Ultros blend psychadelia and sci-fi into a compelling metroidvania

thesixthaxis.com:

Humans are an inherently visual-led species. Sure, we can be enticed by our other senses – the sound of a van pulling up when you’re expecting a delivery, the smell of freshly baked goods, and then their taste – but it’s seeing something that so often overrides the rest. It’s really no surprise, then, that Ultros’s art style and the work of El Huervo leaps off the screen and immediately draws you in.

The bright colours of Ultros and its place in the metroidvania genre absolutely call to mind the similarly bright and colourful Guacamelee, but there’s a totally different and much more psychadelic tone to the visuals that you find here. It effortlessly blends together alien flora and fauna with the cracked and decaying remains of what appears to be a once opulent civilisation, but where that could be rendered in shades of grey, brown and boring, here the screen is flooded with deep blues, purples, and greens. It’s more colourful than a harlequin’s tunic. Contrast this to the sombre, tender feeling soundtrack, and it’s a uniquely absorbing blend.

There’s a thoroughly alien and initially unknowable feel to Ultros as you wake up on The Sarcophagus and start to explore this strange ship. Movement is pretty much as you would expect from a metroidvania, but with a sense of weight as you gradually pick up speed when you set off running, and have to clamber up to reach higher ledges. But there’s also a slick athleticism when you need it in combat. Timing dodges to signalled attacks will lead to slick counter attacks, while jumping allows for a spin attack that will slice through aerial foes. If the core platforming is measured and with relatively slow pace, the combat is similarly measured, but with flashes of speed.

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