Binary Haze Interactive’s debut title, ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights, is now in Early Access, with the first few levels being available to players. Not long ago, we gave our first impressions of ENDER LILIES, based on a build of the game that was slightly less refined than what players can access on January 21st.
Now, Binary Haze Interactive has supplied Game Rant with an updated version of the game that runs more closely to what players can expect from the Early Access version of ENDER LILIES. It’s still only the first few levels, but we have also had more time with ENDER LILIES now and can delve a little deeper into what makes the upcoming title tick.
Before, we focused mostly on the games that may have inspired ENDER LILIES and the Metroidvania genre that it inhabits. With this preview, one of the most interesting systems that takes this game to a whole new level over others within the genre is the Spirit mechanic that drives combat and rewards exploration, really making it stand out as a Metroidvania.
Spirits are obtained by defeating special boss monsters, often times a mini-boss that might be hidden somewhere around a level, or even the more impactful main bosses that are defeated as a part of the story. Whenever one of these Spirits is found and defeated, then the player character Lily will purify them and bring them on as a companion to be used in battle. This essentially means that in order to learn a new attack, the player has to fight a powerful enemy that embodies the ability before equipping it similar to Ori and the Will of the Wisps' combat abilities.
In a way, the mini-bosses especially wind up acting as a tutorial on how to use the attack, showing off the functionality of the ability by using it one the player. The main bosses, which there are three of available in the ENDER LILIES Early Access so far, are slightly different, in that they not only give a new ability for combat, but also for traversal. Additionally, as players would expect from Metroidvania bosses, these primary boss encounters are much harder and much more involved than the smaller mini-bosses that only reward new combat abilities.
The result of this Spirit mechanic is not only a series of rewarding bosses, but also a large amount of customization that is only really given to the players that bother to explore the world. However, exploring the entire world of ENDER LILIES isn’t exactly the most difficult thing for players familiar with the genre, considering how many quality-of-life advantages the game gives. In some cases, it almost comes off as hand-holding, but many of these mechanics are the type that many players will find useful on their trek through the game.
It’s really the map, combined with the overall design of these opening few levels, that throws off some of the core concepts that players generally expect from a Metroidvania. First of all, the map itself immediately shows players how many exits there are from each room and roughly where they are located. Additionally, much of what is available in the Early Access version of the game is extremely linear, with some paths being locked until specific abilities allow the player through, but little in the way of an interconnecting map.
That being said, each individual Metroidvania inspired room in ENDER LILIES is well designed on its own, with a few standing out as having been considerably impressive to explore through. One room in the Coven, an area on the southern end of the map, has a puzzle that drip feeds information about how to solve it as the player explores. Chasing after enemies will lead the player to a locked door with a treasure behind it, and chasing another group will give a hint of where the switch for the door is. The key to solving the puzzle is by dropping from an area that ordinarily wouldn’t seem important unless players had already seen that the switch was underneath while exploring before.
Another room is more about the Metroidvania-styled enemies encountered within it, as opposed to being a puzzle that needs to be solved, or a door that needs to be unlocked. In this room, the player has to descend blindly down a series of platforms in a long, vertical shaft, with spellcasting enemies placed periodically throughout. This places the player at a serious disadvantage that it is then up to them to overcome, making for a harrowing trip downward with seemingly no end in sight.
So, while the overall layout of the world so far is somewhat contained into a series of linear paths, the individual rooms clearly make up for the current lack of interconnectedness. It is also entirely possible that the only reason the paths seem so linear now is because ENDER LILIES is still currently in Early Access and the full map isn’t available to explore. However, the game does still capture the excitement of the Metroidvania genre’s bosses, easily one of the most important aspects of these types of games.
One boss in particular, Dark Witch Eleine, is surprisingly difficult, especially in comparison to the other fights available in the Early Access version. Players may want to take her on last, as she is easily the hardest and most Soulslike boss in these early few hours of the game that are available. However, her attack patterns are well telegraphed and can be dealt with, as long as the player is fighting thoughtfully and doesn’t take too many unnecessary risks.
Finally, to touch on some issues faced during the first impression, none of the bugs that appeared either when fighting or being killed by bosses showed up after the update and the game runs smoothly now, even on lower-end devices. Additionally, we mentioned that it felt strange to have momentum halted when attacking with the Umbal Knight while in the air. It should be noted that this feels a lot less clunky with other Spirits, especially the ones that take a second or two before the actual strike occurs.
While the loss of momentum with the faster Spirit is awkward at first, it can be useful in combat, especially when fighting flying enemies. So, it’s a mechanic that does have a payoff if players can adapt to it and use the function to its fullest. Altogether, ENDER LILIES is a solid experience, even when the Early Access version can feel like its Metroidvania-lite at times.
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights is in early access.