A Mind-Bending Universe with Vibrant Colors, This Metroidvania Takes You Flying- Ultros, PC Review

gamesreviews.com:

One of the most visually stimulating games of the year, Ultros delivers the most unique and unexpected twist on the Metroidvania genre. Developed by Hadoque and published by Kepler-Interactive, you’ll only experience this psychedelic, vibrant, narrative Metroidvania once, but will want to keep coming back to replay it again.

This game took me back to when I was a little girl and I had owned a kaleidoscope. You know when you’d stare into it for a long time, turning the tube to change the patterns, and just by turning it a few times, you would be enveloped into its charm and become mesmerized by its wondrous patterns and colors. If you owned one too, then you should understand me. Ultros became my kaleidoscope for the duration of my gameplay and I became enchanted by the spell it had put on me.

Story: 

You begin the game on a vessel where you wake up from a dream, without your memories intact, surrounded by insects, terrain and statues. Everything at this moment is a mystery to you, and unknown to us, what exactly happened and why your character is in dire need to leave. We eventually discover that we are trapped in a time-loop, on a ship that is shaped as a uterus. One of the NPCs even says that while he can no longer leave, you still have a chance to. The game does a fascinating job unraveling the answers to the questions we have along the journey, all in due time and with each new cycle within the time-loop, more lore about the story of the game is unraveled to you.

Gameplay: 

The gameplay style of this game is different from other Metroidvanias. Actually, it is more on the obscure side if you think about how the main character advances in this game. The game entails an upgradable chart where you unlock various upgrades, such as a wall jump, a longer slide, or stronger attacks and a higher health bar. However, in order to do this, you must eat insects that give you delicious nutrition. The higher the quality, the more you upgrade your status bars and