Ultros

Ultros major issue is that it isn’t as weird and hallucinatory as it wants to be. Sure, this space burial site that overflows with life offers an interesting setting with some impressive visual touches. The narrative is somewhat obscure, and occult tinged. But neither is enough to keep players engaged in the long run if they don’t already like this mix of exploration, combat, and platforming. And the game offers limited details about many of its systems, with the constant loops adding to the confusion. Ultros requires patience and a significant time investment but it offers an immersive world and good core mechanics.

Ultros is a kaleidoscope game. It takes a handful of ordinary things, shakes them up and sticks the pieces together, and then spins it all around. It's just a different version of what we've seen dozens of times before, sure. But it feels special, and it sure does look good.

Ultros is a psychedelic cosmic loop of a metroidvania. Its combat is approachable and simple, while its gardening encourages creativity and problem-solving that is rarely seen in the metroidvania genre. I had a good time playing Ultros; it mystified me while giving me room to stress-test its cosmic universe and fully explore its boundaries. While I wanted more complex combat and intentional varieties of color, I was quite satisfied with my journey to warrant a play in the future. Ultros is a trip worth taking at least once.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for a game to truly make a mark in the metroidvania genre, but ULTROS manages to leave an impression, thanks to its mesmerizing psychedelic visuals and thanks to its well thought-out time loop design.

Ultros ingeniously blends roguelike and metroidvania elements, offering a unique progression system centered around cycles. While its combat falls short of being memorable, the game shines with its innovative mechanics, visually stunning design, and around 11 hours of engaging gameplay, making it a must-try for fans of the genre.

Although that's how it made its notoriety during the May 2023 State of Play, Ultros is worth more than a glance. With their new game, Hadoque and Kepler Interactive innovate in the metroidvania genre with more than atypical mechanics around gardening. However, he is dragged down by a lack of help as well as fights that lack importance. Ultros remains a good title which, like a plant, needs time and investment for it to flower to its best potential.

More than anything, I feel amazing Metroidvanias need to strike a great balance between combat and exploration, where everything you accomplish is constantly bringing you one step closer to reaching the end of the game. I don’t feel that’s the case in Ultros. The rewind aspect of the game, combined with constantly losing platforming abilities and combat upgrades, makes the entire experience a painful slog. So even though I respect the ambition and creativity on display, ultimately, that’s not enough to elevate this game beyond its peers.

An incredible world and a soundtrack that touches your soul, thanks to Ratvader and El Huervo

Un Metroidvania sympa à parcourir, à la direction artistique, aux mécaniques et à l'univers originaux et travaillés. De bonnes idées à mon sens, mais dont la mise en œuvre est parfois maladroite ou insuffisamment parlante au joueur en termes de ce qui est à faire et/ ou faisable, je pense au concept central de jardinage par exemple, dont je sens bien que je n'ai pas compris toute la portée.

Pretty setting, fun but simple mechanics. What bothers me is that eventually, to get any real depth out of the game, it all hinges on the "gardening" part which sometimes feels like a puzzle... but then ends up being just boring.

An incredibly vibrant and lush game, with minor tweaks on the metroidvania concept. Mainly in its time loop mechanic. Once a main boss is defeated you are reset to the beginning, All items and talents are gone. Talents you have previously purchased are cheaper on future runs, and shortcuts remain. The visuals are its greatest asset, the areas and backdrops are so unbelievably detailed, with color and depth not seen before. Unfortunately, you find yourself trying to interact with some of these items when 95% of them are just there for show. The combat is average with a very miniscule moveset, its laughably easy, I had no deaths throughout my playtime. I eventually abandoned it cause if you take some weeks or months off it is hard to remember where you need to go.

Al ser un metroidvania todo gira entorno a la exploración y el combate, pero resulta que la mecánica principal del juego consiste en quitarte todas las habilidades que consigas para la exploración y el combate y hacerte volver a empezar todo una y otra vez (sin cambiar nada, solo te quita las habilidades y todo lo que hayas hecho y empiezas de 0 de nuevo cada ciertos eventos del juego). Aburrimiento y pereza definen perfectamente a este juego con grandioso apartado visual y banda sonora (pero no todo es eso en un juego). Historia confusa y difusa. Una pena!