XBOX REVIEW | Ultros

The first thing that instantly grabbed my attention when I was given the opportunity to review Ultros was the sheer amount of colours. It was a little like looking at a rainbow that had exploded, and I was instantly drawn in. Ultros is a single-player, exploration and puzzle-heavy Metroidvania. You play as a space traveller who wakes up on a strange and bizarre alien vessel called “The Sarcophagus” that also imprisons an ancient demonic being known as Ultros. What makes Ultros different from other Metroidvania games that I have played is that soon after your adventure begins, you will unlock the ability to plant seeds. The plants you grow provide various abilities, such as creating platforms to reach higher areas, swings to cross wide gaps, enhanced sprint speed, and many more options to discover and experiment with.

Things I liked!

• Visuals | I was really impressed by the vibrant colour palette in Ultros—it’s reminiscent of what I imagine an acid trip might look like. The protagonist, Ouji, wears vividly colourful clothing that perfectly complements the psychedelic, kaleidoscopic world they inhabit. The backdrops and the peculiar creatures are bursting with colour, making Ultros visually captivating and instantly engaging from the moment you start playing.

• Audio | The soundtrack is stunning and really stood out for me, just like the visuals. The orchestral themes and musical instruments used really help to create a very mystical and ambient soundscape. I thought the sound design complements the vibrant visuals perfectly, enhancing the overall experience and drawing players deeper into the game’s alien world. The sound effects are also worth mentioning here. The electric-like hum of your sword slicing through the air is particularly striking. Enemy interactions are both eerie and engaging, including their movements and attacks. Actions like planting seeds, using abilities, and interacting with the environment are distinct and contribute to the tactile richness of Ultros.
  
  
• Accessibility Options | I was impressed by the variety of accessibility options available in Ultros. While there are no predefined difficulty options, you can adjust damage reduction from 0% to 100%, with the latter making you invincible. These settings can be changed at any time. For this review, I played on the default setting of 0%. There are also options to blur the background or desaturate it, making it appear grey. Personally, I preferred the vibrant colours, but it’s great to have the option to tone them down if the colours feel overwhelming. Additionally, there is an option to make on-screen text clearer and easier to read, which I highly recommend enabling, as some text can be difficult to read.  Ultros also offers a choice between performance mode and quality mode, as well as various post-processing options you can tweak, such as colour grading, scanlines, and more. I opted for performance mode, which prioritises smoother gameplay with a higher frame rate. Quality mode, on the other hand, focuses on enhanced visual fidelity, such as higher resolution and additional graphical effects, but it comes with a noticeably lower frame rate.

Mixed & disliked!

• Gameplay | Overall, I really wanted to like the Ultros gameplay much more than I did. Too many times, I found myself completely lost with no idea what I needed to do in order to progress to the next area of the map. Some of the mechanics I thought were way too overly complicated, such as planting seeds, when it was not always obvious which seed was required. I was also not a fan of the time loop element. At certain points in the story, you will trigger the end of a cycle and find yourself back at the start of the game. When this happens, your abilities that you have unlocked will reset, meaning you will have to earn them again. I found this extremely frustrating at times, although they do become easier to increase in subsequent loops later in the game. I did really enjoy the various boss fights and general fighting encounters. Although sometimes it can be best to try and avoid combat by using stealth, traversal abilities, or finding hidden paths, this way also helps manage important resources like health, which is required for long-term success.
  
  
• Narrative | The narrative in Ultros is designed to be mysterious and thought-provoking, though I often found it confusing. Rather than following a straightforward narrative, Ultros invites players to interpret its themes and messages, much like solving a puzzle to piece together the story. This approach can make it easy to miss parts of the narrative if you’re not actively exploring or paying close attention to the details in the world. Personally, I prefer games where the objectives are more straightforward. However, Ultros features three different endings to discover, meaning your choices and playstyle can influence the outcome. This also adds to the game’s replay value.
  
  
• Map/Exploration | Once you have discovered and unlocked a new part of the map, it remains visible even when you start a new time loop. This can be confusing early on until you memorise the routes you need to take at the beginning of each loop to retrieve your weapons and abilities. I found that starting a new time loop with the entire map open could feel disorienting. However, as you progress, navigation becomes a bit easier. Having the map greyed out initially would have helped indicate where I needed to go. With each new time loop, new possibilities and routes can appear on the map. For example, if you planted a seed in a previous loop, the resulting plants may grow further, allowing access to new areas. 

How long did I play the review before publishing? 19 Hours
How long to beat the story? 15 hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 14/31 or 285/1000
How long to achieve 1000G | 32 hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | Sundered & Dead Cells

CONCLUSION

Score: 70/100 – While I was highly impressed by the visuals and sound design in Ultros, I found the gameplay frustrating in several areas. I enjoyed the first few hours, as well as certain moments later on, but overall, I was left a bit disappointed and wanting more. The use of colours throughout the game was exceptional. However, the expansive world design involved significant backtracking. Although this is typical of most Metroidvania games, it became frustrating when the path to progress wasn’t clear. Fast travel is introduced much later in the game, but I wish it had been available earlier. While some aspects of the narrative were intriguing, they were equally frustrating. I think that on my second playthrough, I will definitely approach it differently now that I know more about what to expect.