Ultros Review: "An Utterly Original DMT-Infused Metroid Fever Dream"

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The Sarcophagus drifts through space, a thrumming celestial ark with a mysterious deity at its thunderous center. Fighting the creatures in Hadoque’s gorgeous debut feels recognizable in generalized metroidvania genre terms, but this eventually takes a backseat to a most unusual gameplay core: landscaping and nurturing the curious flora within the massive spacecraft. It’s a sizable twist in a genre which often prioritizes combat, but it’s a compelling and encompassing experiment; once the game’s intricate narrative and expectations become apparent, players may find that they don’t even need a sword to succeed.

Immediately recognizable on starting up the game is the work of Niklas Åkerblad, popularly known as “El Huervo,” a visual artist and musician who rose to considerable fame following his iconic contributions to the series, though he’s also featured in various other releases over the past decade. So has Oscar Rydelius a/k/a Ratvader, ' lead composer, whose evocative and intimate orchestral work infuses every corridor of the ship with eerie majesty.

Ultros is way more than meets the eye.

It’s hard not to explore and describe each member of the development team, primarily because their finished work has the feel of a highly coherent collaborative endeavor. From the quasi-transcendentalist text and dialogue to the bizarrely beautiful, sometimes unpredictable overgrowth of its plant life, is a haunting interactive experience which also feels warmly personal at the same time.

casts players as Ouji, a mute interstellar samurai who manifests unarmed on The Sarcophagus. Initial explorations reveal the size and scale of the ship, whose halls extend into different biomes throbbing with squishy neon-colored forests and dangerous creatures. Ouji can jump, slash, and slide through small spaces, with additional abilities available to unlock after resting in spherical chamber checkpoints dotted throughout each area. Instead of XP, the game’s modest skill tree is satisfied by