Gestalt: Steam & Cinder

All in all, if you like action platformers, you’ll love Gestalt: Steam and Cinder. It’s a shorter affair, to be sure, but it explodes with love for the genre, and the developers have put a lot of heart and soul into crafting a world and story that is both equal parts fun and tense to explore. My nitpicks with the game aside, Gestalt was an extremely enjoyable experience and is definitely on a list of games I’ll replay from time-to-time. I’m excited to see where Metamorphosis Games takes the series in the future, and hope for plenty more adventures of Aletheia to come.

It turns out I’m an absolute sucker for a well-crafted metroidvania. Crunchy combat, smooth progression, and gorgeous aesthetics all keep me locked in place for a complete playthrough. It took ages to get a grip on that bloody dodge-roll, but I eventually got there. Also, the bosses too often felt either padded out or pointlessly dense. It never felt like they hit that balance. But the rest of the experience was so compelling, I didn’t mind that much. If you’re in the market for a pretty excellent metroidvania, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder has got your number.

I'm glad that Gestalt: Steam & Cinder has made significant progress compared to the demo I tried a long time ago, because it would have been a shame to waste such beautiful pixel art on a mediocre game. At the same time, however, what we have in front of us is a "only" good Metroidvania: a valid product, therefore, for fans of the genre and also for those who are simply intrigued by it, but it certainly won't make you forget about Silksong.

Ultimately, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a game that will likely appeal to fans of the genre, especially those who appreciate strong art direction and well-designed worlds. If you can accept that this game is short and far from perfect, chances are you'll love it.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a good metroidvania with a healthy dose of interesting characters and dialogue. When it comes to combat and exploration it's fun, and while bosses can be a bit easy, it's never boring. Short and ideal to get started in the genre.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a gorgeous-looking metroidvania title with smooth controls and a deep story. It’s a bit short to play through, but it is an enjoyable experience.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a superb first impression from Metamorphosis Games. It doesn't revolutionize the 2D Metroidvania genre, but it creates an interesting world and offers action-packed gameplay with good challenge. However, there are a few issues with combat that need tweaking, and the presentation falls short in certain aspects when it comes to getting players invested. As well as a shop system that can be entirely ignored relatively easily.

Despite a few odd design choices, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is an enjoyable Metroidvania with an intriguing world, and exhilarating combat.

The narrative and its lack of ambition separate it from the best of the genre, but taking that aside, the gears of Gestalt: Steam & Cinder are perfectly placed and give rise to a metroidvania that is as solid as it is recommendable.

A fantastically polished Metroidvania, with some of the best 16-bit style graphics ever seen and impressively deep combat and role-playing elements.

I can’t help but wonder how much better Gestalt would have turned out with a couple more months in the oven. From the story to the combat to player progression, every aspect of actually playing the game feels more than a couple of iterations short of reaching the magnificent polish of the visuals. That being said, for scratching the occasional Metroidvania itch, Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is a worthwhile eight-hour investment.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder has all the things that make a good metroidvania; even though it doesn’t take many risks, it has a solid floor and a well balanced gameplay. The story stops the flow of the game a few times, but the great combat, exploration and progression compensates it.

Although it falters in the storytelling department, it is a short but enjoyable steampunk adventure with its exquisite graphics and successful use of the essentials of the metroidvania genre.

One of the most eagerly awaited independent metroidvanias of recent years, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder stands out for its excellent combat system, with a huge and diverse skill tree for the powerful protagonist Aletheia, and for its steampunk setting, rich in detail. The title developed by Metamorphosis Games, however, squanders its own potential with an excessive focus on a story that, although promising at first glance, turns out to be drawn out, distant and full of expository dialog and characters lacking in charisma. Despite the neat gameplay, good soundtrack and beautiful art direction, the title doesn't reach the level of the best games in the genre, whether classics from the past or more recent releases.

However, the vast majority of my time was not spent wading through inscrutable dialogue. It was spent exploring a diverse steampunk world, mastering the surprisingly rich combat, and filling out the smartly-designed skill tree. Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is a joyful journey into nostalgic metroidvania action, and a great start for a potential franchise.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a good metroidvania for those wanting a middle-of-the-road metroidvania. Its steampunk aesthetic makes for a gorgeous and audibly delightful tale, its combat is as fluid as it they come, but my biggest concern is that it doesn’t take a big swing in innovation or set itself apart from other metroidvanias in a big way.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Gestalt: Steam & Cinder! It has a story that left me a little frustrated by the end, but the way there was full of good mechanical writing, solid character development, and a healthy amount of proper noun-led mystery world-building. The top-shelf visual quality cannot be understated, with incredibly detailed and well-animated 2D art that can hang with the classics easily. And while combat was the messiest part, there was still fun to be had running around the world, fighting weird enemies and using skills and combos powered by cool animations. I would definitely keep paying attention to Metamorphosis Games, especially if there’s more stories to come from this world in particular.

A typical Metroidvania, with an emphasis on storytelling and pixel-art graphics, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder quenches the insatiable thirst of fans of the genre, but it doesn't impress anywhere.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a charming metroidvania with a unique world that's ultimately undone by its overstuffed and underwhelming storytelling.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder looks and plays the part of a competent action game. However, its heart lies more in its narrative. While I admire the ambition, Gestalt left me asking, both as a game and as a story, one simple question: “so what?”.

Gestalt is finally released, but unfortunately, it only meets the bare minimum to be considered a metroidvania. Platforming is very basic and both the combat and enemy behavior feels dated and perfunctory.