Rating
Ultros
Ultros is a psychedelic metroidvania where you wake up stranded on The Sarcophagus — a cosmic uterus holding an ancient, demonic being. Trapped in the loop of a black hole, you will have to explore The Sarcophagus and meet its inhabitants to understand the part you play...
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Ultros Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
Ultros is a psychedelic Metroidvania adventure that's equal parts strange compelling. Learn why in our Ultros review.
A bold metroidvania with a message to impart and ideas to spare, even if it doesn’t always make full use of them.
The new Metroidvania platformer, Ultros, has gamers talking about its amazing cosmic-coloured art style and for a good reason – it’s gorgeous. The aesthetic vibes of the game remind me of a cross between a 90s dance club and an alien cult den with its vibrant colour palette of swirling neon greens and yellows. These visuals connect beautifully with the mysterious, time-bending nature of the game and your journey to understand what exactly is this strange world that you have crash-landed on.
Ultros is a true labour of love that has a lot to say about the balance between violence and peace, and exploitation and environmentalism, themes which are incredibly important and too often ignored in games, but this theme sometimes feels at odds with the basic game mechanics and can lead to early frustration. The game is quite clear that the first ending is a bad one due to the violence required to reach it, but I couldn’t justify the investment of time and energy to continue past this to complete the more acceptable approach. In a way, this feels appropriate to me as it demonstrates why tru...
ULTROS is an incredible, vibrant, and gorgeous metroidvania that feels wonderfully unique and runs great on the Steam Deck.
Psychedelic stylings accompany a game of transformation and discovery.
Ultros is a Metroidvania with stunning style and a mysterious compelling narrative about the awakening of a terrifying space mushroom.
Ultros is a metroidvania with a difference. That might be an easy phrase to throw around, but Ultros really does stand out. This ambitious title takes the usual
Ultros sows some fascinating seeds into a familiar framework. Although those seeds bloomed into a visually striking game, some poor soil hinders its ability to fully develop.
“Ultros is a bold and beautiful artistic vision, but a convoluted Metroidvania.”
While Ultros undeniably looks and sounds beautiful, the incredibly tedious gameplay and a time loop gimmick that leads to tiring monotony more than anything else make Ultros fail to be anything more than nice to look at in screenshots.
So, one last question remains, is Ultros perfect? Unfortunately not, as it does have some drawbacks, like forcing the player to re-do the combat training tutorial every new cycle. For some, the enemies may appear too easy. The level design, too, can feel too rudimentary for some, with areas looking too similar which makes it harder to differentiate the already visited spots. As a last point of criticism, the game may appear somewhat blurry due to the 1080p maximum resolution. But at the same time, that’s about it regarding the negatives, as Ultros tastes so juicy, offering a truly unique a…