Biomorph Review (enticedwanderer)
This metroidvania tries hard to be a hollow knight, but with its own distinct artistic style and a fun twist. It accomplishes all of it quite well, but not without some flaws. Still it is a worthwhile play for any metroidvania lover, it scratched my itch quite well.
The good and amazing:
- The graphics, the environment and the animation is all superb. Movie sequences less so, but that's more of a matter of personal taste. I loved every biome and how it's structured and presented.
- The music picks up in certain areas to really pack a punch. I've noticed it stand out on multiple occasions.
- The movement is fluid and precise. Devs nailed the controls and it is a joy to play.
- It isn't linear thank god. There are plenty of paths to pursue as the map opens up.
- Clear indicators on the map when you have fully explored any area. Pins for the maps, quest markers, etc. Lots of quality of life improvements.
- I LOVED the sentinel area. It is creatively a very fresh concept compared to other metroidvanias, both in terms of gating progression and how it was accomplished (and many are confused with it too haha).
Mixed bag:
- Difficulty and balancing. I felt this game was on the easier side. It never took me more than 2-3 attempts to finish boss/challenge, most of the time getting it on the first try after the first 1/4 or 1/5 of the game. The reason for this is highly skewed difficulty balancing towards the beginning when you are weak. As you gain more abilities, powerups, the enemies and bosses don't really keep up. This is also obvious if you skip bosses until later in the game and continue exploring. They become came walks (if progression is not gated on them) and you don't even need a strategy for them. Others have complained that the beginning is too harsh and I can see that being an issue for some. Still, the devs included accessibility options in case you can't get through (I had no real problems).
Flaws:
- The story. Big meh. You are served bits and pieces of it as cutscenes and then the main 2 characters discuss the interpretation in front of you to digest it for you. Disappointing honestly and lazy story telling.
- Simplicity. Level design is fairly straightforward and there wasn't anything really super complex or challenging in the game. As long you had the right tools to reach the level it doesn't take much thinking at all or skill. Nothing even close to path of pain from HK or the likes. I personally would have preferred more challenge but can't please everyone. :)
Verdict: You should absolutely play this if you like platformers/metroidvanias.
8/10