My Favorite Metroidvania Since Hollow Knight - Astalon: Tears of the Earth

[@MaximumAxiom]

I know your channel has gone up & down, but I'm glad you're still making game analysis videos still, its my favorite content

[@strawhatmonty22897]

As someone whose never beat dark souls 1 let alone played elden ring, I can super agree. I like both analysis style content and metroidvanias and no one does that better than ingenious clown so these newer uploads have been an absolute treat.

[@Reliken]

Same here!

[@skynes]

I watched a speedrun of this, I think at a GDQ, a couple of years back. I didn't get more than 15 minutes into it, before I stopped the video and went to buy the game to play it through myself. The exploration was so brutal in difficulty at times, but I loved it.

[@GracieKiller]

A better example than Portrait of Ruin is the earlier Dawn of Sorrow. After you've beaten the game normally, Julius Mode allows you to instantaneously switch between him, Yoko, and Alucard. In fact, it might have been an inspiration for Astalon, given that the trio in that earlier game are all different archetypes with their own unique movement.

[@Rodlikespants]

It's a fair point but I think the source digs even deeper -- Julius Mode was an homage to Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse where you could switch between two characters through linear platforming levels. My interpretation is that Astalon is homaging CV3 through the character switching and old school platforming. Granted CV3 isn't a metroidvania so there is a mix of inspirations there for sure

[@cactrot83]

This game absolutely kicks ass. It's like a modern revision to Legacy of the Wizard for NES, and it's brilliantly done. More people need to play it.

[@ToolShopGuy]

Wow what a good comparison, thank you! Love Legacy of the Wizard and have it on the Switch, this would be so good to go with that game

[@cactrot83]

@@ToolShopGuy Totally! This game feels so much like a spiritual successor to Legacy that I would be surprised if Legacy weren't at least one inspiration behind it. And it's a very well realized successor if so.

[@Ultrapub]

I acquired Astalon the day it first released (I first saw it during a Steam "demo event"), and absolutely adored every last bit. I'm glad to see it's finally getting the respect it deserves, since I likewise agree it's criminally underappreciated.

[@xleaselife]

Really cool to see this today, as I literally just bought this game yesterday. Even more excited to play it now!

[@BetterThanDoomWithAZ]

This was probably my first metroidvania (unless Blaster Master counts). It's a genre I kind of find intimidating because I'm afraid I'll miss something or not know what things I'll need to progress past the current point, but I found The Tower of Serpents to be pretty easy to navigate through.

[@lipopolus]

Same here. I've tried a lot of them: Ori, Blasphemous, Guacamelee, Haiku, Pronty. Only this pixel NES-style metroidvania seemed to provide a similar experience to Hollow Knight. And Castle in the Darkness was amazing too.

[@PatricioINTP]

The NES look and you playing 3 characters remind me of Legacy of the Wizard, in which you explore a maze with a family of 5 characters, one of who is the family pet.

[@paisleypug]

Your videos always make my day better when they come out!

[@RedriaReverie]

Same here. They also give me that little nudge I need to move a game from my wishlist to my library. I have been wanting to play this one for awhile, but I could never muster the willpower to give it a shot.

[@DarkinBladeGaming]

I am a simple man, I see ingeniousclown metroidvania stuff, I click.

[@coffeedude]

This game was awesome! I can't wait for a sequel/prequel. I remember Castle in the Darkness being really good too, it's made by the same developer (though i don't know if there are more people involved). I've been wanting to replay it.

[@spritelessGirl]

It's giving me Legacy of the Wizard vibes. Wonder if that was an inspiration.

[@DanteCrowlley]

Castlevania 3 + Bloodstained Curse of the Moon

[@1ceClimber]

As a fan of the genre, i can't believe i missed this. But thanks to it, i went and bought it immediately after the video ended. Thank you Mr. Clown man!

[@davidaitken8503]

Astalon has been one of my favorite games since I bought it back when it came out on the Switch E-Shop. The level design is absolutely amazing and the extra characters and modes are genuinely cool too. I won't say more so as not to spoil anything.

[@Chielite4life]

Im definitely playing this today

[@joebeezy9471]

Such an amazing review. I downloaded the game. I love these types of games!

[@mattb8075]

I adored Castle in the Darkness so much, even though it felt a bit stuck in the past. This game I was eagerly awaiting since its announcement, and it did not disappoint. Picked it up day one, and it scratched that CitD itch. According to Matt Kap there is still a true sequel coming, but I haven't checked on it in quite some time. Good video

[@rodrigocardosodanca]

I did not know the creator of castle in the darkness created more games. Insta wishilisted right here!

