Astronite

Its quick and cute. The early game and bosses were the most fun. It had a couple really finicky spike sections to get through. Only one problem i had with the game really, its a movement mechanic, if you pressed against a wall you wont slide into gaps and just fall to your death. Really annoying to just barely overshoot with the gap with an aerial dash or running out of jetpack. You fall like a brick past any opening in a wall as you fall. I took my time and finished with everything collected in 6hours, its probably more like (2-4h of gameplay, its hard to guesstimate) i spent way too much time doing pointless things and backtracking to the same exists over and over because i forgot what was at each as well as taking some breaks as well as farming for specific upgrades. 15€ euro seems a bit expensive for that amount of game you get but thats what the summer sale is for. Perfectly fine for 3€ something with a 75% discount.

Astronite, developed by Dume Games Studio and published by JanduSoft, is a strikingly minimalist yet demanding entry into the Metroidvania genre, built around a bold 1-bit visual presentation and a tightly interconnected world. From the moment you step onto the ruined planet of Neplea, the game makes its intentions clear: this is a focused, exploration-driven action platformer that values precision, tension, and methodical progression over hand-holding or spectacle. Its stark black-and-white aesthetic immediately sets it apart, evoking the spirit of early handheld titles while layering on modern map design and systemic depth. The heart of Astronite lies in its world design. The planet unfolds as a labyrinth of corridors, vertical shafts, hidden chambers, and interconnected regions that gradually open up as you acquire new abilities. True to Metroidvania tradition, progression is tied to movement upgrades and tools that allow you to revisit previously inaccessible areas. Double jumps, enhanced mobility options, and offensive improvements steadily transform the way you navigate the environment. Backtracking is not simply filler; it becomes a satisfying exercise in mastery as once-th…

Controls are sometimes glitchy, and some platforming sequence are a bit too unforgiving for my taste, but otherwise a solid neoretro metroidvania, although a minor one.

This game is criminally underrated. It's very fun and challenging. Took me about 7 hours to finish and get all the achievements. Bosses are pretty easy. Each boss has about three attack patterns. Once you learn the patterns, they go down easily. There isn't a lot of common enemy designs, but they make up for it by being unique, you won't encounter two enemies with the same attack pattern. Platforming is very hard and stays that way until the end. Thankfully, there is no need to replay the hardest sections. There are very few secrets and most of them are very easy to spot. Most of the secrets are treasure chests with money, which can be easily obtained from foes. You can also purchase an item that reveals all treasure chests in the map. The game has a couple of soulslike mechanics: Corpse runs and enemies respawning on save. So I wouldn't recommend the game if that's a turnoff. The only way to heal is at the save stations. Thankfully, there are a lot of them. You will rarely find yourself four map sections away from one.

Short but fun. Done by a person alone, with lots of love and passion.

Awesome