It’s impossible not to be enchanted by the vortex of images and sounds created by Hadoque. In the 13 hours spent in the world of Ultros, our senses were subjected to incessant stimuli, thanks to scenarios that – at least from an artistic and compositional point of view – underline all the skill and mastery of an artist like Niklas “El Huervo” Akerblad , who actively participated in the development of the game, taking care of the art design. You can forgive us for the enthusiastic tone, but the artistic direction of Ultros is something of rare beauty.
More “traditional” – but no less worthy – is the playful part, belonging to a genre that over the years has managed to reinvent itself in more or less interesting ways (as in the case of Afterimage, a hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania). Ultros, in fact, leverages those natural instincts that made the fortune of the metroidvania: the desire to explore and know every corner of the map, not to dominate it, but to establish a connection with it. The pleasure of discovery and the continuous metamorphosis of mechanics lies at the basis of the core loop of the genre.
Ultros, the dormant mycelium
It all begins on the Sarcophagus, an imposing structure that serves as a uterus. Inside, the cosmic creature known as Ultros craves life. There are two reasons why we prefer not to go further: we think that works like these should be experienced firsthand and that any attempt at clarification is completely useless. Ultros’ narration is deliberately vague and difficult to understand but, just like our protagonist, it plants seeds giving rise to ideas and concepts.
Don’t expect to understand what’s happening on your first run, nor to pick up on the many philosophical references Hadoque has sprinkled throughout the game. By the studio’s own admission, Ultros is an invitation to reflect on the world and the connections that determine its complexity, bringing it closer to a treatise on monist doctrine than to a simple sci-fi story on acid. The external shell of the narrative is still usable, but it will be up to you to formulate the meaning of things.
In any case, the story of Ultros continues through time loops, each with the same goal: to eliminate the Shamans. These mysterious figures are scattered around the world in places that are difficult to access, and it is up to the player to figure out how to reach them.
A solid metroidvania
It goes without saying that level design is one of the most important aspects when approaching the genre, and here the Sarcophagus does not disappoint: the dense network of tunnels and secret passages is effectively balanced and exploration is not excessively chaotic, except for the first hours of the game where we will have to become familiar with the map.
As we progress through the adventure, we will come into possession of tools that allow us to reach previously inaccessible places. Some surfaces, for example, can be reached by planting a specific seed, which will grow a tree to jump on or an expanse of grass that increases the speed of movement, allowing us to make longer jumps or run on walls. The mechanics are interesting, both from a playful and narrative perspective, but not always perfect: some plants allow you to establish a connection with statues scattered around the game world, while the protagonist acts as an intermediary for this “flow” of energy. Moving too far away from the plant will result in the interruption of the aforementioned flow, with the player forced to go back. This mechanic is not always precise, since it is enough for the tree to have been planted a few centimeters behind for the connection to be interrupted before reaching the statue, but with a pinch of patience and precision the problem can be limited.
Nourishment and enhancements
The usefulness of seeds is not limited to exploration, but is essential to allow us to recover health and strengthen ourselves: some plants will give life to fruits rich in nutrients, essential for staying fit. Once we enter one of the many capsules scattered around, we will be able to access the cortex and unlock the various upgrades. Instead of using experience points, Hadoque has introduced a simple but elegant system that we can describe like this: each consumable increases one of the four enhancement bars and each unlockable skill requires a certain level of “nourishment”.
The more valuable the edible object, the greater the degree of nourishment. Once the desired ability has been unlocked, we can decide to apply a mnemonic stop that allows us to keep the upgrade even after passing the loop. Over the course of the adventure we managed to find enough to not lose any of the unlocked abilities, a design choice that gives players the opportunity to preserve their build and which we feel we can approve of.
The tools of the trade
In addition to the seeds, our best friend will be the extractor, a device connected to our avatar via a cable. After completing a loop, a specific function will be unlocked that will allow us to access previously inaccessible areas. They range from the double jump to the possibility of mowing down plants that block the passage, the latter can also be used in combat.
Hadoque has structured the combat system to make it fast and fluid, guaranteeing pleasant battle feedback without resulting in excessive complexity. In the first few hours your moveset will be limited, but a little later the number of attacks and movements will increase discreetly, making the fights increasingly dynamic. However, one thing must be clarified: Ultros is not a hard and pure action game. The variety of enemies is low and the boss fights can be counted on the fingers of one hand, a sign that Hadoque has preferred to give priority to exploration and the bond that is forming between the player and the environment. Anyone expecting an action-oriented title or with a deep combat system risks being disappointed. This doesn’t mean that the game doesn’t encourage the use of technique in combat: by performing varied combos, enemies will leave high-quality consumables as a reward. Given this premise, it will be completely natural to chain together attacks of various kinds, in the hope of obtaining a perfect takedown with light, heavy, overhead, sliding blows and more.
Sounds from deep space
If you are among those who fear excessive confusion on the screen, don’t worry: the studio, aware of the excessive number of details on the background, has thought well of integrating some functions that make the scene more readable. In fact, it will be possible to change the focus or saturation of the screen, an addition that we didn’t need but useful in case you have problems.
The icing on the cake is the soundtrack by Oscar Rydelius, a concentration of notes that blends well with the psychedelic atmosphere of Sarcophagus and which we can’t wait to listen to again. The pieces are not numerous, but the fact that some have remained in our heads after days is a sign of the good work done by the composer: sweet accompaniments based on violin and piano that alternate with electronic pieces, with samples that seem to imitate the sounds of nature. A distant, cosmic and, in some ways, mysterious nature.