Zexion Review Summary

Exceptional boss fights and brilliant map design make this the best Metroidvania ever, but the overall difficulty is too high and the final boss is a brutal wall, with no fast travel to ease the pain.

Exceptional boss fights: Boss fights are a standout feature, being creative, multi-phased, intense, and rewarding. They are described as spectacular, well-designed, and among the best in the genre with great payoffs.

Best Metroidvania ever: The game is consistently praised as one of the best Metroidvanias, with comparisons to the original Metroid series. It is seen as a true spiritual successor and love letter to Metroid, often deemed better than many official titles.

Brilliant map design: The map design is highly praised for being interconnected, well-laid out with shortcuts, and offering multiple exploration routes. It is often described as astonishingly brilliant and among the best in years.

Fun randomizer mode: A built-in randomizer mode is included, which is well-done and highly customizable, providing extra replay value. Players find it fun and a major plus.

Great upgrades and weapons: Upgrades are cool, unique, and impactful, adding variety and fun to the gameplay. They are described as creative and useful.

Final boss too hard: The final boss and endgame bosses are excessively difficult, with a steep difficulty spike that feels disproportionate to the rest of the game, causing frustration.

Difficulty too high overall: The overall high difficulty is a consistent complaint, with many players finding it excessive and frustrating, deterring enjoyment.

Lack of fast travel: Players strongly dislike the absence of a convenient fast travel system; the map is large, and fast travel is only unlocked very late, causing tedious backtracking.

Controls clunky overall: General controls are described as clunky and cumbersome, with the twin-stick scheme being unintuitive, especially the shoulder button jump, making combat and navigation frustrating.

Enemy design unbalanced: Enemy design feels unbalanced as players are underpowered compared to foes, and some enemy types have egregious behaviors that hinder progress.

Metroid-inspired gameplay focus: The game is frequently described as a Metroid-inspired title with strong emphasis on its Metroid side, drawing from early Metroid, Mega Man, and Contra. It is often called a Metroid-like or Metroidvania that leans heavily into the Metroid formula, with classic exploration and retro aesthetics.

Multi-phase bosses with checkpoints: Boss fights are multi-stage with several phases, including a final boss with up to 7 phases. Checkpoints are generously placed before each boss fight and often between phases, ensuring players don't have to redo entire battles on failure.

Large map with secrets and upgrades: The game is an old-school 2D Metroid-like with a large, interconnected map filled with secrets, upgrades, and varied useful weapons. Exploration is a core focus, with many hidden surprises and paths.

Robust assist and accessibility options: The game includes extensive assist and accessibility options such as save states, invincibility, infinite ammo, damage reduction, map reveals, status ailment immunity, and slowdown mode. These allow players to fine-tune the challenge to their preference.

Exploration and sequence breaking: The game features deep exploration with sequence breaking, mobility upgrades, and many abilities like 15 unlockable ones. It offers a souls-like difficulty, challenging boss fights, optional hard platforming, and a built-in randomizer for replayability.

Excellent Linux performance and stability: Players report that the game runs without crashes or issues on Linux systems, including native versions. It is also noted to work perfectly on the Steam Deck and in general technical operation.

Occasional performance slowdowns: A single player mentioned that the game sometimes becomes abnormally slow, indicating a potential performance issue under certain conditions. This feedback has low frequency.

Essential for Metroidvania fans: The game is widely praised as a must-play for fans of the Metroidvania genre, especially those who enjoy the classic Metroid formula and side-scrolling action. It is considered one of the best 2D Metroidvanias available and is a spiritual successor to classic Metroid games.

Great value for money: The game is highly recommended and considered well worth the price, even at full cost. It is seen as a good value purchase that justifies its expense.

Extreme difficulty challenge: The game is specifically recommended for players who seek an extremely challenging experience, comparable to the difficulty of NES Metroid. It is considered a strong choice for those who enjoy hard games and completionist challenges.

Difficulty may frustrate some: While the game is recommended for its challenge, several reviews note that sections and bosses can be oppressively hard or unbalanced. This makes it less suitable for players who dislike high difficulty or for younger audiences.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 15.0h.

Session length: 1.5h.

Endgame: 19.0h.

The game initially feels restrictive and linear, but becomes highly enjoyable once the map opens up and movement upgrades are acquired, typically within the first couple of hours.

Friction: steep difficulty in the beginning; linear early progression; limited movement options; control learning curve; initial lack of interest.

Unlock drivers: novel movement upgrades; map opening up after starting areas; generous boss checkpoints; satisfying progression gating; interconnected world exploration.

Metroidvania Veteran: Completes full playthroughs, explores branching paths, engages with optional challenges and achievements. Motivation: Mastering a challenging, fast-paced Metroid-like that honors classic design while offering fresh ideas. Stance: buy.

Accessibility Seeker: Uses assist features like reduced damage or save states to progress and finish the game. Motivation: Enjoying the game's world and mechanics without being locked out by brutal difficulty. Stance: buy.

Difficulty Masochist: Plays without assists, attempts deathless runs and speedruns, masters tight timings. Motivation: The rush of conquering brutally hard bosses and completing challenge achievements. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: The game runs flawlessly on Steam Deck with native Linux support and no stability issues. However, the default control scheme is complex and uncomfortable on the handheld, demanding significant customization (remapping, using back paddles) for an enjoyable experience. This tinkering requirement is the primary friction point.

Linux and Proton: Linux and Proton users report flawless compatibility with no crashes, glitches, or required tweaks. Both the native Linux version and Proton on Steam Deck run perfectly.

Comprehensive assist mode: The game includes a comprehensive assist mode that allows players to adjust damage taken, game speed, ammo refills, and other difficulty sliders. These options are toggleable, do not disable achievements, and help tailor the challenge to individual preferences.

Spiritual successor to Metroid: The game is widely recognized as a love letter or spiritual successor to the Metroid series, especially Super Metroid, but also draws inspiration from other classic games like Mega Man, Blaster Master, and Axiom Verge. Reviewers note it captures the essence of retro Metroidvania design.

Short but dense completion time: Completion times vary significantly, from around 6-10 hours for a standard playthrough to 30+ hours for full completion and all achievements. The game is described as dense with content despite its relatively short length, making it easy to replay.

Randomizer and high replay value: A built-in randomizer mode and extensive post-game challenge options, such as achievements for speedrunning, deathless runs, and minimal items, are included. These features significantly enhance replayability and cater to dedicated players.

Solo developer passion project: The game was primarily developed by a single person over many years, with estimates ranging from 13 to 15 years. This solo development is a point of admiration from reviewers, highlighting the personal passion and effort behind the project.