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Seamless Wonder (ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist)
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Disclaimer, this is an early access review. It recently came out, with little content
Maybe I shouldn't be writing this, there's already so many metroidvanias out there, the steam reviews sometimes go crazy giving certain games overall positive, including this. The sequel to one lukewarm, yet cult classic title, does it differentiate? Even largely improve upon?
Ender Magnolia (long subtitle) comes after Ender Lilies, taking place several decades later. With some parts of the blight surviving, and now seeping deep into the early steam punk industrial era. First game was a witch clone, this one has an attuner with a strange connected past to the homunculus. The gameplay is solid, they made notable changes too.
Other big difference is the game engine, this one is made with UE4. And it shows, largely everything including the 2D art assets looks pretty amazing here. The tone doesn't seem super bleak or tragic as the first game does either, and I like that the protagonist is more calmer.
After waking up in an underground laboratory, an attuner named Lilac looks for anybody around, searching while dealing with her amnesia of sorts, she finds one who can wield the sword. Now combat ready, she proceeds to explore further while dealing with enraged types.
The gist of it is something is affecting the homunculus, turning them manic, agitated, and violent. With her seemingly latent abilities, Lilac cures this problem by slashing most of them down while saving the few important ones. That's the metroidvania we got here.
5 minutes later, am battling another with a giant fist hand, he was a formidable foe, since he managed to exhaust all the 3 flasks I had to heal. Right after defeating him, a cutscene and video sequence plays, and our attuner patches him up, he is now part of my arsenal. All I have to do is back to the resting place, and slot him in Y button. That's because his attack has a cooldown.
One of the big differences I've noticed is how attack spells are casted, usually there would be downtimes for casting spirit attacks on the last game, here you can simul-cast multiple times. Some abilities have cooldown, but others can be spammed far as you can go.
After visiting a smithy, I gained two new abilities called dashing and air jumping. Meaning I can grab higher ground, and dash to reach further distances. And it can be done effortlessly most of the time thanks to how fluid it feels. And that's another thing, the controls feel fluid, and responsive.
Combat slowly progressed here, the fights are only tough in their rudimentary stage as I have few moves to use. Constantly dodging attacks, and taking out their poise which knocks them down for a short moment. Her dodge is a little slower than it should be, though.
I'm guessing they'll fix that up later, still in its EA stage, there might be changes to the current game design, I do think some aspects need to be improved, but majority of the stuff they got going now hopefully retains. I also like how easier it is to navigate at the map here.
And this is where the other amazing facet of the game comes around, there are denizens in this cities, it's decrepit and they seem to be struggling, but a lot going on which provides multiple backstories found just interacting with them. And what I really like is the 2D background that has these effects added, of course many games can do that now, but it takes serious talent to combine the 3D aspects with this to create such a visually dazzling look. Almost like Ori.
Though, of course, since there are many metroidvanias out there that have cracked the code in terms of getting the formula right. Sometimes one is more focused than the other. And I feel like Enders main focus might be it's story and premise. That isn't to say it falls short with others.
After coming across a camp, where a dog resting in weak health, I have interacted with many, including the blacksmith, who seems to be the key character in progressing the story. It's never properly explained yet as to what's going on, but bits and pieces are showing up.
Various enemies I fought, from the machinists with chainsaws, jumpers, toxics, and so on, various areas a large variety of design that has to be adapted from. Which is easy, considering how simple and fine tuned the gameplay feels. But it gets more challenging the far deeper I got into the areas. And the bossfights, this guy was easy at first, before his second form.
He became my third attack slot, and this is my favorite part, because now I got to kite from a distance. His ranged attacks can be spammed, multiple times without limit. Does that make my character invincible? In certain stages, but as I've stated, that's where the enemy design comes in.
Where they are placed, how their attacks are designed, two or three hits are enough to take me down. And knowing that I go around, looking for safe spots, before finding a boss battle. In-between seeking loot, of which there's plenty to find, all of this I did in 2hrs time.
4 progressive areas, from selecting Homunculi attack slots, equipment for stat bonus and passives, relics for passive bonuses, and enhancing that either upgrades or entirely changes how they attack. The gunslinger went from shooting rapid projectiles to these circular disks, that also by chance can freeze enemies. Use cases vary, based on how they work for certain areas and fights.
And in the meantime, the BGM played by Mili, a group of people with experiences in several known animes, including Ghost in the Shell, and Goblin Slayer, creates such a serene, somber, and powerful score. They worked on the last game as well, and here they complement the atmosphere quite a bit.
A lot has been done in the 2 hours I've played, and it's setting up my expectations pretty well. At its current stage, there's a lot going to be filled in due time. So yeah, pretty lengthy demo, and I'd say a pretty good one too. Metroidvania genre is oversaturated in the industry these days.
If most games have such different variety, touching on various subgenres too, I think they can continue to dish out as many titles as possible. Ender Magnolia is here to stay, and despite seemingly being newcomer friendly, it is a pretty fun game, and with an amazing atmosphere and premise to get pulled into. That dog later on unlocks fast travel, and it looks cool.
A few other complains I have to point to are the levelling system, I don't know what it pertains to, as in I level up, do I get stronger? Do I unlock slots? It's pretty much basic at this point, and since XP farming relies on constantly attacking enemies, it prompts me to skip fight sometimes.
I stopped playing at this one point when I faced a foe very strong, I mean he is stomping the ground, throwing rock projectiles, it's so fast, aggressive, testing my ability to dodge and rely on ranged attacks to take him down. But it was a lot. I died 3-4 times already.
Codex are spread all around in this game, which builds up backstories, and the world around. Even if there's not a lot to do now, the concentrated quality content in the few hours I've spent is something.
Update: After beating the giant homunculi, he has blessed me with a ground stomp ability. Giving me access to newer areas, I forgot to also mention the HP increase items scattered aroun.
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