Ultros (2024) [PC] review

Dead Cells meets Returnal in this vivid, psychedelic Metroidvania calling back to the 1970s with stunning neon visuals and a harrowing, orchestral soundtrack.

Throughout the multitude of distinct landscapes that have been brought to life over the course of video game history, Ultros has birthed an ecological masterpiece of art that distinguishes itself from anything else. It dares to do things differently in a genre that can easily play it safe, and ends up delivering more often than not. Let us discuss what to expect throughout this psychedelic setting known as The Sarcophagus!

From the moment the hero awakens, we find ourselves in a lush landscape full of parasites, spores, plants, and various kinds of foreign life. Every inch of this abundant spaceship is taken full advantage of down to the smallest details, such as their choice of font being written using bacterial patterns and brilliant line work. Traversing through each area provides a plentiful experience that spans across a variety of habitats, and Ultros takes this to a further level of immersion. Exploration transcends simple observation; you exist as an integral component of the environments. Your actions carry a significant and direct influence on the world around you throughout this 13-18 hour journey.

If the thought hasn’t occurred already, it won’t take much longer to discover that this is more than your standard Metroidvania. While the visuals are sprightly and busy, the combat systems take more of a simplistic, yet purposeful approach. The gameplay aspects are important to emphasize due to how significantly they will impact your experience while playing through Ultros. Button-mashing or hacking away at foes will be of little use here, because it’s in how delicately you fight that determines the benefits. Expanding your skill tree is only possible by eating the remains of your fallen enemies and gaining their nutrients to apply to your own personal growth. Since mindlessly slashing gets you a lower quality result, the amount of skill points rewarded will be drastically reduced. You’ll only be left with using the remains as healing and won’t have the necessary elements to unlock powerful Cortex abilities.

At the heart of Ultros lies a central premise: a narrative intricately woven around the concept of a time loop. Seven Shaman leaders are sealed away, containing a mysterious power that causes this continuum to occur. The only way out is to eliminate them in the comfort of their protective pods, discovering how each of the seven biomes are connected along the way and escaping the ship once and for all. Not only do you start each run in the opening area of Ultros, all of the abilities you unlocked in your skill tree also reset. However, certain measures can be implemented to mitigate this loss of progress, and Mnemonic Mycelium is one such solution. These can be placed on a skill of your choosing and enable the retention of a Cortex memory, preserving a previously unlocked skill from one loop to the next.

Accessing the map provides a detailed, hand-drawn outline of previously explored areas, allowing for easy identification during future runs. Distinct features like railings and platforms are intricately depicted, enabling swift recognition without constant reliance on guides or custom markers. Unexplored pathways are highlighted with a resonating purple hue along the wall’s edge which ensures comprehensive exploration, preventing oversight of any secrets and aids in 100% completion of the map. Traversing each area of this map is further enhanced by the haunting soundtrack, akin to something out of a Sci-Fi movie. Something about the dread you feel when traversing a new area or facing down a massive boss fight creates an extremely memorable exploration. The tone, instruments and aesthetic allows you to be reminded that you aren’t just playing in a world, but you’re living in it.

As mentioned earlier, combat and the methods used to carry it out play a pivotal role in the overall experience. But as you progress through Ultros, you may be a bit disappointed in learning that a “pacifist” approach takes center stage after your first few initial runs. Ultimately, Ultros is about interacting with its environment in a way that leaves a worthwhile impact, and this can be seen through the ten different types of seeds you gather. There are various spots in the soil to plant these seeds, directly impacting the environment and opening up new routes during each loop. Destroying industrial barriers, growing a hanging vine to swing on, and morphing into a tall tree are a few results of what comes from planting these seeds. This aspect is interesting at first, but it comes with some heavy downsides. Having more seeds planted does make it much easier to circumvent enemies with the connecting of statues, but in turn it eliminates most of the need for traveling around sections of the map you’ve already explored. Seeing as the only way to fast travel is to build out your own network with the seeds, I found myself having to choose between the tedious planting of the correct seeds in the correct spots, and redoing the same combats over and over. Additionally, finding more Mnemonic Mycelium allows a larger number of skills to be carried over between loops, further promoting the diminishing need for combat.

Simply put, Ultros is a genuinely bizarre yet interesting experience. The positives far outweigh the negatives and it doesn’t feel like it overstays its welcome at any point in the story. While some might not find themselves totally connecting with the execution of some of its themes, the overarching concept driving Ultros is a profound realization: you are an indispensable force, actively shaping and helping to sustain the very essence of the world around you.

We would like to thank Hadoque and Kepler Interactive for supplying us with a copy of Ultros for this review.

PIXEL PERFECT

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Hailing from the mitten state, Alex is a physical collector and gamer of all genres for over two decades. He has established himself in wedding videography and finance which he uses to help encourage others in forging their own path in remote work and full control over how far they can take their passions to support themselves and their families.