Metroidvania de firma española en Talavera de la Reina pensado para el disfrute y la frustración a partes iguales del respetable.
A nivel de diseño, gameplay y personalización del personaje está cuidado hasta la extenuación. El diseño de niveles es enfermizo, cada detalle cuenta, y tanto la bso como el apartado artístico son de 10.

Ahora bien, es un juego exigente hasta niveles extremos de hardcore gamer coreano. Puedo decir sin equivocarme que es el juego más complicado al que me he enfrentado y seguro que es top 3 metroidvanias más difíciles, si no es el que más. Evidentemente esto está contemplado por los desarrolladores del juego, y hay muchísimos puntos de control.
Tras la actualización el juego presenta 2 dificultades, la Aeterna y la Noctis, siendo esta última la que incluía el juego base. Pues bien, ya en Aeterna hay partes que llegan incluso a desanimar y, si no es por esta dificultad "asequible" y por la guía de Javucho (que además le pone la voz al Rey de la Oscuridad en el juego; tenéis la guía competa en su canal de
yt) habría abandonado el título antes de la mitad fácilmente.

Es un juego muy complejo, para amantes de la dificultad y los grandes desafíos que puede llevar más de 40 h sin ir al 100%. Me ha gustado mucho, lo he disfrutado en muchas de sus partes y los jefes finales son una pasada, pero su enfermiza dificultad frustra y desmoraliza mucho, de ahí que le haya bajado la nota. Hay zonas que he dejado sin explorar si quiera por no ser capaz de avanzar.

This is a game that wears its Hollow Knight inspiration on its sleeve and joins the rank of the rare platforming-focused Metroidvanias. I've described it multiple times as "Kaizo Hollow Knight" and I think that's far from a flaw. It is excellent at following up on your mastery of HK mechanics, proposing a massive new world to explore and overall a way more challenging experience both in platforming and boss fights while keeping similar movement (it does also feature an easier difficulty that I've heard is closer to its inspiration).
Still Aeterna Noctis manages to be its own thing by switching up the level design frequently, introducing different physics and platforming elements depending on the biome, and introduces an important mechanic at around the midway point that changes how you approach platforming in a way that feels challenging and rewarding.
The game also features gorgeous hand draw environments and great use of lighting, although the MC does look a bit janky amongst them (probably for clarity reasons). The soundtrack is decent and while the story isn't anything special I found the dialogue pretty well written and funny at times.
Overall I had a fantastic experience with it and will look forward to what Aeternum studios has in store next for us metroidvania fans. Highly recommended for those who want more Hollow Knight and are not scared of challenging experiences.

One of the greatest action platformers of all time, though it might not be what Metroidvania fans in particular are looking for. While the game does follow Metroidvania progression, with an expansive and lovingly detailed world, exploration elements take a backseat to combat and especially platforming.

If you are confident in your gaming skills and seek a real platforming challenge, few games are more satisfying than Aeterna Noctis. As a platformer, it is endlessly creative and rewarding, challenging the player to master its mechanics and design language. The teleport arrow mechanic which serves as the core of its platforming design is almost comically overwhelming at first, and yet by the end of the game it will have become second nature; if you ask me, the appeal of difficult games is pushing past your limits, overcoming yourself, and this is something Aeterna Noctis facilitates brilliantly.

But again, this is not a game for people who desire an exploration-oriented experience or RPG-esque progression -- Hollow Knight and SotN this is not. Aeterna Noctis's framing as a Metroidvania perhaps does it a disservice, because there is a fairly significant portion of the Metroidvania fanbase that is never going to appreciate its approach; at the same time, "Metroidvania" is a very convenient descriptor, and the basic progression of the game largely adheres to genre conventions, so I'm not sure there's actually a better way to market it.

So I'll just say this: play Aeterna Noctis if you want a Metroidvania with gorgeous graphics and platforming harder than anything in Celeste.

Platforming and exploring deserve solid 10/10. Even though some mechanics feel quite hard in the beginning, after you learn how to use them it feels really rewarding to survive. Definitely challenging, but for people like me who have spent their whole life playing 2D platformers like this is really fresh, really enjoyable. A lot of areas to explore and things to collect too, truly living up to its metroidvania genre.

Outside the platforming and exploration parts, I unfortunately didn't enjoy the game that much. Boss battles are seriously tedious (some bosses take like 15 minutes to beat since their damage windows are so small!) and the world building lacks personality and interesting characters. But even with its problems, this game is definitely a top tier metroidvania.

Aeterna noctis is a game that should be incredible just by looking at the artstyle, animations and so on. But the game is unfortunately tedious for the sake of being tedious. Combat feels weightless, the controls are infuriating (using analog stick to teleport around especially felt really akward), the world is big just for the sake of being big. There are qualities in this game. Some of the bosses are fun to learn, some areas are gorgeous and fun to explore. However there are more tedious and annoying areas than good ones. Also good luck figuring out where you are supposed to land when platforming because the foregrounds are filled with clusters that will make sure to distract you and annoy you.