Headlander

A short, fun, amazing, addictive metroidvania. Damn I wish this game had some DLC or a sequel.

I originally bought this game in 2016 for my chonky 18 inch laptop with a desktop grade Intel core i7-6700k GTX 980, it was fun then, its fun now.
Currently rocking a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RX 9070 XT, running the game at the maximum graphics preset in 4k, super sampled up to 8k, the game is beautiful and still gets over 60 FPS, about 67 on average.
The game has fun mechanics and puzzle solving elements, and to beat its not too long either, it knows not to overstay its welcome, which stops it from getting boring or frustrating.
While I dont think the game is worth $20 today, I would say its a good game to pick up for a day or three if it goes on sale and you want something thats cozy, but not going for that cozy vibe.

Good metroidvania style game.

The artstyle makes it so that it does not nook dated. The world is well designed and the mechanics are fun to play.

Not too complicated to 100% as well.

8/10

What this is missing in gameplay and mechanics, it really makes up for in terms of artistic vision and design, with beautiful backgrounds and stylish thematic cohesion, managing to blend the sci-fi and 80s styles perfectly. The gameplay is simple but satisfying and while it does become quite chaotic in terms of amount of projectiles, it's still very manageable thanks to the upgrades and way the damage and health are divided among the different colors. Also appreciate how short of an experience it was, so that it never felt like it was overstaying its welcome. A pity there's only 2 bosses the whole game. BTW kudos for the "chess" section of the game because it was very clever.

Fun experience with a bit repetitive gameplay, however the uniqueness and world-design elevates it to a mindblowing level! Double Fine once again demonstrated that creativity is king in gaming

Absolutely amazing. This game has definetly been overlooked. Never heard of it, found it by chance. All aspects are great. The design, the animation, the soundrack, the gameplay, the action and the quests are all so cool. Getting this game is a no brainer.

A doubly fine game. A wacky story, fun characters, interesting combat, great aesthetic, fully voice acted and lots of puns.
I hesitate to call it a metroidvania though, but i guess that's just me. Also 60fps lock is kinda meh.
Get it on discount if you think it's too short.