Sundered (PS4) very pretty, but pretty random. The makers of Jotun create some of the best 2D animation ever seen in a video game, for this ambitious and unusual Metroidvania.
Hi and welcome to Danklord vs Games. My name is Kevin and today we’ll be takinga look at Sundered. A game made by Thunder Lotus Games, fundedas a Kickstarter project. You’re playing as a woman named Eshe thatfinds herself in a research facility abandoned by a faction known as ‘The Valkyries’. In the underground facility you’ll encounteran ancient artifact that starts possessing Eshe to delve deeper into the caves and it’sup to you to either gain, or resist the temptation of power. You’ll have to fight your way through hordesof Eldritch creatures in order to progress deeper and it quickly becomes apparent thatthere’s a few challenges ahead of you that you need to deal with. The story is delivered through narrationsdone by the ancient artifact in a made up or foreign language.
Despite being quite thin on overall story,it succeeded to keep my interest throughout the 6-8 hour experience I had with the game. Not because of the story, but because of everythingelse. It succeeded to pique my interest becausethe gameplay, visuals and combat felt very well polished. The characters, the areas and effects areall hand-drawn, frame by frame and it was definitely the first positive thing I tooknote of. We’ve come to a point where games can achievean incredibly realistic and detailed environment.
With the introduction of VR and insanely powerfulgraphics cards, it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish reality from digitalcreations. Thus, finally making graphical fidelity lessof a selling point these days. The combat seemed very stripped out at first.
There’s no real punishment for button-mashinglike you might be accustomed to, and there’s really only one attack button to press. There are no combos to pull off and combatis quite forgiving in general. Only later in the game do you realize thatyou can combine abilities and tech with your sword to add some optional finesse to thegame, but note that it’s optional.
Dying is all part of the game. Unlike Dark Souls you don’t lose your ‘souls’or exp on death unless retrieved. You merely reset to the main hub of the game, where all the levels branch out into 3 main areas and you get to start over with whateverknowledge you’ve gathered.
Due to the fact that you don’t lose anythingon death, it means you progressively get stronger and stronger every time you’re sent back tothe main hub. The skill tree is large enough for what thegame is but most traits are minor traits and quite uninteresting at first glance. The minor traits merely act as a resourcedumpster so you can waste points to get whatever it is you actually want in the end.
The map is simple to understand and it’svery fortunate that it is, because you’ll be looking at it a lot. Each area is represented as squares or rectangleswith several entrances and exits. The larger squares of the map are areas wherecontent randomly generates, and nothing really feels the same each time you pass throughthe area. Luckily the map offers a few shortcuts foryou to unlock depending on what skills you’ve uncovered and every area you’ve explored,remains discovered on the map until you start an entirely new game. Each area is connected one way or anotherand all three levels, acts as one, with loading screens in between. Loading screens which actually took quitesome time to get through.
At different times the game throws hordesof monsters at you and it manages to catch you off guard almost every time. It started to annoy me whenever I wanted alittle bit of time to check out the map.
Sometimes you have minutes to breathe andexplore but for the most time you’ll mostly be on your guard, waiting for the next attack. If you happen to find yourself in a room withendless horde mode, peace and quiet is nothing you’ll come across but at least you get thechance to prepare yourself This brings me to one of the primary complaintsI had about this game. It’s really hard to see where you are wheneverthere are dozens of monsters and projectiles all over the screen. Boss fights are even worse as the camera zoomout in order to give you a proper view of the area. It makes your character even smaller and Ifound myself wondering where the heck I was several times.
Yeah, Eshe wears a white coat to differentiateher from all the monsters but it really didn’t help me in most cases, especially when thescreen looks like this. It pulls off the metroidvania theme very nicelyand I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
I love how games like Sundered manages tomake you feel underpowered for the tasks at hand, only to find yourself succeeding a few tries later. Trial and error is very much part of the game, the same way death is.
