Have you ever eaten a meal that just… shouldn’t have been? Like, on the plate, it all made sense; you had your protein, your greens, your carbs, maybe a dressing or sauce. A meal you’ve eaten 1000 times before in your life. But something about it – maybe it was the sesame oil over the wilted kale, maybe it was the gochujang sauce seared onto rendered fat of the pork belly, maybe it was the hard, chewy crispy onion mixing into the soft, yielding texture of the rice – made it the best damn meal you’ve ever eaten.
Ultros is like that, a buffet of sumptuous ingredients all handled with artisanal care, prepared and organised into a delectable feast – moreish and maddening, and so, so much more than the sum of its parts. Equal parts action, exploration, and philosophical lecture, Ultros is the kind of game you can only play for the first time once. And I’m already upset I’ve used my first go up.
Ultros is the best Metroidvania I’ve played since Hollow Knight. But that’s only one aspect of what it is. This trippy labyrinth of interconnected tunnels and tapestries has that special catnip effect that the best in the genre have perfected (Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge, Guacamelee, and so on) whilst also layering in a combat system that makes its peers look bland and tasteless by comparison.
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