Pseudoregalia

Pseudoregalia is a 3D platformer/metroidvania that will challenge you to navigate a large map for collectibles. As it is a metroidvania, there will be many places you can't reach until you find movement upgrades. I was in complete awe with how much depth is packed into every little thing you can do. Each technique may not do a whole lot on their own. What makes them shine is how you can chain each technique together. A simple backflip can become the final move in a chain of techniques to make it to a platform. I have to applaud the level design of this game as well. There are many places you can't reach without the upgrades, but the game isn't too concerned with railroading you to take a specific route throughout the map. If you have enough skill, you can use a limited selection of techniques to explore areas that would be much easier with your full moveset. I love that the level design encourages this. It doesn't stop there, even with the full moveset the level design creates spaces to challenge your proficiency with the full moveset. It's immaculately put together. I had so much fun just navigating the map. Funnily enough, the biggest knock against this game is the lack of a map. It's up to you to figure out where you need to go and figure out what you haven't explored. Each location has enough design differences to tell them apart, but if you fail to notice something and/or fail to commit things to memory then you will inevitably get lost. It's annoying and it's bound to happen. Even so, I had fun while aimlessly looping around areas trying to figure out what I could have missed. It's a testament to just how good the movement feels to master. With a quick assessment of the environment around you, a platform in the distance becomes a beckoning call. You can totally make that jump. You gotta try it, and it feels SO GOOD every time you pull it off. All said, it's a short game. Depending on your skill with a platformer you can beat it over a weekend. I truly wish it was longer. The game doesn't explore much in the combat side of the game's mechanics. There is a good foundation there, but the game is focused much more on its platforming than combat interactions. One other thing to mention is the vagueness of its narrative. You're not told much about what is happening and barely anything at all about the character you play as. Exploring doesn't just reward you with progression, but also intrigue into the narrative and its contexts. You won't get solid answers on everything, only enough to get your mind to wander. It's one of the things motivating you to explore at all. I appreciate its execution, but whether or not you enjoy that type of thing is up to you. Either way, I couldn't recommend this enough. What a fun game.