[@Reliken]

Never heard of this game, it looks amazing. Your review hooked me and made it sound really intriguing. This video got me so pumped about the potential of the game that I excitedly told my buddy who loves metroidvanias and retro NES-style pixel art games (especially Castlevania and Mega Man) about it, and he told *me* he already played this when it came out and loved it. So! ... I think I'm going to have to get this!

[@shadoke]

Man, how do you precisely get my taste. I played this game into the ground when it came out

[@miciso666]

o shit i remember watching you do the castle in darkness review thingy. and this game also looks amazing.

[@Dryskle]

I bought this game on release for Switch and it almost immediately shot up to one of my favorite metroidvanias ever. I've beaten the game 100% like three times including all the extra modes and unlocks, and now I'm gonna have to do it again. The game definitely isn't for everyone though and it's not perfect, with some utterly baffling design decisions sometimes (someone decided it was a good idea to make one of the upgrades you buy be "give proper descriptions to the upgrades you can buy", but you don't know the upgrade gives better descriptions without having bought the upgrade already). The otherwise incredible level design and creativity in exploration far outweigh any negatives I have for the game, though.

[@mulletronuk]

A game as underrated as this dang channel

[@DevTwoThousand]

Oh man I never knew the creator of Castle in the Dark made another game, I'm glad! I gotta get on this.

[@python_l5367]

That game looks really interesting. And I think you are underselling the charm of the pixel art ^^

[@autoscopy]

You should play Cathedral if you haven't already. Similar retro aethestetics. A criminally underrated Metroidvania.

[@Ronin11111111]

I have since 100%-ed Astalon, took me 25 hours, what a fantastic game! I loved how huge the map felt thanks to it's genuinely labyrinthine design and exploring it all was a massive joy. My only complaint is the boss rush mode is really tedious because the intro and death animations are super long and the first 2 bosses are just generally tedious to fight if you have to minimise damage.

[@tiagocosmos]

This game is fantastic. I still have 5 achievements left to get in it, maybe i should go back to it.

[@kubo407]

Gonna have to play this,. Good vid clown

[@Rick-eh1qn]

Its fun game glad i picked up the limited edition of it

[@Ronin11111111]

Thank you! I have been looking for a good Metroidvania to sate my thirst until Blasphemous 2 comes out. 9 Years of Shadows and Gato Roboto were great, but I still hunger.

[@dondashall]

Have you played "Lone Fungus" and "Afterimage"? Those are my two favourites that have come out this year. Afterimage has some problems but largely enjoyable (biggest problem is difficulty spikes because they messed up their levelling system) and Lone Fungus was pretty much perfect.

[@Ronin11111111]

@@dondashall No, but I'll put them on my wishlist. Thanks for the recs!

[@dondashall]

​@@Ronin11111111 Oh, one more, if you didn't know. Death's Gambit (metroidvania/soulslike hybrid), which was pretty crap at launch got massive updates and relaunched as Death's Gambit: Afterlife and is actually really good. Played it recently and I really enjoyed it.

[@brianteague840]

Just found your channel with the sintendo video. Great content. I just bought my 3rd switch😂. I cant quit them either. I dont subscribe to many channels, just because it seems to skew my algorithm, but i subbed to you. You need to be over 100k.

[@ingeniousclown]

i'd love to be over 100k, its been a struggle lately and that milestone will feel great

[@sumonedum]

Ok, this has been on my wishlist forever and now I'm gonna buy it FULL PRICE, on your recommendation. That's TWENTY DOLLARS on the line. Pray that I love it the way you do, or my fury shall echo through your comments section forever more.

[@sumonedum]

It's pretty good. I like it.

[@ingeniousclown]

Phew, bullet dodged

[@1Raptor85]

I actually just played this earlier this year, one of my favorite games in a long time, it does have a few things I wish would be fixed though. For one there's an upgrade you can buy early that's very confusingly described and I had no idea what it did, so I skipped it and got it as one of the last things....turns out it enables enemies to drop health....yeah, so i played 90% of the game without health drops...(some of the shop upgrades I thought were temporary, none of them are very well described except the main powerups). (minor spoilers on upgrades below) Another major shop upgrade I didn't get until the VERY end of the game was the one that lets you upgrade without dying....so it was pointless by the time I got it :/ A lot of the minibosses (BK mostly) are also kinda broken if you fight them as kyuli, his AI in particular just never seems to activate if you keep your distance, he'll just pace the room back and forth not attacking if you MMX wall kick to stay high when he's on your side of the room....the actual bosses were great though!

