Fans currently waiting on the release ofHollow Knight: Silksongshould certainly keep an eye on the new psychedelic Metroidvania game,Ultros, which was just announced at the PlayStation Showcase on May 24. This is the first title from indie studio Hadoque and features the eye-grabbing art of El Huervo, the Swedish artistbehind the cover art for the action-packedHotline Miamigames.
The PlayStation showcase just passed, and of course, it brought a lot of exciting new game announcements along with it. Many indie titles at showcases like these tend to fly a little under the radar in favor of the “big hitter” AAAannouncements like theMetal Gear Solid 3remake. One of the indie titles that shouldn’t be slept on by any Metroidvania fans out there isUltros, a game that seems like it could be a big hit among those who enjoyed games likeDead Cells, theOriseries, andHollow Knight.
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Ultrosis said to combine exploration with a sci-fi setting, and a small blurb in the trailer’s description calls it a “psychedelic tale” in which players will be investigating a giant sarcophagus in space. The gameplay certainly seems to be inspired by elements from some of the aforementionedmodern Metroidvania classics, with the protagonist running through beautiful environments, taking on fast and often terrifying enemies.
The gameplay isn’t shown off much in the trailer, but Game Design Director Mårten Brüggemann describesUltrosas having an “intimate close-combat system.” Gameplay is obviously extremely important for Metroidvania games, as the fluidity of movement and speed of combat ingames likeHollow KnightandDead Cellswere major contributing factors to their respective success. Frankly, the trailer is sold off the music and the artwork alone, as both are equally stunning. It definitely seems as though all the elements are there to make this another in a recent string of amazing titles in the genre.
Ultrosis currently set to release at some point in 2024, which hopefully means the game is likely coming out sometime after the release ofHollow Knight: Silksong, but fans are increasingly less certain about this. Team Cherry is playing it very close to the chest as far as giving out any kind of release date, andSilksong, which was originally set to release sometime in the first half of 2023, still seems far out of reach for players. Team Cherry’s marketing director Matthew Griffin recently spoke on Twitter about the game, saying it has “gotten quite big” and that they want to take the time necessary to make the game as good as possible. Hopefully, it can release in the near future, asHollow Knight: Silksongcontinues to be a main talking point in the indie scene, and it would be great to seeUltrosget some of that spotlight, so the game has a space to succeed.
