I'm trying really hard to like this game but

[Ryuko50]

I love everything about this game, artstyle, music, characters but oh boy I sure don't like platforming and boss fights in this game. I just give up. Even in Aeterna mode I can't pass some platforms levels and some bosses it is just impossible for me. Maybe I'll come back when you put a real easy mode or another game of yours which normal people can play without breaking their hands.

[Edifier]

Not sure where you stopped but it actually gets even harder later on. It actually starts throwing real hard boss fights and jumping puzzles. Jumping puzzles that you just need to progress through. The ones leading to a mirror shard? Christ those are annoying.

Other Metroidvania games don't tend to focus on precision platforming as much as this game does and it feels like most castles have a few high precision ones you need to pass. Other Metroidvania games might have some over the course of like 3-4 dungeons and then an endurance run.
But here? Every area. I would much rather fight more enemies than fighting spikes.

With certain bosses their projectiles blend in with the environment and their own attacks. Flamebird being the most annoying one. Could never really tell what hit me on the ground.
But others have had attacks that just blend in with whatever they are doing.


The current most annoying boss so far is a copy of myself. Not doing that one until I've gotten at least 2 extra hearts and gotten the last damage upgrade. So that I might be able to just out tank him.

I can see why this game isn't as popular as other Metroidvania games because this is clearly aimed at the hardcore gamers.
The amount of split seconds reaction you need to do just to get some levels and then the whole boss fight is a bit too high.

[Ricky the Pooh]

Originally posted by Edifier:

With certain bosses their projectiles blend in with the environment and their own attacks. Flamebird being the most annoying one. Could never really tell what hit me on the ground.
But others have had attacks that just blend in with whatever they are doing.

Oh my god, I just got there. I don't know what they were thinking with the projectiles matching the background. The fight is difficult for all the wrong reasons. Absolutely horrible.

[Blakethesnake]

i didnt beat the game cuz Elden Ring came out but Im in the final area and all I can say is you can gIt Gud as the kids say. Even mastering the mechanics you will still be challenged.

It is so exciting to defeat this games challenges but a true easy mode may be needed just to up sales for future games.

Not everyone has the ability to do some off this stuff but its a great game that deserves sales and critical acclaim and praise from fans.

I hope the studio gets the success with future games cuz this game is one of the best metroidvanias.

[Anderson]

Originally posted by Edifier:

Not sure where you stopped but it actually gets even harder later on. It actually starts throwing real hard boss fights and jumping puzzles. Jumping puzzles that you just need to progress through. The ones leading to a mirror shard? Christ those are annoying.

Other Metroidvania games don't tend to focus on precision platforming as much as this game does and it feels like most castles have a few high precision ones you need to pass. Other Metroidvania games might have some over the course of like 3-4 dungeons and then an endurance run.
But here? Every area. I would much rather fight more enemies than fighting spikes.

With certain bosses their projectiles blend in with the environment and their own attacks. Flamebird being the most annoying one. Could never really tell what hit me on the ground.
But others have had attacks that just blend in with whatever they are doing.


The current most annoying boss so far is a copy of myself. Not doing that one until I've gotten at least 2 extra hearts and gotten the last damage upgrade. So that I might be able to just out tank him.

I can see why this game isn't as popular as other Metroidvania games because this is clearly aimed at the hardcore gamers.
The amount of split seconds reaction you need to do just to get some levels and then the whole boss fight is a bit too high.

if the dark copy is the hardest boss for you, good lord, you do not want to face the robot bosses a second time. Those guys put Pure Vessel, Nightmare King Grimm, and Absolute Radiance to shame. In a really bad way, sadly.

[Aeternum Game Studios]

Greetings! Dev team here. We are sorry to hear that. All we can say is keep trying!

We understand that certain puzzles and bosses can be a bit tricky for some players even in Aeterna Mode, but this game mode was brought to life based on feedback from the community. We listened to their advice to implement a more accessible game mode focused on action and exploration.

Please, don't take too long to come back, there's a huge Metroidvania experience waiting for you and the King of Darkness will be delighted to welcome you again!

