I haven't heard of this game - but it looks super neat! I am a big fan of metroidvanias for their explore-and-reward gameplay loop, but I can probably count the number of games in this genre (sub-genre?) that use that gameplay loop to the advantage of the narrative. Animal Well is one that comes to mind, with its mysterious environmental storytelling encouraging a curious approach from the player. Some Metroids also do a good job of this. It sounds like this game might also fall into that basket. Great read!
I've heard good things about Animal Well. Need to get on that!
And yes: the exploration and the narrative are the same, I think. The way that you unlock new areas is very similar to Spiritfarer, actually, despite very different executions. Some unlocks are scripted, but you get some choice between those bigger moments. Just goes to show how ubiquitous this style of exploration has become haha
I haven't heard of this game - but it looks super neat! I am a big fan of metroidvanias for their explore-and-reward gameplay loop, but I can probably count the number of games in this genre (sub-genre?) that use that gameplay loop to the advantage of the narrative. Animal Well is one that comes to mind, with its mysterious environmental storytelling encouraging a curious approach from the player. Some Metroids also do a good job of this. It sounds like this game might also fall into that basket. Great read!
I've heard good things about Animal Well. Need to get on that!
And yes: the exploration and the narrative are the same, I think. The way that you unlock new areas is very similar to Spiritfarer, actually, despite very different executions. Some unlocks are scripted, but you get some choice between those bigger moments. Just goes to show how ubiquitous this style of exploration has become haha