Nothing is truly impossible and the delicate balance made the game incredibly enjoyable to me. The sheer size of the first boss encountermade me think that I had stumbled upon the last boss of the game. And holy hell was I wrong. The option to make the game harder dependingon choices is very much appreciated as well. Each bosses drop shards that you either use to corrupt your existing abilities, or not, making the game a little bit harder on demand. As a final note, my only real two wishes would be: Have the dialogue spoken in English as I don’twant to be forced to read at the same time as I’m trying to survive, and add the optionto remove screen shake as it ended up being incredibly overwhelming to both my eyes and brain and I’m sure others would feel the same way Despite that. This really is the first game that I’m goingto recommend wholeheartedly.
There are ups and downs but the game managesto stay on top, for the most part. I did rage a few times but it only encouragedme to do better the next time. I cheered myself on as I defeated my firstboss and that’s something only Dark Souls has managed to pull off. The game only locked up once during my playthroughbut magically managed to come back to life even after the windows “Checking for problems”bar came up.
I’m certain there are other games similarto this one. Hollow Night being one of them and I guessI know exactly where to look next. I’m not sure what made me pick this gameup, but I’m really, really glad I did and my point is – you should too!
Once again, my name is Kevin and I want tothank you all for taking the time to watch this video. If you enjoyed my review of Sundered, be sureto leave a thumbs up! If you’re in need of a hug. Subscribe and I got you covered!
Just UpdatedSundered: Eldritch Edition has been unleashed!Hey folks!Today, we're unleashing Sundered: Eldritch Edition, the definitive edition of of our chaotic metroidvania, containing all previous updates published to the game, along with the brand new Magnate of the Gong update! Here’s what’s being added in this latest version:.
Local co-op: It’s dangerous to go alone, especially through Sundered’s ever-changing caverns. So we’ve added local co-op multiplayer support for up to 4 players!. New areas and quest chain: We’ve added several unique new areas throughout the existing map. Complete a quest chain of special challenges in the new areas to unlock rewards and the path to a brand new boss!And that’s just the big stuff! We’ve added a ton of smaller features and improvements under the hood! Check out the full patch notes.And to be clear, yes, all existing players receive the Eldritch Edition update for FREE today!Please remember that your feedback is crucial for us, so please do leave or update your review on our, and strike up a conversation about this update with us on our!Resist or Embrace.- Rodrigue and the Thunder Lotus Team.
About This Game Resist or EmbraceSundered is a chaotic hand-drawn metroidvania where you resist or embrace ancient eldritch powers. Confront hordes of terrifying enemies in an ever-changing world inspired by the works of H.P. Sundered is a challenging and unique take on a classic genre from the creators of, now with local co-op!You play Eshe, a wanderer in a ruined world, trapped in ever-changing caverns filled with hordes of terrifying enemies.
Harness the power of corrupted relics to defeat gigantic bosses, at the cost of your humanity. Resist or embrace.Sundered: Eldritch Edition includes the Magnate of the Gong update, adding local co-op multiplayer support for up to 4 players, along with new areas and a chaotic battle against the new Magnate of the Gong boss! Key Features. Beautiful hand-drawn art and animation. Chaotic encounters against hordes of enemies. Epic boss fights.
Optional local co-op for up to 4 players. Hundreds of upgrades and multiple character builds.
A mix of hand-crafted & procedural levels. Multiple endings and over 15 hours of gameplayCore GameplayExplore.Delve into a procedurally generated dungeon at the heart of a beautiful hand-drawn world. Classic Metroidvania elements such as backtracking, secrets and unlocking new abilities that open new regions are at the core of the exploration experience.Fight.Confront hordes of dynamically spawned eldritch monsters. Put your skills and reflexes to the test through furious melee combat and epic boss fights against uniquely designed enemies.
All monster spawns are dynamic, constantly keeping you on your toes.Die.Designed as a challenging adventure for seasoned gamers, frequent deaths are part of the Sundered experience. But taking our inspiration from our favorite rogue-like games, death in Sundered is only the beginning.Upgrade.When you die, you respawn in the Hub, where you level up and customize your character. Equip and upgrade a host of unique Perks, stats and special Abilities hidden throughout the world.