Review: Ultros (Nintendo Switch) – Pure Nintendo

Ultros is a metroidvania with a difference. That might be an easy phrase to throw around, but Ultros really does stand out. This ambitious title takes the usual exploration and battle mechanics that we know and love and thrusts them into a psychedelic world.

The first thing you’ll notice when playing Ultros—or even by simply spying the screenshots—are the visuals. This colorful world is certainly striking, with pinks, greens, blues, and every other bright hue splashed across a lavish dream-like landscape. It makes for a trippy world that begs to be explored. The detailed background is sometimes too detailed, making it tricky to differentiate between something in front of you or behind you. Let’s just say, I tried (unsuccessfully) attacking the wall several times, thinking that a creature was about to engage with me. It was, in fact, a creepy mural upon the wall. Oops.

There’s a slightly bizarre story to accompany this intense look. It involves a heroine trapped in an unfamiliar world. As you progress, she meets other trapped entities, all of whom have fading memories. It appears the longer you remain in this mysterious place, the more you lose yourself. In this way, your goal is simple: find an escape. Oh, and destroy everything while you’re at it. 

The gameplay, in some ways, feels familiar. As with any metroidvania worth its weight in salt, you move left, right, up, and down in a sprawling, maze-like, 2D landscape. Each new room adds to your expanding map, and there are hidden pathways, save points, enemies, and upgrades along the way. The difference? Well, there are actually a couple, both of which could make or break the game for you.

Firstly, our heroine (who really, really looks like Vega from Street Fighter, by the way) possesses the ability to consume her enemies once defeated. Yes, “consume” as in eat. This odd characteristic threw me off at first, with a simple “Eat” command displayed alongside my fallen foe. Wait, what? It turns out that eating enemies revives you. It’s also an important currency of sorts, being traded in for upgrades. It’s still weird, though.

Secondly, there’s a simple gardening element at play. As you progress, you collect seeds which can be planted at designated spots. These become larger plants over time, granting you health or creating new pathways when you later revisit them. The caveat is that the right seed needs to be in the right place to properly impact the story, and it isn’t easy to know where to place them or remember which is which. A later ability to dig up and move seeds helps, but it’s still a chore that is a much better idea in theory than in practice.

The audio is a stand-out aspect, featuring subdued tones coupled with some lovely violin work. It provides a dark soundscape that juxtaposes the bright visuals, and it’s lovely to listen to.

On the Switch version, there are some lengthy load times that can impact gameplay. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s there. I’m not one who worries a whole lot about low framerates, but jumping doesn’t feel as smooth as it could, either. Perhaps it will run a little better on the Switch 2. 

Overall, Ultros is an ambitious metroidvania that stands out with starkly contrasting visuals and interesting gameplay elements. It’s almost too much for itself with a lot of ideas that don’t always work. It won’t be for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for something way off the beaten path, you’ll find it here.