Iconoclasts

This game is fantastic. The puzzles are well-designed, the battles have unique and clever gimmicks and the story/characters are bound to stick with you long after you beat the game. If you like metroidvanias heavily focused on story, definitely check this game out.

I wish there was a neutral or mixed option, because there's plenty I liked and disliked here. There's great visuals and music, the platforming and puzzling is solid, and the story, while somewhat confusing and escalating in stakes very rapidly, is at least rousing you with it as it unfolds.
But the game forgets halfway through that it's supposed to be a metroidvania and stops giving any new abilities, the combat ranges from meh to bad, and most of the bosses have annoying gimmicks and poor telegraphs.
Despite this I still think it's worth playing, just maybe lower your expectations a bit and wait for a sale.

A 2D Linear Metroidvainia with a emphasis on the worldbuilding and story. This game is a solo dev project that took a quite a long time to make and I don't think the dev plans on doing anything this big again.
I don't really have much more to say about it sadly. It's not anything outstanding gameplay-wise but it has story and characters I enjoy with a good artstyle and sometimes that's good enough to make it one of my favorite games of all time. As a Metroidvania you aren't really sequence breaking rather than you can back track to talk to people and get things at certain points in the story but not others.
So really the best tell for if you would like this isn't to read a review describing it but to just look at the screenshots and maybe a gameplay video of the first section. The game is pretty much exactly what it looks like other than the fact that it packs alot of dialouge and story in, more so than is usual for this genre.

I've played through this game several times on multiple platforms and bought it for my friends more times than I can count. I fucking love this game.
The one thing that (to me) throws people off is that the gameplay is not its charm point— it's a Metroidvania, not an especially difficult one, and not one that does a ton of groundbreaking stuff. It's held back by a somewhat tedious collect-a-thon, to boot. By no means do I think it's a bad game– I love that every room has its own puzzle, and every pixel of every map, to me, is downright charming. I just think some people go into Iconoclasts wanting it to be something that it isn't.
To me, the story is its hidden gem. Its writing, while sometimes flawed and sometimes pessimistic, absolutely hooked me in. The game tells you comparatively little outright, characters are often intentionally cryptic, and the game relies on (if not outright begs) you as a player to be willing to put the pieces together, sometimes by completing multiple playthroughs or seeking out optional content. There's a ton of subtext and symbolism to unpack, and in that regard, I think it being an easier game with accessibility settings is the best thing for it.
And if you're reading this, I'm begging you to play it too, and to play it with a willingness to crack its worldbuilding open and slurp out its yummy insides.
However, please be warned: this game is known to not play well with Windows 11! If you have W11 and are worried about it not running, know that you can also pick this gorgeous game up on a number of other consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

The game is wonderful and has incredibly charming characters and environments. The boss fights are all so unique and try to utilize all mechanics that the player is introduced to. I also absolutely adored the soundtrack of this game ESPECIALLY Agent Black's boss fight music. They all set the tone and aesthetic of the levels so well. The story and the world itself is also really great and tackles interesting concepts. I've been a fan of this game for years now and always find myself drawn right back in so I definitely recommend this game with my whole heart.

By all means I dont understand the negativ reviews. This game is such a special experience and one of the best games I could ever experiance. Beside the fact that this game has one of the best pixel art ive ever seen, it has so much depth within it, which you just doesnt find very often in media and especialy games. Ive played this game two times, one in 2019 and one in 2022 and it felt just as good as I remembred. For anyone hesitating, its worth it. Konjak youve really made something truely special

10 out of 10, will play again. Not too difficult as a plaformer (there are no jump-over-50-floating-platforms-avoiding-enemies levels), which is rather good in the way I see it. Music is great, as well as the story.
By the way, the graphic style made me expect in the very beginning that the plot is simple and optimistic, but it is actually a well written drama. Moreover, I want to stress here that not every game makes you sympathize an antagonist; this one handled the task well.