Exile's End

The price is on the lower end, but may still be too much for the entire package for most players. It can be knocked out in a few sessions in a weekend, so if you are desperate for a somewhat competent metroidvania and have plenty of patience to spare, Exile's End might have something for you.

Despite being advertised as a cinematic platformer, Exile's End is really a Metroidvania-style outing. It contains great graphics and sound, and does a fine job of allowing the player to explore and become more powerful without holding their hand. However, the game suffers from a tedious opening sequence, occasional camera and combat control stumbles, and a lackluster map.Those who absolutely love to explore every bit of a game's world without any direction at all will love Exile's End. However, a few places don't give the player enough guidance, which leads to brute-forcing every possible path until you uncover the solution. This is a solid action exploration game, but needs a few improvements to be a smash hit for everyone.

Though the rough spots spoil a seamless progression, Exile's End is a challenging yet brief Metroid-styled experience at a fine price.

Exile’s End is so successful at being old school that you could probably convince someone this really is from 1992.

I enjoyed playing Exile’s End on PlayStation 4 as it certainly reminded me of old-school games from “back in the day” and scratched that particular “more Metroidvania, please” itch. I highly recommend you get this one on PS4, especially if you’re looking for a game that will not try to over-explain things or to make your journey an easy one. If you want a challenge, this is the one for you.

Despite a very slick-looking 16-bit environment and lifespan that covers several game modes, there's less to Exile's End than meets the eye - the game may look superb for a throwback to previous gaming generations but its rater flawed level design, monotonous feel and somewhat repetitive and uninteresting exploration make it an experience that does not live up to its expectations and which can't but wonder that if some things had been done differently, the game could be overall much better.

Try it you love the genre, otherwise, I wouldn't rush out to pick this one up. For fans of Sci-fi and 2D Metroidvania platformers there's some enjoyment to be had to be had here, but what's there is fairly short lived and does little to differentiate itself from its peers in story or gameplay.

Exiles End reminds me a lot of the 1991 game Crystal Caves, except Exiles End is slower and has less challenges and need for strategy. That being said, it does have the ability to save as well as checkpoints. The monsters are fairly easy to avoid or kill, especially at the beginning, and there is quite a bit of dead screen time where Jameson runs one way for awhile and then in the opposite direction with little to no interaction besides the occasional jump. While it definitely has the retro look with nice artwork and good music, it seems to be missing a lot of the feel that the retro games have.The story is decent but the game play does not provide much a challenge and frankly I cannot see myself going back to it.

Playing Exile’s End involves a lot more aimless running around than it should.

Still, the game is fantastic, and after playing it for my Exile’s End review, I can recommend it to both older gamers and those just getting started since it is a very polished experience.