ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist

Ender Magnolia is an excellent Metroidvania that exemplifies the best of what the genre has to offer. Its combination of tense combat, interesting worldbuilding, and memorable art style makes for a compelling experience that we’d highly suggest to anybody drawn to games such as Hollow Knight or Blasphemous. It's downbeat, but anyone who isn’t yet exhausted by Metroidvanias will find a lot to love here.

Despite my uncertainty, once I refreshed my memory of the first game, I concluded that Ender Magnolia, for any faults, is still just as good. It’s beautiful, challenging and truly expansive, featuring a huge world map to explore, as well as multiple endings. While I lament that the music wasn’t as evocative and the map was occasionally perplexing, this is still a most worthy adventure, if not one that fared better than the original.

Ender Magnolia is an excellent Metroidvania, that is definitely worth your time. Sure, you need a certain level of stress resistance when you come to the boss fights, but then again, who plays games because they’re cozy.

Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist may not reinvent the Metroidvania genre, but it beautifully nails its thesis. Its tale of dystopian despair unfurls with elegance, carried by characters as striking as they are melancholic, and gameplay that borrows wisely from the genre's titans. Like Lilac herself, Ender Magnolia blooms amid the mist.

For anyone who loved Ender Lilies, or enjoys Metroidvania games in general, Ender Magnolia is a must-play. It includes a good amount of exploration, a great story and beautiful hand drawn graphics.