A review was code provided, with many thanks to Stride PR.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist Blooming Beautiful
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is the sequel to Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. The latter was one of my favourite game releases back in 2021, a tough but gorgeous adventure game with a soundtrack that just melted the heart. When I was offered the opportunity to cover the sequel, Ender Magnolia, I was quite surprised that a sequel was coming so soon.
However, this isn’t quite ready for prime time yet. Ender Magnolia has been released into Early Access, and at the time of writing, you’re looking at about three hours of gameplay, making this more of a generous demo. In the short time I spent with the game Ender Magnolia, I saw that it looks to achieve exactly what its predecessor did in terms of challenge and possibly pulling at your emotions. If that sounds good to you, then be sure to take a look at this.
Land of Fumes
Ender Magnolia is set decades after the events of the first game, which marked the Rain of Death. Now set in the Land of Fumes, magic and technology have been meshed together to create an artificial life known as Homunculi. Unfortunately, the toxic fumes have driven the Homunculi into madness, making them more feral monsters than helpful companions. You play as Lilac, a cute sprog who has awakened in the ruins of an underground lab.
Lilac poses a special gift to cleanse the Homunculi and make them good again. With the help of these homunculi, you set out on a quest to cleanse this tortured land. From early impressions, the story appears to hit the emotional beats of the first game. The Homunculi look scary and angry when you encounter them, but in defeat, you often feel sorry for them as you hear about their troubled past. Lilac feels like this bright light surviving in a dark and decaying world where the odds are severely stacked against you. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that doesn’t let up, and I loved it.
Let Your Friends do the Fighting
Much like the first game, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist bends adventure exploration with hack-and-slash style combat. The feature that stands out most to me about these games is how you equip these Homunculi to basically attack you. Lilac will navigate around the map with simple platforming skills, but when it comes to defeating enemies, a tap of one of the attack buttons will instantly summon your friend to step in and take a swipe at the enemy. Up to 4 Homunculi can be equipped at once, and their moves can be combined to create devastating attacks. But you’ll need to be quick on the dash button to stay out of harm’s way.
Unlike the first game, I actually found the combat more forgiving here, making this entry much more beginner-friendly. Maybe that will change in the final release, but a glance at the options suggests the developers will allow for flexible difficulty. The option to adjust it is currently not available in the Early Access version, but this may appeal to those who found the first game played too rough.
Beauty In Pain
Graphics have a similar feel and tone to the first game. Exceptional detailed hand-drawn sprites navigating a world in sadness. The main difference in the design this time is you feel a technological leap compared to the first game. Enemies feel like a combination of organic and mechanical parts. However, due to the toxic fumes, they look in agonizing pain and hence reflect a horrific image of disease and torture. When you defeat one of the bosses, Lilac touches the Homunculi with a healing head, and this beautiful healing wave of blue echoes outward, and a beautiful moment of peace spreads across the game.
What I’m trying to say is Ender Magnolia is very arty, and I would be happy to have one of the screenshots of this game mounted on my wall. Just like the first game, you have this beautiful soundtrack that pulls at the heartstrings. Dealing with diseased horrors never felt so relaxing. Currently, the soundtrack is not available to purchase on Steam, but I imagine that won’t be the case forever.
Final Thoughts
Ender Magnolia presents a very solid start in Early Access. It has beautiful graphics and a captivating soundtrack. Not only that, it features responsive gameplay and a world that’s begging to be explored by eager players looking for a new adventure. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is welcoming to newbies and does not require any prior knowledge of the previous game to enjoy. However, I would still recommend looking into the first game, Ender Lilies, which doesn’t really feel like it has aged. Also, I played this a lot on Steam Deck, and it worked great, though it’s yet to be verified.
My main critique at this stage of development is Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is very similar in tone and design to the first game. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that, but some players may see this sequel as being more the same. But it is still in Early Access.
Overall, Ender Magnolia has made a strong start in early access, and I look forward to following its progress.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is available now in Early Access on Steam. No final release has been set yet. It can be purchased now, and you can follow its journey through Early Access, but if you prefer to wait, consider Wishlisting it, as that helps the developers out, too.
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