Aeterna Noctis

Ultimately, although there’s a distinct feeling of déjà vu when playing Aeterna Noctis thanks to its unmistakable similarities to Hollow Knight, it thankfully manages to nail the most important elements in a Metroidvania: exploration and combat.

Aeterna Noctis has a lot of potential; however, it feels like the developer got a bit too ambitious. A game that was shorter and had more focus has the potential to be something fantastic. but it ends up being a bit of a slog for a lot of its runtime due to its sometimes-tedious difficulty, despite some great platforming segments. Long loads and some frustrating design choices mean Aeterna Noctis is a derivative but sporadically satisfying game that some players may absolutely fall in love with. It has clearly had a lot of love put into it, but we didn't quite vibe with it.

Pit of the Damned adds a good amount of content and fixes some of the main issues found in Aeterna Noctis, making it a great choice for new and returning players.

A beautifully dark throwback to the classics, Aeterna Noctis revels in its classic charm. The difficulty also apes that of its forebears, which for some they might enjoy, others it might be too much. For those impartial, it’s another in a massive catalogue of Metroidvania titles.

Aeterna Noctis brings a metroidvania experience influenced by several of the main games of the genre, with a complex level design, a long lifespan, and a well implemented visual environment. If experienced players will feel right at home, those with less time and fewer hours on their back around metroidvania games will find the high difficulty level off putting, and while the game's gentle pacing works great for the exploration it also risks making some players lose their momentum as they move around Aeterna Noctis' long lifespan and maze-like levels.

One of the best things about this version is that it allows us to play anywhere, thanks to the portability of the Nintendo Switch. As I mentioned briefly above, Aeterna Noctis runs very well in portable mode. I believe that the issues presented here will be fixed later on.

Although Aeternum Noctis is a solid production, some design decisions prevented the game from reaching its potential.

Aeterna Noctis has surprised me at all times thanks to its careful design, its demanding difficulty and its gigantic scale. A must for lovers of this type of experience.

Although it drags some defects and the port is not as perfect as we would like, we have enjoyed Aeterna Noctis on Nintendo Switch. In fact, it has hooked us more than the original, thanks to fantastic additions such as the Aeternal mode. If you have not played it or abandoned it because of its difficulty, now is the best time.

If the only console you own is a Switch, then Aeterna Noctis is a very good Metroidvania. I’d put it a tier lower than the best of the best in the genre, but still better than most, because of its excellent gameplay. If you own a PS5, Xbox, or PC, then the Switch should be the last version you play. The camera is too zoomed-out for handheld mode, and the framerate is very choppy compared to the other smooth versions. I wish I could also report on how the PS4 and Xbox One versions compared to the next gen versions. They were all planned for the same release day, and ended up taking another year to become available, so I would assume they are all downgrades that had to be quality compromised.