[@vazazell5967]

And that's only a small part of extremely bad game design this game has

[@collin2401]

YES! Love this game so much

[@FoxEyes]

I loved this game beyond death 💯!

[@aureateseigneur5317]

The 8-bit Bloodstained Curse of the Moon games also have this hot swapping system since both games in that series are love letters to Castlevania 3 which also had this mechanic, sorta. "Castlevania" likes this mechanic honestly.

[@StewNWT]

just 100%'d this game and it is truly excellent. Wizard is OP though.

[@rafresendenrafresenden.1644]

Did you ever play ATO hard mode?

[@dragonclaw4159]

I tried this game out, but due to the Roguelite/ dark souls elements you mentioned, I didn't get very far into the game at all. Such a shame to, that game looks solid. Btw cassette beasts released just before tears of the kingdom, and its in a similar position with me as astalon tears of the earth is to you. It's on all platforms( probably, I know it's on switch, Xbox and pc, but don't know about Playstation.) The last time I requested you to do a review, it was ender lilies, and I ended up spamming your comment sections across multiple different videos of yours. I didn't like it, you didn't like it, so to cut to the chase, would you do a review on that game?

[@GretgorPooper]

I clicked for the smexy clickbait, I stayed for the very cute and good game.

[@Andrew-Gomez904]

im not a big fan of metrovania but this game is amazing!

[@Lastjustice]

I enjoyed it, but could used some minor tweaks to be a bit better. I got almost all the achievements on it. (but the dang boss rush, as there's luck to what gear you can get.) - You needing walk all way from the front door is annoying, as it defeats the point of save points. Just respawn back at the last save as when you're not quite to an elevator or warp that gets you to where you were, it gets super annoying trek back over and over. -The two extra characters final upgrades come waay too late. You have explored 90% of the game by the time you get them, which the yellow blocks one of them breaks are in your path the entire game. I knew something would destroy them, but I didn't think I'd have wait so long get the answer. The block ability only really is needed in two rooms in the whole game. You otherwise need drag a block with you from another room to take advantage of this character's core ability. This character brings little to the table outside of that making them just another character to cycle through. I feel like they got the balance between the first 3 down, but weren't sure what give the two extra guys so they withheld their travel powers too long. (especially since the Archer girl really does the heavy lifting with getting places once you have the griffon claw to climb places.) -There's far too little healing in the game, as it forces you die alot.. I get it's the game's gimmick you die and can buy power ups, but when you play as the two bonus characters and you're not allowed to die, it becomes clear how little healing is actually in the game. (The 4th character should been a cleric instead of whatever he is.) This and the not respawning at the save are artifical difficulty elements. - The swapping system wears thin, as you need get to a campfire change characters. This really hits home when you're in the cyclops area, as you need have half a dozen camp fires to change characters in order have the right power set. (If you get the bell you can easily blow thru this area.) I think if they made so you could have two characters at time and swapped between them , it would ran smoother till you get the bell, which allows you freely change guys removing an element that makes the beginning so tough. I think having limits of who you got to bring was a good choice, but them removing it with the bell was overkill as a way deal with it. Having a pairing would been the best answer as it gives swapping a purpose without making to where they need put swapping spots every two rooms for the game to function. I felt like the bell got added as lazy fix to a problem they created in the first place. -Spikes hurt way too much. They are most dangerous thing in the game. No matter how much defense and health you get, they always deal % based damage to you. Near end of the game they will be the majority of your deaths. This again is a cheap design choice I dislike. There's alot to love about this game, as I enjoyed it and played through it a couple times but these would be my things to iron out for it to really shine.

[@doubletheblack]

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@SirChocula]

I'm a visual whore, so if this was done in at least SNES pixel or beyond, it would be on my radar. Glad to those that enjoy it though :)

[@cormano64]

Stop acknowledging people who don't like pixel art, even in jest. It just shows you're not secure in your tastes. Plus, they don't deserve the attention. This is a beautiful art form that stands the test of time better than polygons can ever hope to.

[@TreuloseTomate]

Also has nothing to do with age. The pixel art in this game is beautifully done.