[PaulJohn]

I also want to love this game but can't.

The game seems to be designed to repeatedly punish the player rather than let them have any fun.

Insisting the player progresses through repeated dying where in the fraction of a second they're given to learn patterns before they take a hit and eventually die is tedious and frustrating.

The constant use of a one hit kill and reset mechanic also gets very old very quickly.

The combat mechanics for some enemies aren't thought out well either. Guys that shoot fire or explosives in a spread pattern straight at you. All I have is linear movement and the enemies track so it's a constant game of avoidance and being on edge.

Exploring is sometimes alright but every time I hit a boss fight I just end up getting slaughtered 5 times, get bored then turn it off.

It would help IMMENSELY if I could tell what was going on during busy periods. The art style is such that it's often impossible to tell what can actually damage me and what I don't need to avoid or even where I am on the screen. If this has been done intentionally, I'd ask why?

I can't be bothered to learn bosses by dying repeatedly to tells that last 0.5 seconds spawning instant attacks and implement unfair and punishing one hit mechanics repeatedly.

Could this not have been toned down to allow for some actual fun?

I see the devs above wrote "keep trying!" My answer to that is no - I won't. I'll very quickly go play something else that doesn't infuriate me. At least make the difficulty levels mean something if you're going to implement them?

[Aeternum Game Studios]

Originally posted by PaulJohn:

I also want to love this game but can't.

The game seems to be designed to repeatedly punish the player rather than let them have any fun.

Insisting the player progresses through repeated dying where in the fraction of a second they're given to learn patterns before they take a hit and eventually die is tedious and frustrating.

The constant use of a one hit kill and reset mechanic also gets very old very quickly.

The combat mechanics for some enemies aren't thought out well either. Guys that shoot fire or explosives in a spread pattern straight at you. All I have is linear movement and the enemies track so it's a constant game of avoidance and being on edge.

Exploring is sometimes alright but every time I hit a boss fight I just end up getting slaughtered 5 times, get bored then turn it off.

It would help IMMENSELY if I could tell what was going on during busy periods. The art style is such that it's often impossible to tell what can actually damage me and what I don't need to avoid or even where I am on the screen. If this has been done intentionally, I'd ask why?

I can't be bothered to learn bosses by dying repeatedly to tells that last 0.5 seconds spawning instant attacks and implement unfair and punishing one hit mechanics repeatedly.

Could this not have been toned down to allow for some actual fun?

I see the devs above wrote "keep trying!" My answer to that is no - I won't. I'll very quickly go play something else that doesn't infuriate me. At least make the difficulty levels mean something if you're going to implement them?

Hi there! First things first, thanks for playing Aeterna Noctis and sharing your thoughts with us :)

We included several accessibility options and performance improvements on our latest major update, features that helped those users who experienced trouble with certain aspects of the gameplay.

The upcoming DLC will include interesting gems that will allow players to customize even more their playstyles.

Hope the new content may change your mind about our Metroidvania! In any case, feedback like yours is key for us, and always welcome. That's the only way to keep improving the game experience.

Best regards!

[Kanra]

I believe the game is at least somewhat inspired by fangames, and similar games on Steam (Wings of Vi comes to mind), so the design around having to spend a long time dying and repeating things comes from that. I don't think it's a flaw of the game but I do have quite a bit of past experience playing those kinds of games and I think it just calls for that kind of mindset, the "keep trying" and all.

I think the game could be quite brutal for someone totally new to that kind of approach honestly, but as someone with past experience in this kind of stuff I found it to be really fun to play and pretty much everything was manageable. The difficulty is more in the platforming but there are only about 3 rooms in the game that are really demanding in that regard while I think the bosses were totally fine to just beat. I only really found about 2 of them to be a bit too inconsistent from a hitless perspective which was the way I went for every bossfight in my playthrough.

Honestly it's fine to go play something else. I don't think the game needs to be changed because this is an intentional design and the things you describe come from a lack of experience with similar games and are not necessarily a fault of this game.

[Gandalf The Purple]

It's a really good game even though it's difficult, that's the charm of it!