lot reward for the leaps it takes. I can’t wait to complete Ultros so I can see which of its large swings repay.
