Clockwork Ambrosia (2026)

While I definitely appreciate that the NPCs in town here will reliably nudge you towards the critical path, the freeform, self-directed approach of all the optional exploration is even better! The world is quite big, opens up early on, and puts very few restrictions on where you're able to go, so the choice of where to head next always feels like it's got some real weight behind it.

The hands-off nature of the map pushes this feeling ever further, as it only marks the most essential points of interest automatically. For hidden treasures, locked doors, and every other little mystery you're just expected to mark stuff with a pin and return when you deem it important. Love it.

Think this is the first metroidvania I've played where the whole world is mapped out onto a cylinder! There's hard boundaries at the top and bottom, but traveling very far to the left or right loops you around to where you started.

Since you're almost always able to keep moving forward, this setup helps avoid the common genre pitfall of hitting a bunch of dead ends and retracing all your steps endlessly. But so quickly shuffling through each biome also feels sorta breathless, like each area isn't given enough time to develop a strong identity. Not sure how I feel about tubevanias just yet.

I really tried to make it to the end, as the game does a number of things fairly well. The open ended exploration, the satisfying unlocking of abilities, a decent map, Metroid style combat, etc. but… it also includes so much boring fluff and a skippable story that I just couldn’t do it.

The game is very focused on custom playstyles, which I was aware of going in. In some games, like Aeterna Noctis, I enjoy picking and choosing a load out for a challenging boss or whatever. But I hate games that turn every reward into some gun modifier that does a slightly different thing than the 5 other you found that are just like it - and this is that.

That really killed any interest in exploration for me. I hate diving through menus, sifting through descriptions, only to get meager gains of stats for my character's loadout. I also honestly hated the vaguely cyberpunk story, the art is pretty mid, map is super basic (but serviceable thanks to the unlimited markers).

It just ultimately lost my interest around the halfway point. But I’m sure there’s people out there that would enjoy this, especially if you're an RPG or castlevania fan that loves customizing your build. But for me - simplicity is key in this genre.

3.1/10

Now this is more like it! It's yet another metroidvania demo, but all the particulars of movement and combat feel excellent. Metal Slug and Ratchet are clear inspirations here, with exploration largely rewarding custom weapon mods that you can mix and match to create your own outlandish guns.

Enemy and boss design felt promising as well, and there were some solid little puzzles for those in search of hidden treasure. Definitely recommended!