Introduction
Today we are once again delving into the madness of getting lost in a Metroidvania game! We are going to look at the game called Ender Lilies quietus of the Knights but for such a difficult name, we are going to use just Ender Lilies in this review. If you enjoy Metroidvania games, then Ender Lilies is perfect for you! Collect new skills as you purify bosses from the blight that has turned everyone into monsters! It is up to you to find out the truth as to why the blighted rain keeps falling and how to purify the land, you are the final hope!
What did I think before playing Ender Lilies?
Ender Lilies had a great demo release, which created quite some hype. I had a lot of fun with the demo! My wife and I were interested to see if Ender Lilies was worth pre-ordering. Thus, we went to the Nintendo Store Page to discover if this game was pre-order worthy!
The Nintendo Page
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/ender-lilies-quietus-of-the-knights-switch/
The Nintendo Page is very clear for gathering information. If you like souls-like games in the style of Bloodborne, creepy monsters and a gothic flair in the graphics, then Ender Lilies is a great match for you. Except Ender Lilies is 2D! If you are not a fan of gruesome art, then you should play another game. The music in the trailer and demo were amazing!
Rating
I rate Ender Lilies with a 9.1.
The demo already created quite some hype to get people excited about the final release. I heard that people were interested in this game even if they did not prefer Metroidvania games. The graphics and sound seem amazing, let us continue to the story of Ender Lilies!
Story
The story starts with you, a white priestess who is destined to cure the blight. However, the blight has taken out the complete continent of Lands End due to the unending blighted rain. You are the sole survivor who has not yet succumbed to the blight, but you do not have any memory of who you are. It is your duty as the last white priestess to purify the blight. Can you find out the truth and stop the rain, or will you take the easy way out and flee from Lands End?
Rating
I rate the story the of Ender Lilies with a 10.
The story is gruesome and horrific, but is a very good story with many hidden twists and different endings, there is also a secret ending!
There is also many notes and letters to be found which will grant you new insights on the world of Ender Lilies.
Gameplay
Ender Lilies fuses some genres into one, but the core component that you will find in Ender Lilies is Metroidvania. Expect to backtrack a lot as you gain new skills. Ender Lilies shows exactly where you need to search on the map where to find items. You can also see when you have collected all items in a map. However, expect some items to be hidden extremely well!
In the beginning you will only have one attack skill, but as you purify more blighted, you will gain new skills. In total, you can have six skills equipped, these are however on two palettes which you can swap on will. Some skills have uses which you can reset by resting or finding red flowers in the areas.
You start with three prayers, which you can use to heal your health points. If you are in need of more prayers, you will need to find relics, these relics can be equipped when you are resting. On your journey you will find Stagnant blight and Furious Blight. These are needed to upgrade skills, stagnant blight for mid boss skills, fury blight for major boss skills.
All enemies have patterns that you need to learn to avoid taking damage, as this is a souls-like game as well, expect heavy damage when you get hit! When defeating the blighted, you will gain experience points to level up. Even at max health, there are enemies that can three hit you! There is a lot more to the gameplay of Ender Lilies, but I will let you find that out for yourself!
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Ender Lilies with a 9.5.
I would like to give a 10 for the gameplay rating, but some items are hidden too well. As in, we spent over four hours looking on one map to find out you can apparently climb all the way out of the map! I would advise to get the uppercut skill before hunting down the last items!
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics are amazing in Ender Lilies, one of the best thing are the details of some small things in Ender Lilies. As you absorb more and more blight, your character will slowly transform! There is also great detail on enemies! Ender Lilies is a visual masterpiece!
Sound
The soundtracks are astonishing, you can just let the game run to listen to the soundtracks. All areas have a different soundtrack. The ambient noises are creepy and actually managed to spook me in the final area! There is also a real song in the credits if you find the secret ending! There is no voice acting, but that would not fit this game!
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Ender Lilies with a 10.
