Ultros is a type of video games you’ll be able to’t assist however take note of. Again when it was first revealed in Could at Sony’s pre-notE3 PlayStation Showcase, its vibrant, fever dream visuals from Hotline Miami artist El Huervo immediately made it stand out amongst all of the drab multiplayer shooters jostling for consideration. Then, between speak of it being set inside a cosmic uterus referred to as The Sarcophagus and having to make use of seeds and crops over successive runs to change the form of the map to your whim, it solely grew to become extra intriguing. Now, after enjoying virtually two hours of this Metroid-y roguelite for myself, there’s nonetheless rather a lot about it to soak up and digest, however holy moly what a factor to behold on the identical time. That is certainly going to be one to look at for Metroidvania likers when it comes out on February thirteenth subsequent 12 months, as a result of cor, that is wanting actually fairly good, people.
My preview started with Ultros’ insectoid-like protagonist waking up beside the luminous stalks of a number of shoulder-high big spores, with an empty, discarded pod sitting deserted close by, overgrown with mushrooms and different coiling, coral-like crops that stand in vibrant, stark distinction to the pitch-black shadows of the foreground beneath their ft. It is an arresting scene, however that is not even the half of it. These unusual, tendril-like growths shortly give option to much more fantastical, ornate constructions, stained glass home windows and talismans draped from one wall to a different. Every new hall is so dense with element that it virtually defies description – heck, plenty of the time, I am not even certain I might describe what I used to be . This so-called Sarcophagus is in contrast to any online game world I’ve ever visited, however the excellent news is it isn’t so alien that it is fully off-putting.
For instance, the way in which your hero strikes and fights is pleasingly acquainted, erring extra in the direction of the weightier, Hole Knight finish of the platforming spectrum than the lithe, nimble slips and slides of Ori or Rayman. Their daring inexperienced visor, luminous elongated elbows, trailing crimson cape and pitch black legs make them straightforward to select in opposition to the busy flora behind them, and after constructing somewhat momentum to their most operating velocity, they’ll glide easily from one platform to the subsequent with out feeling awkward or stilted. It isn’t lengthy earlier than they choose up their first weapon, both – a brief, sharp blade that they prize out of the chest of what might simply be certainly one of Physician Who’s Oods in a shroud.
Fight is not a senseless, hack and slash affair prefer it typically is in different Metroidlikes, nevertheless. It may be, in case you do not thoughts mashing your enemies to a pulp within the course of and solely gaining minimal spoils from their mangled, gribbly carcasses. However you may earn higher rewards in case you take the time to execute totally different strikes and keep away from repeating your self. Dodge rolling via an assault will allow you to counter and plunge your sword into an enemy’s weak spot with Y, for instance, whereas hitting sure enemies in mid air will provoke a ‘juggling’ sequence, letting you launch them into the gap like some chitinous Sonic The Hedgehog. Your fundamental X assault may also be mixed with most cardinal instructions in your d-pad so as to add much more selection to your rising moveset. Hold issues clear and various and you will earn a ‘good’ variant of your foe’s explicit merchandise drop – a reward that is likely to be met with a roll of the eyes in one other recreation, however right here it makes a shocking distinction.
You see, the objects you earn from enemies in Ultros double up as each your therapeutic objects and the EXP you’ll want to unlock new talents. Chowing down on some Puppaluppa Limbs, for instance, offers you each a small well being enhance and slowly high up all 4 of your most important capability bars, whereas munching on rarer delicacies reminiscent of an Uloborus Spinner could provide you with an even bigger bump to only a pair of your stat bars, however a bigger kick to your HP bar. Battered variants may also be received for lower than good scraps together with your foes, however sloppy encounters will merely earn you a Bloody Pulp, which is able to solely restore minimal quantities of well being and nothing extra.
