60%PC

A slightly above-average Metroidvania. The level design is rather boring, and the time-stopping mechanic isn't used for much other than making bosses easier and stopping time to use enemies as platforms. I wish more had been done with this mechanic.

90%PlayStation 4

A really great metroidvania.

80%PC

Do you like gay games? What about gay metroidvania games? Really? In Thistlecord? Unorthodox of you.

Jokes aside, I loved this game. I'm gonna probably achievement hunt it. The movement options are kind of limited, but the game is small enough in scale to not let that be a major frustration. It has two maps that interact with each other in a really clever way. Traversal across the game is pretty fun, especially right at the end.

The story hit for me. The politics of the word, the way it examines what it is to take revenge, the fun it takes the time to have with the characters, it all worked for me.

The game's systems are a little essoteric. I kind of think I was missing out on a more powerful build, but I don't really care because I liked the weapons I settled on. I liked that the game didn't really punish me for not trying out other builds.

It's cheap, it's short, it's fun. I don't really have a reason it's not a 10/10, I just don't feel like it's perfect. Can't really put my finger on it.

75%PC

Ganz gut. Story irrelevant, Gameplay nett!

85%PC

Nice Metroidvania like platformer with satisfying movement and a good combat system.

65%PC

No me gusto nada y no entendí nada.

80%PC

good metroidvania

60%PlayStation Vita

Bland but inoffensive.

60%Nintendo Switch

I was hyped for the game, I'm a sucker for GBA looking games. But to say that the movement is worse than in Aria of Sorrow it's sad. Underwater sections were horrible. You can't cancel attacks when landing which makes you commit like crazy. Some orbs are straight up useless. Why is there so much story in a metroidvania? Even with the huge amount of notes and diary entries there are too many cutscenes. And it really wasn't an interesting story to begin with. Also, a bit sad that 1/3 of the bosses had the same attack patterns of earlier bosses, that feels cheap. Nonetheless, the art is good and the music is nice too. There's not much backtrack, as teleport points are well placed

90%PC

Great story and excellent game feel. Plenty of fun secrets too, with some solid side questing.

80%PC

Cool game. Complete main storyline and make some sidequests.

70%PC

A pretty looking Metroidvania with some pretty creative ideas. Orbs are pretty neat and the traveling between past and present is a cool idea. I did find it a little too shoehorned in that almost every character is polyamorous, but it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the game. Overall an enjoyable experience. Note: I did not do the NG+ stuff to get the last remaining enemy entry, but I did do everything else 100%!

90%PC

Too easy

80%Xbox One

This is a fantastic game and i loved it. It actually made me cry at the end.
However, they used the American flag to represent the choice for the language to be English so it loses a point.

80%PC

It's like a nice a-rpg from the snes era, i liked the writing/story.
The music if good, but short.
Gameplay solid but easy.

80%Nintendo Switch

Good but too short Metroidvania. You don't want It to end that fast. Good music.

80%Nintendo Switch

A metroidvania that's so much like Symphony of the Night, and yet so much unlike it. This is a much slighter game, with smaller ambitions, but still quite good. It IS like Symphony in a lot of ways, both for better and for worse, but it carves out its own identity too, both in terms of mechanics and story. The engine is smooth as hell too, and I'd love to see the developer put it to use for another game.

70%Nintendo Switch

A bit to easy. Never had any problems with either enemy or bosses. Had experted a more bigger game.

70%PC

Good Metroidvania game that reminds me of the DS era of castlevania gameplay-wise and music-wises. Besides, awesome music!

90%PC

I really enjoyed it! It's a little easy and short, but the combat, story, and world was really engaging.

60%Nintendo Switch

Played this one while bedridden with severe muscle spasms, so that might have colored my opinion on it, but I doubt playing it in perfect health would have necessarily saved it from just being "fine." There's not a lot I can really mechanically complain about here, considering that it controls seamlessly and gives you plenty of nifty toys with which to dispatch monsters, but it ultimately just felt like a lot of individually good concepts that don't entirely cohere.

Timespinner takes its cues from the exploration-based Castlevanias, yet manages to be unexpectedly linear. There are relatively few navigation mechanics--time stop, double jump, swimming, and dashing--but the first two are introduced so early that the overworld is basically a buffet (save a few areas literally gated off by the need for security cards), swimming is only used in maybe two or three sections of the map, and the dash is used maybe three times total (and only once if you're counting story progression). Having a wide-open overworld could be seen as a plus, but it doesn't really stoke the player's curiosity about the environment. And not having particularly varied or interesting ways to move through spaces pulls back the mask on what they really are: long, horizontal and vertical corridors of enemies that pose little threat, despite their excellent designs.

