Ender Lilies is a surprisingly deep 2D Metroidvania game that had me coming back for it, even after I had died countless times. While its inspirations clearly lie in between the infamous SoulsBorne genre and rogue-likes, it smartly crafts its own path through its hauntingly beautiful lullaby of a score, Lovecraftian setting, and simple yet effective combat, that only expand its wings as you dive further into this melancholic fairy tale.
In Ender Lilies, you play Lily, one of the last remaining priestesses in this land ravaged by terrifying monsters. The cause of it all? The rain, or as the game describes, the “dying rain.” Like SoulsBorne games before it, players explore this grim world, reading notes that provide info on the game’s lore, finding items scattered around to enhance skills, and indulging in often challenging boss battles, each of which has its own backstory to boast.
While challenging at times, Ender Lilies is an incredibly chill lo-fi game. Not that its sound design is akin to that genre, no, Lily’s gentle steps through this dying labyrinth feel soothing, even optimistic at times, making it feel like a perfect lo-fi game. This is in stark contrast to the SoulsBorne titles whose atmosphere often resonates boldly with its theme.
In here though, despite all the challenges and sorrow that lies ahead, the game’s aesthetics make it feels enchanting and almost cheerful in a way. It’s as if the game tells you to deal with the disturbances of this world by being hopeful rather than hopeless. If Bloodborne’s take on cosmic horror gave you nightmares, Ender Lilies’ world would give you equal measures of sweet dreams.
Combat is painfully simple. Slash, dodge, jump and repeat. However, the ability to yield thematically different weapons keep things fresh. Weapons are spirits of the bosses you defeat. Every one of them is unique and can be utilized tactfully depending on the situation. Lily’s go-to weapon is Umbral Knight, a sword that does basic damage.
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However, the knight that it belongs to is critical to the story and will often present itself during prominent narrative moments. Umbral Knight neither costs anything to use nor has a cooldown meter, unlike most of the other weapons. Western Merchant is a ranged weapon that is extremely essential in taking down fast enemies from a distance. However, there’s only a limited amount of time you could use this before resting at a Respite. ( The game’s version of Bonfire.) Lily can often come across red flowers that could replenish the weapon’s meter. Similarly, white flowers can replenish her health.
While the Dark Souls comparison is painfully obvious, Ender Lillies provides some quality of life changes that should also make their way to the future Souls games. For example, dying in Ender Lilies doesn’t rob you of the XP gained. This makes traversing older paths relatively smooth as you have the freedom to either avoid the respawned enemies or take them down again to level up. In short, In Ender Lilies you never lose.
While this may very well be a design decision, there are some other changes that truly make a difference and are worth mentioning. In the early hours, Lily can only heal herself thrice. If she stumbles upon those white flowers, they either fill up the three slots or fill up her health. In SoulsBorne games, you can accidentally use one of the Estus flasks even when your health is full. That doesn’t happen here. Subtle tweaks like these set Ender Lilies apart from its forefathers, proving that’s it’s not just another clone of the genre that has become overly popular in the past generation.
Ender Lilies is still in early access so expect some minor inconveniences here and there. The game’s first chapter is missing a background score and will be added on later.
[su_pullquote]ENDER LILIES EARLY IMPRESSIONS VERDICT
Ender Lilies is an immersive Lovecraftian Metroidvania game that sets itself apart from its stunning art direction, melancholic score, and overall chill experience. While it doesn’t revolutionize the SoulsBorne genre, it’s a perfect example of why such a genre is thriving in the first place.[/su_pullquote]
There’s one particular issue in regards to the save file. Unlike other titles in this genre, boss progress doesn’t save until you have manually saved your game. I happened to experience this bizarre situation where I defeated this difficult boss in chapter 2. When I loaded up my file the next time, I so happened to have moved on to the next area, but the skill I acquired from defeating that boss had vanished.
When I retraced my steps, I saw that the boss was alive which was extremely annoying. Ender Lilies’ problems don’t end there. The game’s boss battles are unevenly paced. While some optional bosses can be taken down in just a few hits and don’t provide any challenge, some can prove surprisingly difficult, having multiple phases. These uneven encounters toys players’ expectations in a negative way and here’s hoping that it’s fixed in the final build.
Steam Early Access Key Provided by Binay Haze Interactive
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights will be available on Steam via early access on January 21, while the console versions are planned for a Q2 2021 release.
