Pseudoregalia is one of the best games I've played in a while. It's a rare combo of 3D platformer and metroidvania, and pretty much perfectly executes its vision of a game focused on fun, expressive platforming and freedom to explore a small but open world. The game's charming and authentic-feeling retro visuals, the blurry textures and hazy fog really capture the game's dream world setting. It's also got a great soundtrack that I never tired of listening to throughout the journey, and nails both the chill, atmospheric and catchy, energetic moods of the different areas.
The game's protagonist, Sybil, is one of the most fun characters I've ever played as! There's so much depth packed into her moveset to discover and each move you unlock synergizes nicely with your other moves. The jump kick is the star of the show, after a short time to understand how your approach angle and timing of the kick affects how you kick off the wall, it becomes such an expressive tool for navigating the world.
I love how the game embraces the non-linear nature of metroidvanias and lets you sequence break (whether on purpose or by accident), getting to areas earlier than intended makes your adventure feel unique and it's refreshing to see a smaller scoped game that really leans into exploration and giving the player a hands-off experience. I played the game after the map update, which likely made exploring a much smoother experience than it otherwise would have been. While the game's visuals are excellent, many rooms do not feel that distinct from each other with few landmarks, so it's easy to get lost. I didn't mind this too much, but it could be a sticking point for some.
The game's combat is pretty fun considering how much of the focus was on platforming. There's not a lot of enemy variety and most enemies don't pose much of a threat, but sections where enemies are pelting projectiles from a distance while you navigate up to them to take them out were particularly fun and suited the game's strengths better than one-on-one fights.
I also believe that Pseudoregalia improves on Hollow Knight's healing system. While both games allow you to accumulate magic by attacking enemies and healing by taking a moment to focus, Pseudoregalia provides a passive bonus to attack range and damage depending on how full you magic meter is. This provides a benefit to skilled players who avoid taking damage for long periods of time, without asking them to spend that magic on more powerful attacks. Hollow Knight's tradeoff of increased damage in exchange for less healing resources is interesting, but one I rarely went for, while Pseudoregalia's passive buffs felt more rewarding to me.
The final boss of the game was pretty fun, frantically dodging projectiles and melee attacks while trying to get a few hits in worked well. A final platforming gauntlet would have been a great send-off and would play more to the game's strengths, but the final boss was a good finale as it is.
The game's protagonist, Sybil, is one of the most fun characters I've ever played as! There's so much depth packed into her moveset to discover and each move you unlock synergizes nicely with your other moves. The jump kick is the star of the show, after a short time to understand how your approach angle and timing of the kick affects how you kick off the wall, it becomes such an expressive tool for navigating the world.
I love how the game embraces the non-linear nature of metroidvanias and lets you sequence break (whether on purpose or by accident), getting to areas earlier than intended makes your adventure feel unique and it's refreshing to see a smaller scoped game that really leans into exploration and giving the player a hands-off experience. I played the game after the map update, which likely made exploring a much smoother experience than it otherwise would have been. While the game's visuals are excellent, many rooms do not feel that distinct from each other with few landmarks, so it's easy to get lost. I didn't mind this too much, but it could be a sticking point for some.
The game's combat is pretty fun considering how much of the focus was on platforming. There's not a lot of enemy variety and most enemies don't pose much of a threat, but sections where enemies are pelting projectiles from a distance while you navigate up to them to take them out were particularly fun and suited the game's strengths better than one-on-one fights.
I also believe that Pseudoregalia improves on Hollow Knight's healing system. While both games allow you to accumulate magic by attacking enemies and healing by taking a moment to focus, Pseudoregalia provides a passive bonus to attack range and damage depending on how full you magic meter is. This provides a benefit to skilled players who avoid taking damage for long periods of time, without asking them to spend that magic on more powerful attacks. Hollow Knight's tradeoff of increased damage in exchange for less healing resources is interesting, but one I rarely went for, while Pseudoregalia's passive buffs felt more rewarding to me.
The final boss of the game was pretty fun, frantically dodging projectiles and melee attacks while trying to get a few hits in worked well. A final platforming gauntlet would have been a great send-off and would play more to the game's strengths, but the final boss was a good finale as it is.