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Aeterna Noctistakes theelements that define Metroidvaniasand Soulikes , and conflate them together in a extremely conventionalized package . Developer and publisher Aeternum Game Studio S.L. is not shy about its brainchild either , as the dark fantasy and anime aesthetics unapologetically screamCastlevania . Aeterna Noctisalso ready a solid attack to bring home the bacon the same kind of precise and ambitious gameplay , but it struggle to do so with eubstance .
The opening cinematics establish the earth ofAeterna Noctisas one of aeonian war between the Queen of Light and the King of Darkness . Both attempted to pitch the cosmic balance in their favor but Chaos , Aeterna ’s Godhead , anathemize them with immortality in an attempt to maintain said equilibrium . However , this selfish battle between the King and Queen has caused the world below them to endure , something the King of Darkness is forced to experience after being defeated and cast down once again .
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Players take restraint of the King of Darkness who , like in any skillful Metroidvania , has just been shoot down and stripped of his powers . Players will lento recover these abilities throughout the roughly 20 - hour journey and interact with the science tree to create a slightly custom shape , though it ’s nothing too intricate . The first level of upgrades is combat focused and give the option to increase things like overall impairment or higher chance of decisive equipment casualty ; and having these devotee are wonderful because fighting is n’t as substantial as it feel like it should be .
It ’s not that it feel bad needfully , but combat inAeterna Noctisfeels inconsistent and a bit sluggish at time . For example , there arelarger axe - maintain enemiespretty early on that can sweep their ax faster than the musician can swing their sword , which often results in getting hit without much of a chance to avoid the approach . This is a uniform issue that is often frustrative , but not enough to completely ruin the histrion ’s experience , as some will likely align well than others .
Similarly , the platforming inAeterna Noctisis just as frustrating . This is primarily an outlet in dungeons and secret areas , where there are a flock of moving obstruction with big hitboxes , or small political program with a flock of space between them . Aeterna Noctisdoesn’t provide a flavour of total aura control or trajectory in the way that something likeBlue Fire ’s precise platformingdoes . Moving obstacle are the master culprit in this regard thanks to their seemingly large hitboxes that leave very little time or space for the thespian to navigate . This will likely be the main cause of death for many players and will quickly stick in them toAeterna Noctis ' Soulslike component .
outdoors of the difficultness relate with both genres , Aeterna Noctisutilizes some specific elements such as the balefire and reclaim mechanics . In this case , the " bonfire " is a throne that will appear in certain places for the King to roost on , to kick upstairs ability and dissolute travel to other thrones . Interestingly , thrones will respawn enemy in surrounding areas rather than the one that they reside in . Thegame’sDark Souls - style death mechanicwill also experience quite conversant because whenever the player die , all their money , potion , and other objects will be provide behind with only one hazard to reclaim them .
Overall , Aeterna Noctisis a solid experience with some notable flaws that are n’t softwood - breakers , but could decidedly benefit from a morsel more refinement . What it does do quite well is find where its two genres intersect and craft a existence and gameplay loop that highlight them quite well . For fan of these sort of plot , Aeterna Noctisis definitely worth picking up .
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Aeterna Noctisreleases on December 15 for Xbox Series X and Series S , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Nintendo Switch , and Microsoft Windows . Screen Rant was provided with a digital Steam download code for the use of this reassessment .
