My bally pursuance to kill a antic demon is about to arrive at its flood tide when I stop to do a bit of intergalactic gardening . Testing out a cryptic new tool I received , I burn out a comfort of blue accelerator at a hanging vine . At first , I ’m confuse as all I can seemingly do is slightly change the direction it ’s growing in . That ’s when I accidentally direct it into a pool of aureate liquidity . Suddenly , vines sprout out in every centering , cutting through the substance like a fresh grown nervous system . After wonder at the wonders of nature , I lodge my handy shovel drone into the wall and completely root out my creation , turn it back into a childlike seed .
Birth . dying . Rebirth .
That simple loop powersUltros , astylish new Metroidvaniaby developer Hadoque , like a healthy marrow locked behind a perverted rib coop . Once I weed through its dense sci - fi lore and overcomplicated gameplay system , I set out to get wind a more digestible spiritual journey about the unknowable cycles/second of life sentence and expiry . get there can be a frustrative journey , though;Ultrosis a confusing labyrinth of ideas that I still find myself a small lost in even now .
A psychedelic trip
InUltros , I take on the persona of an cosmonaut in a dodgy red pelage who crash - body politic on a monolithic watercraft , The Sarcophagus . I apace learn that the ship does n’t just house corridors full of colourful plant life , but also a unholy entity known as Ultros . To vanquish it , I ’ll need to hunt down seven priest-doctor , taking a different technical power from them that ’ll avail unlock unexampled biomes on the ship . To make subject more complicated , all of this is come about in a disgraceful gob . At key points in the story , the intact wheel begin anew . I ’m in a perpetual round of rebirth .
It ’s like I ’m research the interior of a human body .
The floor be given intohard sci - fi , with a story so wrap up up in its own extraterrestrial worldbuilding that it feels like read a different language altogether . Like a lot of thing in the game , it can be unmanageable to in full get the picture what ’s die on even after the credits wave . gratefully , Ultros ’ more distinctly communicate through its art design and gameplay organisation — even if its most creative swings make the adventure feel even more obtuse .
What like a shot stick out here isUltros ’ astonishing art style . Inspired by the clear-cut work of French artist Moebius , The Sarcophagus is a psychedelic tripper that ’s unlike any digital earthly concern I ’ve ever explored . Each 2D elbow room is fulfil to the brim with colorful details , from gnarled insects with row of gnashing tooth to vibrant industrial plant life that intermingles with decay alien architecture . It ’s a distinct mix of organic and otherworldly ; it ’s like I ’m exploring the inside of a human body that shut out down at the conclusion of each cycle .
That ’s every bit matched by composer El Huervo ’s positively mesmerizing musical score . Like the art style , it ’s a copious soundscape of textures that clear traditional cosmic string and woodwind instrument vocalise like they ’re beam in from another planet . Everything inUltrosfeels alien and disorienting at first glance . The more I strip back the layer , though , the more I find conversant DNA under alien physique . It pulls me back into the humanist themes during moments where it feel like I ’m drift in space .
Struggling to reinvent
While that aesthetic flair is its greatest posture , it ’s the first of many areas whereUltros ’ bold creative swings have some unfortunate side result . With so much detail on - screen , I often clamber to figure out what I can interact with or where I ’m hypothesise to go . I end up spending too much time in menus as I attempt to parse a complicated function that does n’t offer much in the way of guidance tips . I often find myself lost , but not in the right agency .
[ Ultros ] has trouble nailing down the fundamentals of the Metroidvania before pulling them asunder .
alas , that ’s a core trouble that can make trouble for a genre that hinges on freeform exploration . As aMetroidvania , Ultros ’ complicated design twists often disrupt an elegant 2D activity - adventure rule . That ’s especially ostensible in its meter - loop twist . Every time the bike begins again , I have to retrace my steps to observe a weapon and regain all my powers ( include a double start ) . I also lose every unlocked superpower on my skill “ pallium . ” While I can find hidden detail that for good lock upgrades in piazza , each new cycle inevitably go with some redundant backtracking . It ’s a thematically good idea that fancy its orbitual nature , but one that doubles down on the most slow part of the genre .
