It's nice to see games inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos, without drawing from the overly circumscribed Arkham canon. Here, it's more about cosmic horror against unspeakable creatures, rather than an endless slaughter of cultists. While the premise and atmosphere are pleasing, with sound and visual work to be commended, Sundered's wanderings are attributable to its gameplay. In particular, the battles seem pointless, insofar as defeating endless hordes never really provides satisfaction – at most some relief. Don't get me wrong; I'm a devotee of the Mythos and I can see the point of creating despair within the gameplay. However, it seems to me that the title also has to deal with the fact that it is a video game and this must force it to create some fun, even if it is mixed with anguish. Fundamental Metroidvania titles, such as Super Metroid or Axiom Verge, achieve this. Here, Eshe is confronted with an unspeakable antagonism that doesn't want to say its name, breaking the mise en abyme: thus, elements such as the ultimate sacrifice lose their original power and the meaning it could have had in Lovecraft – not that he considered the idea of heroic sacrifice, though. Finally, it's a shame that the game only takes off during the third section, where movement becomes much more enjoyable (triple jump, dash, grapple). This also has to do with the much more understandable design of the Cathedral, unlike the first two thirds of the title, where the procedural creation of the rooms forces you to constantly look at your map: again, this is an idea that makes sense a priori, but it detracts from the fluidity of the experience. All of these little flaws undermine the potential of the game, which is sublime in its attempt. The efforts are really noticeable and one can only hope that the next game has learned from past mistakes.