So, there are two Metroidvanias whose demos I was impressed by during Steam Next Fests earlier this year, and the first is
Gestalt: Steam & Cinder. With how late in the year it is without a more specific date, and how long this one has been around already, I highly doubt it's actually coming in 2023 like the Steam page says, to say the least. But the demo I played
did feel like the beginning of a polished game rather than a trimmed down vertical slice or a proof of concept. It seems like one of those games that's been delayed year after year, to the point where I imagine folks following it from the start have no hope in it ever coming out anymore, but what I played sure didn't
feel like vaporware.
It begins with your obligatory Metroidvania backstory about corruption this and dying world that. Then I'm a sick steampunk cowgirl (or maybe pirate?) fighting robots and rescuing lost corgis. They recognize that the most important aspect of being like Symphony of the Night is having a cool animation for your clothes and hair when running.
Unlike many newer games in the genre, it's not too punishing, with plenty of ways to recover health and a reasonable amount of damage dealt by enemies. You could think of it as an alternate evolutionary path from Symphony of the Night that went in a slower, tankier direction much like Metroid Prime did from Super Metroid. Slowness is not the sort of thing I usually like, but in today's climate of Metroidvania protagonists made of tissue paper, this feels like a breath of fresh air. The difficulty can very easily make exploration a slog in other games.
And while it's not a tight and agile platformer, the gameplay still very much delivers. It puts a little more of the "RPG" into action RPG, while at the same time acknowledging its platformer side by making excellent use of enemies in its level design, placing them in locations and combinations that make their unique traits a problem. Think the spacing and high ground enemy dynamics of Rondo of Blood, or the nasty enemy combinations of DKC2. Stronger foes work around a break meter vaguely similar to Xenoblade's combat system. But like, straightforward and understandable.
The lead designer directly credits Rondo and Symphony, and even said the game was an attempt to answer the question of what it would look like if Chrono Cross and Xenogears-era Square had made a game inspired by Castlevania. But despite this it feels somehow distinctly "western" to me in its gameplay and visual language. I feel like there are few good western platformers that aren't flavored like a Japanese platformer, so it was interesting to experience. Here's hoping it's actually going to come out.
Right, is this how this works? “Please add this to the calendar xghost777!”
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