This review contains spoilers
Absorb me harder, daddy huuuuuuuungh. Boss fights were great, really made me sweat.
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Edit after completing the game again, with the added dlcs.
Yup, still great. Absorbtion/repelling timing feels forgiving enough and you can increase that timing with the help of traits. Depending on the build you decide to go with, traits can be hit or miss. I don't remember if I used traits as frequently during my first playthrough, as I did during my 2nd one. Pure resonance builds are cracked and can melt through boss health bars like nothing.
The boss design is excellent - every boss brings something new to the table and even if there's one reskin, it's still one of the toughest fights in the game. Same as any other metroidvania, there are abilities that can help you traverse the world in different ways. Abilities are also very frequently used in boss fights, so you can dodge easier or interrupt devastating enemy/boss attacks.
Putting a spoiler warning just because of ng+. At first, I felt it's gonna be one of those "uuuu enemy health pools increased and there are some new items somewhere wowie zowie". I was very VERY pleasantly surprised when the first boss (which I took down in 1 try), kicked my ass multiple times. That more or less counts for every ng+ boss. Yes, they all have something new to them (except the mini-bosses, which give you breath upgrades - they stay the same), but they're not all equal. Some of them ARE going to completely fuck your shit up and others get an extra projectile or something. I didn't fight ng+ Shidra, since I went for the weakness ending and then subsequently unlocked the remaining achievements.
The only negative I have about ng+ is the exact thing I was making fun off earlier - the maps, item placements or enemies haven't changed. Enemy patterns (maybe 60% of them) have changed, but the enemies themselves haven't. If you collected the weapons and armor pieces before starting a new cycle, you'll receive upgrade materials instead, which is good if you haven't explored everything beforehand, but personally I had more than enough stored up.
Still a 10/10 in my books, even if ng+ turned into a slog where I had to rush the bosses to get to the end quicker. It's not a replayable game.
EDIT 2: Played the new DLC, really pushed my platforming skills to the test and overall it was a fun little final DLC until grime 2 comes out. Great job, team.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit after completing the game again, with the added dlcs.
Yup, still great. Absorbtion/repelling timing feels forgiving enough and you can increase that timing with the help of traits. Depending on the build you decide to go with, traits can be hit or miss. I don't remember if I used traits as frequently during my first playthrough, as I did during my 2nd one. Pure resonance builds are cracked and can melt through boss health bars like nothing.
The boss design is excellent - every boss brings something new to the table and even if there's one reskin, it's still one of the toughest fights in the game. Same as any other metroidvania, there are abilities that can help you traverse the world in different ways. Abilities are also very frequently used in boss fights, so you can dodge easier or interrupt devastating enemy/boss attacks.
Putting a spoiler warning just because of ng+. At first, I felt it's gonna be one of those "uuuu enemy health pools increased and there are some new items somewhere wowie zowie". I was very VERY pleasantly surprised when the first boss (which I took down in 1 try), kicked my ass multiple times. That more or less counts for every ng+ boss. Yes, they all have something new to them (except the mini-bosses, which give you breath upgrades - they stay the same), but they're not all equal. Some of them ARE going to completely fuck your shit up and others get an extra projectile or something. I didn't fight ng+ Shidra, since I went for the weakness ending and then subsequently unlocked the remaining achievements.
The only negative I have about ng+ is the exact thing I was making fun off earlier - the maps, item placements or enemies haven't changed. Enemy patterns (maybe 60% of them) have changed, but the enemies themselves haven't. If you collected the weapons and armor pieces before starting a new cycle, you'll receive upgrade materials instead, which is good if you haven't explored everything beforehand, but personally I had more than enough stored up.
Still a 10/10 in my books, even if ng+ turned into a slog where I had to rush the bosses to get to the end quicker. It's not a replayable game.
EDIT 2: Played the new DLC, really pushed my platforming skills to the test and overall it was a fun little final DLC until grime 2 comes out. Great job, team.