Light and Shadow are two elements that have faced each other since the dawn of time: it is no coincidence that an equal quantity of both aspects is present in every human being. In nature, as well as in the mind of man, it is a struggle without quarter. Light that we often associate with good, with something positive that pushes humanity towards the highest peaks of goodness; Shadow that we connect to evil, to the night, to the little that is good. Aeterna Noctis is a Metroidvania that addresses these topics: the real question is whether these two entities are truly carriers of well-being and darkness as we are led to believe or if there is another version of the story, different from what we are used to thinking. You will find the answers at the bottom of this review by Aeterna Noctis, bring a candle because we will go down into darkness and since we are in 2021 do not forget a pair of sunglasses for when we go up into the light.
Chaos, fulcrum of creation
In the beginning there was nothing, emptiness dominated everything. Then came Chaos one day, a being endowed with infinite power, who tired of his loneliness decided to first create the planets, then the galaxies and finally enclose everything in a universe. Chaos populated the planets, creating men, women and animals and giving them free will; the omnipotent being decided not to limit his creation, permeating the universe with magic and mysteries. At first everything was harmony but then the greed of the human heart pushed friend against friend, sister against sister and two factions were born: Light and Darkness., both aimed at conquering the other.
Chaos with deep indignation decided to intervene and enclosed the two main contenders, the Queen of Light and the King of Darkness, in a time loop beyond the universe, so that they could fight each other without directly affecting the cosmos. With each victory ensued a period of reign of the winning faction, this until the other had regained their powers. The plot puts us in the shoes of the King of Darkness, devoid of powers that he must return to acquire in order to then face his twin, the Queen of Light. Although it is a specious concept for the purposes of the growth of the hero, the game presents us this new reality in a really big way and puts us in a position to feel compassion for the defeated King.
From Darkness to Light
During Aeterna Noctis our protagonist will have to face countless challenges: to begin with, he will be sent to an unknown point on the planet, devoid of any information and powers; taking the first steps in the game, we realize that some ally has remained to our fallen King: spirits and merchants who are not always human will be the companions on this journey to rediscover their powers, providing information, explanations on the characteristics of the surrounding world and objects such as potions, dimensional portals, upgrades and maps to better understand the surrounding area or even to find its hidden treasures.
Continuing the adventure you will find the powers that the King defines “divine abilities” which can be the double jump or the ability to dash forward and avoid attacks. There will be crystals that will give passive abilities such as an increase in the chance of critical hit or the time of the jump. Mainly what we understood in the review is that in Aeterna Noctis you fight with sword, a dark sword that will change shape with the passing of the choices you make: this in fact can become a scythe if you choose the upgrades of Darkness or a shining golden sword if you opt for the Light. There is also another way, the middle one that will make your King not unbalanced for either side, which will have interesting implications for the plot.
In general, the system of checkpoints and interaction with the surrounding environment in Aeterna Noctis is well thought out, capable of putting even the most hardened Metroidvania player to the test, notes that it reminds a little of the inherent difficulty of a Soulslike. Finally, there is no lack of citations to Hollow Knight: in fact, more than one monster will remind you of the title of Team Cherry, but we are convinced that it was not done for “plagiarism” but rather as a tribute.
It is not all Darkness that does not shine
Aeterna Noctis is a sufficiently complex title: on the one hand, the player has to contend with a hostile environment and a disarming variety of enemies, each with its own specific attack pattern and which never repeats itself for the duration of the game; on the other hand there is the duality of the protagonist, this King who could be as much a leader for light as for darkness (or for Chaos if you choose the central way). In the early stages of the adventure, interaction with certain environmental elements could be frustrating as traps that do not leave much room for maneuver but which instead must be completed by the pixel to avoid death.
Also it must be said that although the King may actually be empowered with Light or Darkness, remains a male character when we would have preferred to have the possibility to choose in which roles to face our adventure. Finally, the biggest flaw during the review we found it in the dubbing, which starts in English and then in the course of the game translates into a language of the planet of Aeterna Noctis, an unknown language with a strong dystopian and clearly annoying Spanish accent ( the choice could be attributed to the nationality of the Spanish developers, but we would certainly have seen better a well-structured dubbing rather than an invented language that mixes most of the Romance languages). The game does not enter the pantheon of Metroidvania but is appreciated enough. Good realization of the backdrops and the environment, inspired and with that touch of painting that really doesn’t hurt.
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