The time travel element is equally underbaked. The core premise of the "Time Messenger" erasing their own existence to save the clan makes no sense from the get-go, but it's contradicted several times too. Lunais' time stop mechanic is put to some innovative uses... three times throughout the entire game. Even then it's all used the same way: freezing an enemy or projectile in midair so you can use them as a platform. It's fun and makes you feel clever the first time, but every time thereafter it's the same solution, the same motion. Most of all, though, I was disappointed with the way the developers introduced causality puzzles in the first area and then never used them again. There was such a great opportunity to show how environmental changes in the past affect the future, but it's really only used to burn a couple of vines, which really ought to grow back in 1000 years anyway. The only other changes you see are obviously signaled by the narrative, albeit in confusing ways. Can anyone adequately explain how defeating the planet's military leader 1000 years ago deactivates a laser barrier in the present?

As far as the writing goes, it all works best when it's most understated. The idea that the colonized planet becomes an even worse colonizing force after rebellion rings true, and for a time I suspected (and even hoped) that the time travel element would further show the cyclical nature of this violence--like, perhaps, these same two planets were caught in an endless struggle of oppressing and destroying each other. However, Lunais' clan and culture are only revisited obliquely through lore texts that fail to bridge any of the combating themes. Unfortunately, this leaves behind a narrative that is made bare as a buttock through dialogue ("The people I thought were good guys are bad guys! Huh, I guess things are just more complicated than they seem.") and characters that feel more like checkboxes than real individuals. I am happy that the representation exists, but it is clumsily handled.

I have no complaints about the visual or sound design. They often put me in a headspace where I could trick myself into thinking I was playing the lovechild of Chrono Trigger and Super Metroid, like the occasional moments of zen that hit you during the most tedious chores.

70%Nintendo Switch

16/20

90%Nintendo Switch

A fantastic metroidvania. Takes a lot of insiration of Symphony of the Night in the best possible ways. Great combat, lots of ending, a fantastic experience through and through.

90%Nintendo Switch

This game was a real treat from beginning to end. It plays like Symphony of the Night but with its own unique story and twist with combat. I went into this game completely blind and loved the story as it dealt with time travel and how events interconnect throughout the span of 1000 years. The environments the game took place in were also refreshing as they weren't the typical areas you would find from a metroiodvania style game (i.e. sewers, crypts, dungeons, etc.). Graphically, the sprites and overall pixel art were pretty beautiful to look at and the music while nothing extremely memorable, was a great fit and added a lot to the atmosphere. The combat and exploration I thought were the best parts as it was fun leveling up my various orbs and using new skills to reach every last secret area. While the enemy variety could be a little better, I found that each enemy type was not used too much and they were all pretty fun to fight (especially the bosses). My first playthrough of the game took about 10 hours and I saw 3 of the 4 endings and had all but 3 feats. I played again with new game + on nightmare mode and cleared it again (at 100%) in about 2 hours. Nothing was too difficult even on hard mode. It really just depends on your orbs and equipment. Overall, a really fun game that I hope sees a longer and slightly more complex sequel in the future.

80%Nintendo Switch

Great music, fun combat, and good art tie this metroidvania together. While fun, it does have some blemishes that bring it down a peg or two. the time mechanic when used is fun, but is used so sparingly in the world design that I forgot that I should use it in some situations. The pixel art is beautiful but can get a bit repititious in some areas. Overall a great game.

60%PC

Tries too much to be a Castlevania game, including the strange monster designs and the bad story. It thrives in Castlevania's strenghts: nice backtracking, great soundtrack. Not very replayable.

100%PC

such a good game i really need to look for aria of sorrow like games

70%PlayStation Vita

Fun and fuild gameplay but really easy. I never died.

70%PlayStation Vita

Really fun gameplay---breezed through this in a few days. Loads of additional content for completionists after you’d think the game is finished. But the story is naked radical-left propaganda, and you may not be up for that.

80%PC

Good metroidvania, relatively short though. Worth a playthrough, maybe not at full price though.

80%PC

Really good game. If you like Metroidvanias, you might want to give this one a shot. Combat and exploration are very fun. It's a bit simple in its design, and while the story is interesting, the writing and character dialog are pretty average. Aesthetically, the game is beautiful, and the music is really good. I would recommend it for sure.

100%PlayStation 4

Amazing game! one of the best indie of this year. definitely recommended.