Ever since I played Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, I’ve had a special place in my heart for Metroidvania games with a heavy Gothic art style. The recent have been great for this type of game with that particular style. Here’s where ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights comes into play. Currently in early access, ENDER LILIES is a 2D search action game that is a gem compared to other early access titles. Set to release on Steam and Switch on June 22 and PlayStation 4/5 on July 6, it is a title that fans of these types of games should be on the look out for. For the review, I was not able to get the full experience that it has to offer. However, I feel like I experienced enough of ENDER LILIES to form enough of an opinion to provide a score to this review. Once it is released I will go back and experience it fully. I’ll update this review if my opinions of the game changed during a full playthrough. Let us journey into the dark and raining world that is ENDER LILIES!
ENDER LILIES starts with the player taking control of Lily, a young girl who was awoken deep inside a church to meet her protector, an Umbral Knight who is set to guide her through this destroyed and ruined land. Upon leaving the church you find what remains of the land outside has been turned into a dark and gloomy wasteland thanks to rains that brought upon destruction and turned most things into undead monsters. Lily and the Umbral Knight travel across a rain-trenched wasteland to remove the blight from the world.
All Lilly can do by herself is pray; she doesn’t attack and she is a little bit on the slow side. I feel guilty every time I dodge with Lily, which causes her to fall right on her face. Aside from that, the combat is pretty fast-paced and the use of the different spirits you collect changes how players handle each encounter. You can experiment around with spirits to suit different play styles. Each spirit has a limited number of uses before you have to refill at a save point. The stronger the spirit, the fewer times it can be used. You can upgrade each spirit and that will increase every aspect of them. From what I played, each boss fight is interesting and unique. These encounters are difficult without being unfair. By the time I felt like I truly found the right team and started to fully master combat, the early access portion was over leaving me wanting more.
ENDER LILIES excels in the atmosphere created by both its music and visuals. I felt the same way playin both NieR games as I did playing this game. While it gave me a feeling of dread it also kept it fresh with a sense of mystery as I attempted to find out more about the devastated world. Each time an area boss is defeated the player is treated to their back story with amazing art. These cutscenes goes over their final moments before they were overcome by the madness that comes with the rain. I want to see what the backstory is for the Umbral Knight. I have a feeling I’m in for a whirlwind of emotions whenever I get the chance to experience it.
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights is shaping up to be a must-play for fans of the Metroidvania genre. Everything from its gameplay depth to its wonderful atmosphere will keep players enthralled as they attempt to make it to the next area. 2021 has been pretty strong for the genre with the recent release of titles such as Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonderland, and now with the upcoming release of ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights you’ll have a lot to keep you busy as you seek to unravel the mystery of this blighted world.
