Benjelder

This game was a blast, I had the same feeling playing it than I had discovering the world of Hollow Knight ! It is a well-crafted metroidvania, with a lot of hidden passages, shortcuts and items, a good enemy variety, great boss fights, epic soundtracks and, most of all, a jaw-dropping scenery. The gameplay is fun, the character can either fight with a traditional weapon, or absorb attacks in a kind of "parry" mechanic. Bosses make a really good use of the fighting mechanics and other abilities learnt throughout the game. Exploring is always rewarding, there are several hidden bosses and optional areas. The world map is huge and the progression is satisfying. The areas blend together nicely and each of them has its own mood and good ideas. The negative aspects of the game are the fact that its aesthetic gets repetitive (fleshy walls and bones everywhere + too many caverns), but when it tries to introduce a spectacular area, it succeeds. I also had a problem with the pacing, I thought there weren't enough bosses in the second half of the game and too much platforming which did not always blend well with the balanced mix between combat and parkour that defined the game until then. Finally, the runtime between checkpoints was often too long and sometimes, only returning to the place where you died can be a chore. Though, these negative aspects did not make me like the game less and I had a great time during my first playthrough, which lasted 15 hours. If you like a challenge, I highly recommend Grime.