- Publisher: Sold Out , Fireshine Games
- Release Date: Jul 16, 2024
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jul 19, 2024However, 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.
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Jul 15, 2024Gestalt: 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.
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Jul 15, 2024Overall, 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.
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Jul 20, 2024A 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.
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Jul 15, 2024Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a charming metroidvania with a unique world that's ultimately undone by its overstuffed and underwhelming storytelling.
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Aug 7, 2024Gestalt: 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?”.
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Jul 16, 2024Gestalt 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.
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Jul 15, 2024Though it has the bones of a winning action platformer, the game contorts them in submission to the trappings of the Metroidvania genre.
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Aug 19, 2024Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a video game with very ambitious intentions and achieves some interesting things. The combat is appealing and agile, the progression keeps you entertained, and the artistic and sound design are good. However, its biggest bet is the narrative, and there it falls down in the way it tells it. If you don't mind the second part, you'll have a good time with this metroidvania.