It is an fascinating system, and one which asks you to juggle retaining your self alive with changing into extra highly effective. However in case you’re fearful about intentionally hampering your self within the course of, you needn’t. I used to be maybe overly cautious in how a lot I consumed early on in my playthrough, however as Ultros shortly makes identified, this is not your daddy’s traditional Metroidvania. There’s roguelite DNA operating via these psychedelic veins, and upon reaching and destroying one of many seven MacGuffin glass chambers which are supposedly retaining everybody imprisoned inside The Sarcophagus, I used to be zipped proper again to my beginning discipline of jumbo dandelions, my talents reset and my pockets empty. Thus, I discovered that gluttony was completely the way in which ahead on this unusual place, and in case you’ve received a nostril for exploring, you may ultimately discover little mycelium locks that allow you to retain sure abilities between loops. And apart from, enemies seem so typically in these vibrant chambers that you simply needn’t maintain again – every little thing lives in fertile abundance inside The Sarcophagus, so that you may as nicely let rip whilst you can.
Talents aren’t the one factor that ultimately carry over between loops, both. Regardless of this being a recreation that positively revels in blood, guts and noshing down on brains and no matter bodily fluids you may get your arms on, Ultros can also be – unusually – a recreation about gardening. At varied factors on the map, you may discover glowing patches of soil the place you’ll be able to plant seeds you discover across the setting, and whereas their preliminary development spurts won’t produce something significantly spectacular (bar a super-charged snack for later), they change into much more plentiful over time. Tree stumps begin taking pictures out boughs that allow you to leap as much as beforehand inaccessible platforms, for instance, whereas swinging vines get longer and unfold additional throughout a room to create new pathways – and even inside simply the handful of loops afforded to me on this explicit demo, The Sarcophagus shortly began feeling like a spot that had been convincingly altered by each the time I would spent there, and my journey via it.
It’ll little doubt produce some fascinating speedruns as soon as it is out, however I even have a number of lingering issues round these crops which may find yourself raining on Ultros’ parade. For example, I by no means felt fully sure about what I used to be planting in these soil patches, or what every seed’s meant impact would find yourself being down the road. Some I planted accidentally, just by advantage of it occurring to be in what I dubbed my ‘snack slot’ on the left set off (the in-game alphabet symbols are woefully unclear at occasions), whereas others I planted simply because that occurred to be one I would discovered most just lately close by and appeared like the suitable factor to do. Was that essentially the right alternative, although? Ought to I maybe be saving this a lot rarer seeds for later, in the identical approach I used to be hoarding my preliminary meals provides? I by no means fairly discovered the solutions to those questions within the demo, however hopefully the ultimate recreation will present barely clearer steering on this.
One other story-critical doodad you may encounter early on is the Extractor – a curious little contraption that tethers itself to your waist like a floating mechanical balloon. This, too, appears as if it should acquire totally different talents over time. By default, it grants you a double bounce, however I additionally gained an influence that turned it right into a form of turbo-charged hedge trimmer, whereas one other one let it up suck darkish, cosmic power blockading ominous wanting corridors. Sadly, I needed to rediscover the Extractor (and my sword, for that matter) every time I began a brand new loop, and there did not appear to be any mycelium-shaped indicators or hints that there’d be one thing to make these things everlasting in a while. Certainly, I do not assume I’ve ever mourned the lack of a double bounce fairly as a lot as I did right here, and I will be intrigued to see how Ultros handles resetting a few of its different powers in a while – will it restrict exploration in such a approach that every little thing turns into a bit repetitive once you begin afresh? Or will it take a extra open-ended ‘one dimension suits all’ strategy that does not require particular power-ups to succeed in its different MacGuffin chambers?
If Ultros can thread this needle with out stinging its gamers within the course of, then I feel this actually could possibly be one of the vital promising and memorable Metroidvanias we’ll see subsequent 12 months. I imply, what different recreation can declare to have a boss that appears like a winged, wolf Xenomorph that has a purple void for a stomach and two neon pink lightbulbs on its again? Even Elden Ring’s growth would not dare to get that bizarre, I am telling you now. So mark your calendars for February thirteenth, people. That is one freaky pulp journey you may virtually undoubtedly need a style of.
