Apotheon
The Gods of Olympus have abandoned humanity, leaving you to perish without their benevolence. Take up arms against the Gods, climb Mount Olympus, and take their divine powers for yourself to ensure mankind’s survival! Apotheon is a fast and brutal 2D action game with a striking art style and heroic narrative based on Ancient Greek Mythology. Features: -Brutal and bloody bronze-aged combat! Slay your enemies with swords, spears, arrows, and other ancient weapons of war. -Explore the massive open world of Mount Olympus! Battle mythical beings and search for divine treasure across the Forests of Artemis, the Palaces of Apollo, and other sanctuaries of the Gods. -Guide the rise of Nikandreos, humanity’s last hero. Interact with a colourful cast of fully voiced legendary characters throughout a rich single-player experience.
Game Discussion
Steam User 9
I picked up Apotheon mostly because the art looked cool, but I ended up liking how it actually plays. Combat feels heavy and kind of unforgiving at first. You cannot just swing nonstop. Stamina runs out fast and enemies hit hard, so fights take some patience.
Exploring Olympus is fun, though I definitely got lost more than once since a lot of areas look similar. The boss fights were the best part for me. Each god felt different and beating them felt like I earned it, not like the game handed it to me.
The story is pretty light and stays in the background, which worked for me. Overall it is a tough but satisfying game with a really unique look, especially if you like slower, more thoughtful action games.
Steam User 5
I played this on Deck, so I can't speak for PC.
This is not a metroidvania. None of the powerups enable new exploration or gameplay, they unlock abilities, but it doesn't really change how you play, so be prepared to use the same weapons the same way. You get powerups by beating the bosses, and the bosses are necessary to progress. It is a brawler platformer, and one where the physics are bad, the auto-aim is bad, the UX is bad, the pacing is bad, and the balance is bad.
Rush the game on the default difficulty so you can play on the new-game difficulty for a decent (but still low) challenge. Even then, most bosses can be beaten by just drinking an invincibility potion and spamming your attack. Only the final assault, and final boss fight present a challenge. The true "final" fight is trash and should never have been left in the game.
Over all it's bad gameplay supported by a nice environment and some casual fun. There is enough variety to keep it interesting. Check it out if you like platformers, and try to keep a mindset where you consider the jankiness part of its charm.
You can 100% it in one playthrough other than the achievement for beating Olympian difficulty
I think the price is justified if you are a completionist - you'll definitely get a good $/hr
Steam User 4
Though I have a small play time on steam, I have hundreds of hours on the PS4. This is my favorite Metroidvania and nothing even comes close to the art direction and combat in this game. Just peak
Steam User 5
Play it. It's just perfect.
The artstyle, the music, and most importantly - combat are all top-notch.
I've played on the Olympian difficulty, which adds some combat tweaks to make it more difficult, such as incoming damage cancelling your current attack. Since the game gives you a roll ability plus the fact that all attacks need to be timed equals that it's just basically Dark Soul's combat, but in 2d, and surprisingly, that works quite well.
Now, for the thing that surprised me the most: all, and I mean, ALL characters are voiced. The voice acting is very good and it genuenly feels like theese are characters and not people just reading the lines.
Now, the gameplay: you will be slaying bosses like it's Cuphead, and they're all actually pretty great: each has a unique style of fighting, unique attacks (duh), and most importantly, new mechanics. For example,
a fight with SPOILER ALERT! Artemis involves her turning you into a deer to hunt you down, and you must dodge her arrows to activate 5 altars, after which the roles flip and then you must hunt her down instead, while she tries to activate the altars, and it's super fun. And every fight is unique like that, add this to the fact that every area you visit introduces a new gimmic, and you get a unique and fun gameplay that I do not think I've encountered in other metroidvanias.
So, if you like greek mythology and dark souls combat or just looking to have something to play on evenings, this is the game for you.
Steam User 4
I had this game in my Steam library for many years and finally decided to check it out. It is a fun game, with some good mechanics. Nothing that feels like it hasn't been done before but this game does it all well with a very unique art style. I enjoyed playing it and I am sure others would too.
Steam User 3
Definitely one of the most unique games on Steam. The story is interesting enough, but what sets the game apart is its level design, combat system, and art style. The game is a really solid metroidvania, with a range of interesting, diverse, and well-designed levels, offering plenty of side quests and secrets (rewarding players who like to explore), as well as a completely unique vibe throughout. The combat system reminds me of old Flash 2D shooters, which is a really nice association. The boss fights are also worth mentioning, as most of them are unique and different from what you might expect. Finally, the visuals are stunning and one of a kind, using old ceramic vases as inspiration. Even if you don't like this type of game, the art style alone makes it worth trying out. Wholeheartedly recommended.
Steam User 2
it's a very good metroidvania-like 2D platformer with a stunning artstyle and voice acting. the gameplay is very fun as well. slight issues with unresponsive button imputs and occassional crashes.