There are not many developers that put so much focus on graphics or sound in a 2D game! The developers created the perfect ambience for the story of Ender Lilies.
What did I think after playing Ender Lilies?
My wife and I had an amazing time when playing Ender Lilies. Beating this game took us way longer than usually. The difficulty is high, but starts fair in the beginning. However, the curve is extremely steep, and soon you will get thrown into the deep. Expect difficult bosses that will rip you to shreds in seconds!
If you like games with a high difficulty in which you need to hunt for treasures, then Ender Lilies is a match for you! My wife and I had a great time with this game, however my wife did hate the final area which is littered with poison. Better find a gas mask, or you will die within a few seconds! The gas mask is hidden somewhere in the poison area though! You might need to use some relics to increase your health to find the gas mask!
Rating
I rate Ender Lilies with a 9.2. After playing.
You might need to practice a lot to beat this game. I hope you can control your rage, or your controller might have a problem!
What are my personal thoughts about Ender Lilies?
Ender Lilies was a fun experience with a lot of different areas to explore. There are a lot of skills and relics to find, you can use these items to make your own build for your character! I have recorded the final boss fight with the secret ending because I had a lot of fun with a boss that actually proved challenging!
Rating
My personal Rating of Ender Lilies is a 9.6.
I enjoyed this Metroidvania a lot, as did my wife!
Last Words
Pros
- Find out the truth behind the blighted rain in this stunning story!
- Ender Lilies has one of the best graphics and soundtracks I have seen and heard in a long time!
- Purify the blight and gain new skills which will open new paths and areas!
- Fight epic bosses and try to learn their patterns, failing to do so will result in a quick death!
- Level up and build your character how you want!
- Hunt treasures and find blight to upgrade your skills.
- Discover many areas in a non-linear fashion!
Cons
- Ender Lilies has an extremely high difficulty rating with a steep learning curve.
- Some items are hidden too well.
If you like a good horror story with souls-like and Metroidvania elements, then Ender Lilies might be a game that you need to buy. It is worth the low price, but you could always be on the lookout for a sale!
Ender Lilies surprised me with how good the gameplay mechanics are!
Final Rating
9.6
Let me know what you think of Ender Lilies in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
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Though it was really hard at some point, it was truly an amazing game!
Good review as usual, and cool looking game.
Always excited for more Metroidvanias!
Ender Lilies looks great, love the priestess bodyguard pair
The early guardian is actually viable till the end as you can see in the video, I still use it in the final boss fight!
very good review
Thank you!
Very good review, think about that i should play the game
I think you would like the game!
This is definitely a top-rated metroidvania, just waiting for a good sale to scoop it up.
I hope you will enjoy the game!
Thanks for the review.
This sounds exactly like my kind of game! I love Metroidvanias with great graphics, soundtracks, difficulty curves, lots of things to do and upgrade and explore, and, most importantly of all, great stories! I also appreciate the spin on boss fights, where rather than fighting them to kill them, you’re able to purify their souls by defeating the darkness that has consumed them. The price is a bit much for me for now (about 30 Canadian dollars, on Steam at least) but it’s certainly much better than most other games, especially triple AAA ones! Thanks so much for reviewing and giving your thoughts on this indie gem!
I hope that you can afford the game soon and then have a blast when playing it!
Thanks for the review. I was not a usual player of titles like this, but since my graphic card broke a few years ago.
The passion for difficult games whichever they are plataforms, metroidvania or rogue-likes have grown. This one seems to be a really good one, keep up the good work.
I hope you will play and enjoy the game!
Great review! This game looks amazing and reminds me a lot of Hollow Knight, one of all-time favorites. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Ender lilies and will definitely pick up a copy as soon as it goes on sale.
I hope that you will enjoy the game when you get your hands on it!
It looks like a child of Castlevania and Metroidvania, does it play like it?
Yes, it plays a lot like those games! There are many open path that you can take early on!