[@vazazell5967]

This game looks bad not because of pixel art, bit becauae it's pixel artist did a shit job

[@nesoukkefka1741]

I've been starting this game recently, I ended up loving it but I've got to say the first 2-3 hours were not really enjoyable, being brought back to the beginning each time you died + no Fast Travel + having to back track to a camp when you need to swap character, really make the beginning of the game a chore to play. It's not help by the fact the item that allows you to use the Fast Travel option is missable, I fortunatly find it by exploring, but can't imagine how bad it would have gotten if I had missed it. Once you unlock the Fast Travel and the ability to swap at will between characters, the game becomes much MUCH more enjoyable, but in all honnestly I can definitly see this beginning turning many player off.

[@apollo2548]

🎉

[@dondashall]

It was fantastic, definitely my favourite last year. HOWEVER, requiring 100% map completion (which is map AND items) for the true ending was total bullshit. I got to like 96% of something and I couldn't go further. And it's not like you need the extra stuff to beat the same boss. I understand "explore every area" stuff or completely develop that imp follower (which would actually tie into the ending), but that was WAY overblown (and the ending is absolutely not worth it, finished via youtube and letdown.

[@elolawynladriel]

Retroidvania

[@MAX-yd2bs]

Neat

[@undererlevelmob7605]

play rabiribi pretty fun metroidvania maybe a bit on the hard side... and on the anime weeb side too... but pretty good

[@doBobro]

Astalon could be much better game with bonfire respawns and bonfire health replenishment. But it becomes repetitive after a couple of hours to respawn at the start and infinite "starttracking". Gameplay was definitely sacrificed here for the sake of pretty standard not very interesting plot.

[@wilpuriarts5895]

My goal in next two years is to make my second game so good it get’s featured on this channel. It will not be completely metroidvania, but very much adjacent.

[@robertjohnson1246]

Is there an easy mode for people like me that stink?

[@vazazell5967]

This game was horrid. From bad puzzles and moveset to being a linear platformer with metroidvania elements which makes backtracking a giant pain in the ass, to need to unlock character switching, to the whole upgrade system that forces grinding and completely imbalanced characters, to rooms that are actually two rooms with different entrances and exists being marked on map like one room with 4 entrances and exists making you go into dead end every time you backtrack near it. Every time the game did something I thought "who the fuck thought it was fun" A looooooot of tryhards it seems.

[@haotatyan]

Not every game is for everyone

[@vazazell5967]

@@haotatyan if someone doesn't complain then someone else would make a game with those subjective flaws not thinking there are people that dislike them

[@Gojira-dm4vb]

No

[@toadd]

Too bad this game haven't reached consoles yet. I will give it a chance when/if it does.

[@Ponaru]

It's been available for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One for quite some time.

[@ShinoSarna]

I don't get the bit at the beginning. Is this now a meme that pixel art is bad or something? Like if anything I am more tired of 'gorgeous' gothic pixel art like in Blasphemous or Dead Cells or any other souslike metroidvania.

[@1Raptor85]

pixel art kinda got a bad reputation as being "easy/cheap" for a while on steam when engines like gamemaker were becoming big and there was a lot of games with TERRIBLE pixel art where the artist clearly didn't even understand the medium, so a lot of younger players exposure to pixel art in the indie space got flooded with seeing games with lots of blurring, huge block pixels for no reason, mixed resolutions and scaling, etc. Or even worse they got the impression from using terrible emulators like old snes9x etc that art actually looked like that on consoles, so unfortunately for alot of people they got it into their heads and won't drop it that pixel art = "cheap/bad"

[@cormano64]

@@1Raptor85 Fair and reasonable response. Too bad the author of the video said nothing about that and instead almost agreed with the people who talk shit about it without knowing what you're just talked about here.

[@OldyAlbert]

Really? I hated the roguelite elements. It's not the only metroidvania trying to combine the roguelike and metroidvania idea and it litteraly never for the benefit. Upgrading after you die feels patronizing rather then satisfying. Wich is interesting since i liked Dark Devotion and it does have something in common i think. Ender lilies i kinda liked, but only because i downloaded a complete save to start a game with an option of changing enemy stats and made everything 175% or so. Not perfect when you given sliders instead of difficulty selection, but better then nothing. At least bosses were pretty challenging and i had to think about my build all troughout the game.

[@vazazell5967]

Clown when a game with element that actively makes it worse is released: ah yes, a masterpiece

[@toadd]

First!

[@dinar8749]

Astalon doesn't look that appealing to me because of its 8-bit art style and general vibe. Unless it's done really well like in shovel knight I don't find this style that interesting. The rooms look very samey as well.

[@nixielee]

too simple

[@FabulousJejmaze]

This game sucks and is also awesome at the same time