So did anybody end up playing this?
I just finished it this weekend and it's excellent, I highly recommend it. It's one of the best metroidvanias I've played, the closest comparison would be Shantae since you can transform into different monsters to get new abilities, but in my opinion it blows every Shantae game out of the water.
The gameplay is diverse, new abilities are doled out regularly enough so the action never gets stale. And what separates great metroidvanias from ok ones in my opinion: every new power completely turns the game on its head in terms of traversal and movement options. Formerly tough areas become trivial, and I caught myself thinking "wow, clever!" many times as they introduced new puzzles and challenges that required me to think outside the box and use my powers differently.
It's difficult too, don't let the cutesy graphics fool you. Some parts were as challenging as Hollow Knight, enemies hit hard! It took me 18 hours to 100% it, and I died over 100 times. But it's not as stressful, and save points are rather generous. I had to look up some of the last secrets as they were super obscure, but it's very rewarding to find some of the best hidden areas.
It's gorgeous, the soundtrack is top-tier, I could go on. Seriously, if this was a Nintendo game everybody would be praising it to the skies. The price tag may be off-putting but if you spent that much on Metroid: Samus Returns, you definitely should spend the same on this game.
