Foreign Sun

A phenomenal follow up to Biomass. Few games give me the freedom to miss crucial upgrades because I sequence broke and I adore Foreign Sun for it. The dev and their work of art deserve more attention and support and it's a clear piece of vision and dedication. Biomass' soundtrack is the only one I've ever bought and I'll buy Foreign Sun's as well if/when it's released, <3 Big Love keep making games <3

Foreign Sun, as well as its predecessor Biomass, is a game that deserves much more publicity than it gets. The gameplay can be a little bit rough, even in the more refined game, but accessibility options make it playable even if you just wish to engage with the intriguing story and atmosphere. That being said, the Sekiro-esque clashing of beamsabres is engaging, and all enemies have clear tells and punish windows. The battles have the juice, although for my tastes there is A LOT of fighting, especially if you're going for all endings. The story and atmosphere are the main draw for me. For the longest time, what actually is going on remained out of reach, and even after 40+ hours and after seeing all lore I cannot be definitely sure of the full timeline and everything that happens. That is, in my opinion, a massive positive side to the story. There are multiple factions, and how you advance through the game affects everything. Losing certain boss battles affects which route you're taking towards the end. And each ending was well thought-out and felt earned. TL;DR: play it. Is good.

I found this game by pure chance thanks to the Interactive Recommender. After completing most of the endings, I can easily say it exceeded my expectations. I like approach to the direction of a first playrhrogh/ending, it has excellent pacing, introduces all the plot bits neatly and showcases the game’s strengths, which isntantly motivated me to carry on and replay it. The combat system feels great and is very well balanced. That said, the large pool of secondary weapons feels a bit redundant aside from 2-3 of the strongest ones (or maybe I just didn’t find their intended uses). The sprite and background art is beautiful, and the excellent OST greatly elevates the whole experience. I commend the developers’ vision. Overall, this is a strong recommend, one of the better metroidvanias out there.

The game is beautiful, the sound design is excellent, the story is intriguing, it's all-around very well put together and it seems strange to me that this game is not more well-known than it is. It strikes me as a difficult game. Some games are "git gud" games and this is one of them. I'm afraid I might actually get skill-locked and not be able to beat it, that happened to me with Lies of P which was also an excellent game so I wouldn't consider the difficulty a downside necessarily, but it does stand out. EDIT: I spent some time hanging out by a checkpoint and practicing against nearby enemies for a few minutes and that helped a lot. The rhythm of combat in Foreign Sun is a bit different than other games of the genre but it clicked for me eventually.

This game it's not for everyone. It has a tutorial, a help menu and game mechanics are mostly explained. But what, where, why go or do not. Initially it seems very obtuse, things happen and you won't have an idea of why. Yet it's all worth it. After a likely disastrous gameplay, you will find yourself where you began, but you keep all your stuff and what you have learned. Each loop is another step in unveiling the mysteries of Foreign Sun. I'm by the third loop and I am still visiting places I had not seen before. Graphics are nice pixel art that runs at 90fps in my steam deck. Music it's quite good and varied. Some areas can be frustrating but nearly always you will eventually find a way to make them way easier. Environmental narrative and careful attention to dialogue, item descriptions and otherwise are key, too. Oh, and get that map. A soul is really worth it.

An expanded and better looking version of Biomass, amplifying both the strengths and weaknesses of the original game. There's some great boss fights in here for those that enjoy soulslike titles. Full video review: https://youtu.be/Lmz5nMd23xs