5/5 ★ – Sefferson's review of Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist.

Ender Lillies: Quietus of the Knights was one of the big surprises for me in 2021. The atmosphere was unparalleled, and the overall game design was quite nice. Upon revisiting the game at a later date, I realized there are some issues with it that I was able to practically look past on my first playthrough, making it quite difficult to go back and fully enjoy a fresh playthrough. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist vastly improved every single issue I had with Lillies, and as a result, blew me away. I was ready to get another unforgettable experience, mainly because of the atmosphere; yet every system here just worked in such a great way. Thematically, Ender Magnolia is fairly similar to Ender Lillies. The overall story is practically the same, but this time around Lilac, Magnolia’s protagonist, speaks. This is a bit of a catch twenty-two for me, though. There’s a lot of exposition here, and unfortunately the story does trip over itself a bit at times. It’s hard to keep track of all the new characters being introduced. I don’t always need voice acting in a game, but I do genuinely feel that Ender Magnolia’s story could have been better if it was voice acted. It would have at least made it easier to keep track of all the events that happen throughout. All that being said, it still left a lasting impression on me, and the finale felt worth it. Visually, Ender Magnolia looks phenomenal. At times the characters on screen, mainly enemies, feel a bit like paper cutouts and it can kind of clash with the overall depth, but it’s such a minor nitpick. The backgrounds are especially jaw-dropping; featuring layers upon layers of details. Every location you visit feels unique and contrasting compared to its neighboring locations, which is always a feat for a Metroidvania, especially one at this scale. The largest upgrade to Ender Magnolia comes down to its gameplay choices. While you no longer have the ability to set preset loadouts for your abilities (rip, honestly my only major issue with the game), you are able to set 4 abilities instead of 3, so it’s still an improvement. Abilities also feel a lot more intuitive, as instead of focusing on quantity, it feels like there’s a larger focus on quality, I was consistently shocked by the way different abilities were utilized to solve puzzles for completion, especially the ability you get towards the end of the game that allows you to launch yourself horizontally. Tons of fun stuff! Ender Lillies had one of the worst map systems I’ve seen in a Metroidvania. It was passable, and there were some great features to it, but overall it made remembering areas of importance extremely difficult. Ender Magnolia, on the other hand, honestly has one of the best map systems I have ever seen in a Metroidvania. Ability gates are clearly laid out for the player, custom markers are there for players who need them, rooms are very easy to read just by looking at the map. It made 100% completion very cohesive and satisfying. I honestly can’t find the words to describe how great the soundtrack here is. There’s callbacks to Ender Lillies, the new pieces are incredible, boss fight themes feel intense and cathartic, each area’s theme fit perfectly with the atmosphere, all the way up to the very end. Even if you are uninterested in the game itself, do yourself a favor and check out the soundtrack. Mili returns from Ender Lillies, and delivered an even better more memorable soundtrack. I will be listening to it for years and years to come. Overall, Ender Magnolia really impressed me. I loved Ender Lillies on my first playthrough, despite some of its flaws, and I still think it’s an absolutely phenomenal game, but the improvements in Magnolia are night and day. This stands out among the sea of Metroidvanias I have played as one of the greats. Absolutely, highly recommend.