ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights Reviews

This is a great Metroidvania. Beautiful graphics, solid controls, and a hauntingly beautiful musical score. The game is very somber and sad, and honestly sometimes a bit depressing. I find that I have to switch away from it to go play something more upbeat every now and then. That isn't a knock against the game though, they did a wonderful job with the ambiance. And let me plug again the musical score... some of the most haunting piano tunes I've heard in a game. The story is bizarre, of course. That comes with the whole "dark fantasy" theme. Typical young princess in a doomed world trope. I honestly have very little idea what's going on. I won't spoil anything here, but there truthfully isn't much to spoil. The story of this game is probably its weakest aspect. It's told in drips and drabs, which is customary in dark fantasy. The game does have some slightly frustrating aspects. This is a true Metroidvania in that you need to find the one path among many that isn't ability gated, get a new ability, and then go back to the previous spots you were locked out of. The trouble here is that there are a lot of ability gated areas, and you cannot mark the map in any way. The map does show unexplored gateways, but unless you have a perfect memory for 10-15 or so unexplored spots, you have no way to record which one was gated by swimming or jump height, etc. This means you kind of waste time going back and around trying to find the area you need to go next. The game also has some very challenging mixed combat and platforming sequences. You can find yourself dying over and over trying to get through a particularly challenging area. That can get frustrating... and the game won't let up. If you are prone to frustration or going tilt, make sure you take this game in bits at a time. The game is totally worth the effort, but not worth going tilt because it will not ease up on you. The combat in this game really is great. As you get more abilities (spirits), you have a lot of options. All of them carry momentum and there is very little animation breaking. This is not a button masher in the least. I wouldn't call it a souls-like, but it definitely draws from that system in that you need to restrain yourself a bit. If you just whack at the attack button, you will regret it... you need to measure and time your attacks to leave yourself available to make a dodge or a jump when the enemy makes its move. The enemies all project their attacks well, so it's really about figuring out how to approach each enemy type. Combine that with complex platforming during combat, and this game will push your limits. The game uses the typical save checkpoint system. The great part about this game is that the checkpoints are fairly frequent and you can fast travel between them. Also, when you die you return to a save spot but you keep your progress... in other words if you had found collectibles, you get to keep them and don't have to redo those sections. This is huge for me, as I hate having to repeat content. Also, they always locate a save spot really close to a boss room, which is great. Overall a very well done game. I'll definitely be finishing this one and moving on to the 2nd game, Ender Magnolias.

well done game, level design is not my favourite in certain areas but aside from that everything is awesome, combat is great, abilities are well done and all have a cool animation being spirits that fight for you. Bosses are very good in general. I do find the game to originally seem very open but in reality its very linear, You are mostly forced down one path because you lack the abilities to go anywhere else and I find that a bit annoying because of how open it looks. I guess that's more of a personal opinion and not bad game design. Anyway if you like any other similar games ide check it out. 8/10.

It's a very solid souls-like metroidvania - easy 8/10. The music is definitely eargasm. Lots of different skills and build possibilities. Some screens are just gorgeous. The only real issue for me is the map, which is very confusing and you can't add any marks for like secrets or inaccessible points to return later.

I’ve played many metroidvania games, and I even finished Ender Lilies with 100% achievements. But to be honest, there are only two things I truly enjoyed about it: the artwork and the story. Those were the only reasons I managed to push through to the end. The soundtrack was just okay for me. I’m not into Mili at all, so I honestly don’t understand the hype around the music. Plenty of indie games have soundtracks just as good. The gameplay system, on the other hand, frustrated me in a lot of places. Some parts felt needlessly difficult, while others were way too easy. Combat movement felt dull and lacked impact. The Soul system seemed like it was just added for the sake of complexity, but most of it felt pointless. The map design didn’t feel carefully thought out either. I kept playing because I wanted to see the story and hoped the fun would eventually kick in, but it never really did. By the time I finished, I was just bored. The story tried to pull me back in emotionally, but the dullness of the gameplay overshadowed it in the end. This is definitely not a game I’ll ever replay. That said, I will play Ender Magnolia since I bought it together, and I want to see if it manages to be more enjoyable.

-lily is cute -story is good -gameplay is challenging just right for casual play -easy to get full achievement -mili song is nice

I chose this one to be my very first perfect game. Not because it has an outstanding story or anything like that, but simply because… I felt the need to protect that child. P/S: You’re beautiful, even in red, Lily. Story: Not bad at all—simple, easy to follow, and not overly twisty. It’s a bit slow and fairly predictable, but still enjoyable. Gameplay: Very well-crafted. You can feel the developers’ hard work in every detail, which makes me want to try more of their games too. Recommended for anyone who wants to experience a hack & slash game with a chill, laid-back vibe.

An incredibly strong Metroidvania that I would personally give a 10/10 which might be strong for some people but I personally believe Ender Lilies earned it. Most criticism I've seen has been regarding either the map layout or the story and while in some capacity i understand them i don't actually think they detract from the game in any way. The story is a very straight forward one and has a number of similar aspects that you could find in other Metroidvanias but I think it's one of its strengths in the capacity that it's the type of story that takes the tropes it works with and simply does them perfectly true to their own nature so that they flow with the atmosphere of the world instead of just making regurgitated slop. The Music is also phenomenal and endearing especially those that sounded as though Lily was singing them. As far as the map goes it gives just the right amount of guidance while also promoting exploration without it feeling like forced extra play time and makes the backtracking much more enjoyable instead of having to look up a guide to find "thing 5 out of 17" cause you aren't sure which ones you've already picked up. The strongest piece of this game is the combat and the main bosses. Figuring out the number of different spirit combinations that can be put together to do damage was the most enjoyable part of the game for me, learning to properly time out abilities with cool downs and ones that can be used in rapid succession was perfectly satisfying especially when you are able to bring them against the main bosses all of which were structured perfectly with a solid escalation of difficulty. Each boss feels sufficiently difficult and learning how to deal with each attack felt like strong progress rather than banging your head against the wall until something sticks. All in all Ender Lilies is my 2nd favorite Metroidvania of all time just behind Hollow Knight and anyone who loves metroidvanias should definitely give it a try.

Overall very good metroidvania with one flaw - not very usable map. Lack of zone separation and much need a player mark system.

Really fun Metroidvania with a touch of Souls. -Starting is slow, boring but after some progression it became really fun. -Lots of abilities and weapon types. -Map system is really good. Once you complete a chamber, it makes that chamber yellow on the map, so you don't have to waste any more time finding hidden items, and it is easily understandable which areas are left behind . It also show the route for next chamber . -All achievements are easy and doable. Calm music, great art, definitely worth a buy for fans of these types of games.

Good game. Good mechanic, not too difficult. Nice story too.another 100% done game