The wider problem is that Hadoque has hassle nailing down the fundamentals of the Metroidvania before pulling them apart . While I get my hand on some creative major power - ups , like a buzzsaw drone pipe that can veer through dangerous foliage , I ’m not always sure how to use them . My digging drone hardly gets used in any practical puzzle or exploration context . When I do use it to uproot flora , I skin to grasp how exactly I need to put it to decent draw in a source out of the ground .
Both that and the unclear visual invention makes exploration a pain too , which is a deadly hell for the genre . When I bump into a utter end , I ’m often not even sure what the roadblock is . I lose that Metroidvania joy oftaking genial note of an obstacleand have a eureka moment when I discover the novel pecker that can act as a key to that lock . More often than not , any find I make is an accident that occurs while I ’m aimlessly double back the same corridors as I attempt to find my way to the next priest-doctor .
All of this was compounded by some frustrating bugs in my playthrough . Some delicate walls would n’t properly break when I smashed them , forcing me to recharge my save and try again . An excessively glutinous rampart startle work upright platforming through narrow expiration into a incubus . At some point , I ’m not even able-bodied to tell what jump out I ’m supposed to be able-bodied to make and which ones I ’m not . That led to at least one office where I apparently broke into a section of the grade I was n’t theorize to get into and spent 10 minutes wandering around disordered before realizing I ’d worked my way into a utter end .
At the very least , Ultrosdoes offer some creative 2D armed combat in spite of stiff apparent movement . I can use my slashes to hoodwink enemies in the melody and even launch them into others for extra damage . It become old eventually due to a diminished handful of enemy that do n’t call for much scheme aside from dashing behind shields , but it ’s an orbit where the stylish art works in concert with some equally loud action .
Out in the garden
Ultrosis much more successful when it ’s focussed on its most unique aspect : horticulture . Throughout my journey , I can implant seeds in patches of soil to grow plants . That launch the doorway for some clever puzzling , as I can create a mushroom platform to reach a far - off shelf or farm jaundiced grass on a wall that I can run on . The long - term pleasure of it come from meet the ship up with industrial plant life , transforming The Sarcophagus into a live planet .
The second one-half ofUltrosbecomes a much more compelling puzzler platformer …
Like a lot of other systems , horticulture can be confusing . It ’s not abysmally clear which cum do what . eat plants and other alien parts also raises up some stats that allow me to unlock skills , but that ’s never well excuse either . Most pass - scrape of all is a recent game power - up that allows me to wed plants together . It ’s a peachy idea , but it ’s one that I only ever necessitate to habituate once , to come along the story . I end the escapade not really sympathise how it all works .
Even with those practical job , garden still winds up being the most compelling facial expression ofUltros . It ’s not just a beautiful visual , but a clean metaphor for its philosophic themes . I ’m constantly bringing new life to the ship , one described as a “ cosmic uterus ” ( really driving the point home as clear as day ) . When I turn over up a plant , it becomes a seed that I can replant once again . Death is only one phase of life inUltros ; there ’s always desire that the cycle can begin afresh .
Its most powerful moment derive from the one gameplay twist that does n’t have an asterisk attached . Midway through the account , I wind up in some kind of cosmic blank space within the ship . There , I unlock the ability to string plant and other key object like spare pods together by running vines between them . The second half ofUltrosbecomes a much more compellingpuzzle platformerwhere I ’m linking the total world into one raw meshing , unlock room access and immobile travel points as I go . It ’s an oddly moving visual , one that state that all life is in some fashion link up .
Though I often feel misplace and thwarted inUltros ’ alien world , I ’m never alone . I can always hold on to the promise that I ’m part of something bigger even if I do n’t understand it . Perhaps I ’ll be converted into the ecosystem when I die , my flesh turn into soil for an alien Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that ’ll keep growing and produce ejaculate with each wheel . The universe is always expanding in Ultros , and so too am I.
Ultroswas test on PC and Steam Deck .
