It's both ridiculous and sad that Gamefreak haven't made a Pokemon game as good as this in nearly 30 years, whereas this is Capcom's second outing at the monster catching and battling genre type thing.

Impressive step up from the first game both visually and naratively, the gameplay has rarely changed though but that isn't really a bad thing at all as it gives a very nice loop. Again, similar to Pokemon in that regard.

I also beat this game with a very buff Lagiacrus in my end team, please come back my son.

very solid 3D Metroidvania visually inspired by something like Castlevania 64 with some nice 3D movement mechanics that use the sort of multidimensionality having complex jumping mechanics allows for well. because of the limited development time, it's a bit straining at the edges in some ways (it would be nice to have fast travel!) and some obligatory stuff (i.e. two boss battles, some of the enemies feel just kind of pointless even when they're funny) just really don't need to be there and don't add anything. the game starts also slow, and the movement can get pretty frustrating in the late game depending on when you unlock certain abilities. but i don't think those detract too much for me at the end of the day for what it is. and it doesn't outstay its welcome at all. i honestly felt the 8 hours i spent was the perfect length and am not sure i would like a larger experience as much.

my main complaint is i just wish the game was a bit weirder and more creative in other aspects other than the movement. beyond that it's a pretty straight Metroidvania, and i have major Metroidvania fatigue at this point that all the different games i've played in this genre started to sort of blend together. a lot of aspects just felt a little safe for me for a developer who clearly felt confident enough to explore something a little different with the movement, and that feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to me. generally i am frustrated by how many indie games with one kind of interesting aesthetic or idea will play it super straight and safe otherwise and cover well trod territory when they seem to demonstrate the ability to do otherwise.

but yeah, still a very solid experience overall and one of the better Metroidvanias i've played in recent times.