Jul 09, 2017 Environmental Station Alpha (short ESA) is one of the most content-rich metroidvania's I've played, but also one of the most frustrating. In terms of difficulty, only An Untold Story is harder, and harder only in the sense of the platforming skills required, when it. Environmental Station Alpha is an action adventure platformer with a retro aesthetic and heavy emphasis on exploration. In the game the player controls a robot sent to investigate a mysterious, abandoned space station with the mission to find out what exactly took place there.
This game went under everyone's radar, probably because it has NES-style pixel graphics. Or maybe the low price convinced players it doesn't This game went under everyone's radar, probably because it has NES-style pixel graphics. Or maybe the low price convinced players it doesn't have a lot of content. Don't let the simplicity fool you, this is the best designed Metroid-like game of the 2010s.
Well I guess Hollow Knight does some things better, but it doesn't have the aforementioned NES graphics which make a huge difference in gameplay, in terms of navigation and finding secrets. Just be warned the game is pretty hard. It was designed with experienced Metroid players in mind. The bosses will frustrate you, some room traversal challenges are brutal, and you are expected to find false walls to progress. (However on that latter point, you don't have to randomly shoot every block looking for secrets.
There are visual/environmental cues.) But this genre is notorious for having awfully designed bosses (look at Axiom Verge, or Iconoclasts for examples), so ESA is still much better in that regard. The music is great too, directly inspired by Metroid. So if you like this genre, and you haven't played ESA, try this one. It's exemplary. Amazing, hard (in a good way) metroid game with post-game secrets that rival La-mulana in the level of convoludedness.
It's a great game just Amazing, hard (in a good way) metroid game with post-game secrets that rival La-mulana in the level of convoludedness. It's a great game just as metroid-clone with good level-design and boss-design, but post-game mind-bending secrets elevates it to another level. I have infinite respect every game that put so much work in stuff that most people wouldn't even find. A low-res Metroidvania with some very clear Metroid influence in it, don't let this game fool you. It may look somewhat simplistic, but the A low-res Metroidvania with some very clear Metroid influence in it, don't let this game fool you. It may look somewhat simplistic, but the game is deep with many layers to discover, secrets scattered everywhere. I do have some issue with it.
It felt like it was dropping some inputs now and then (and I confirmed that when scrolling the map, it would just ignore some inputs there). There's some issues with the risk/reward balance, such as diminishing returns on health tanks - no matter what order you pick them up in. Some of the end game items, however, are exceptionally powerful, but can be a real challenge to get. There's some multi-form bosses that are more tedious than challenging, because they can't be too difficult if you're expected to do so many phases on one life bar. And, despite the low-res graphics, the screens can be really busy where it's difficult to tell what's foreground, what's background, and what's an enemy.
It may sound like I didn't like the game, but quite the opposite. The flaws are flaws, but the game as a whole is a fantastic experience that i highly recommend any metroidvania lover play. It's not a perfect game, but it's a worthy addition to any collection.
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