Minoria

Minoria stands out as the first Metroidvania game where the parry system not only shields you from damage but also rewards your well-timed parries. The gameplay, while not intricate, offers a weapon and incense system tailored to your preferred style, without the need to manage stats post-leveling up. Facing major enemies or bosses proves moderately challenging, conquerable within the first encounter or after a few deaths. However, the initial phase of the game felt somewhat dull, lacking the immediate allure of other Metroidvania titles I've experienced. I rate this game 7.5/10.

Minoria is nice but also could be much better.
The basics
Minoria is an action-platformer with a story about a religious war between the church and the witches. You play as Sister Semilla who needs to rescue the princess of the kingdom. The story is okay, even though there's not much of it. The world felt pretty interesting, I've read every note I could find and still wanted more.
The mechanics
You'll probably need to get used to the game, but fighting is pretty easy — I've killed most of the bosses using the most basic attack and it worked perfectly fine every time. There are a few weapons that you cand change but they don't really affect your playstyle, so I'm not sure why they were added at all.
There is also parrying which you have to learn. At first I didn't think it was of much use, but parrying actually works the best when dealing with the regular enemies. If you parry successfully, Semilla performs a special attack which almost always leaves enemies with little to no health. When it comes to bosses though, parry simply parries the attack.
Aside from that, there are things that give you little bonuses and special attacks, but we'll talk about it in the next segment which is...
Almost everything aside from the basic attack and parrying is useless.
And that's what upsets me the most. Minoria uses some cool ideas, but the end product is disappointing at times.
During your adventure you'll find a lot of incences — these are items which give you either a special attack (you can use it a limited amount of times) or a passive bonus. The amount of special attacks is small, and the attacks themselves are not impactful enough to use. Most of the time it's better and easier to use your regular attack.
The passive bonuses are too passive, you won't feel their effect at all. They could have been a nice motivation for a player who is interested in creating different playstyles and builds. Or at least they could have been useful, so that you would actually think about what incense do you want to use for a specific goal. But I guess the developers were afraid it would make the game too easy. Oh well.
Other stuff that could be better
1) Double jump that is actually an attack. That's cool but with every weapon the attack looks different and sometimes it's annoyingly difficult to jump to the place you need to just because of this.
2) Sexualised designs. Like... bro, I get it that you're horny, but in this specific game it feels weird you can basically see main heroine's butt. Also, the "sexy nun" trope has been done a thousand times now. It's boring. You can do better.
3) There are several big locations: the church, the forest and so on. You would expect that the map shows you the borders of each of these locations, at least by the color, and it doesn't. The whole map looks like a lot of lookalike boxes. Also you can't leave marks so that you could return to the location later. So frustrating.
4) No fast travel. I mean yeah, you don't have to backtrack that much, but still, why not add it? Fast travel unlocks after you finish the game, and there is no implication during your playthrough that this will happen. So if you decide to collect everything before the end of the game, you'll find out later you could've used fast travel. Surprise! Why aren't you happy?
Steam Deck
The game runs okay, and the screen size feels perfect for a game like this.
In conclusion
If you've read my rant here, you're probably wondering why am I recommending Minoria. Well, even though I have a lot to say about it, I think it's a nice game to have in your library, especially if you buy it on sale.
I don't usually play games of this genre, maybe the only example would be Hollow Knight. If you have the same experience and you've liked Hollow Knight, definitely check out Minoria. Yeah, it's not that big and could have some improvement, but you'll spend a couple evenings enjoying it.

It's not usually my type of game, I'm bad at hard action games, but I still enjoyed it. Though "just don't get hit 4head" philosophy is always annoying, especially combined with it being extremely easy to roll into contact damage

General Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
I recommend the game, but with caveats.
Even though it differs from the visual style of the Momodora series, I found the game itself to be very beautiful and captivated me from the beginning, but I soon realized how repetitive and boring it was becoming. The enemy variety is very small, the patterns and difficulty are ridiculously easy to learn, and there is no real challenge from the beginning to the end of the game. Practically 99% of incense is expendable (with the exception of healing ones) and the weapons that the game offers are ridiculous. There is no reason to change weapons when they all have the same damage (with the exception of one that is weaker than the others), and their attack patterns only vary 2 or 3 times. The game's music is also nothing outstanding and the level design is weak and leaves a lot to be desired.
One thing that was very evident was that they tried to put a lot of Soulslike elements into the game in a way that didn't match the style of the series (despite this being a spin-off). I feel like it was all very rushed, untested and unrefined.
It's worth noting that I started playing Minoria shortly after playing (and 100% completing) Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, so comparing both games was inevitable. While in Momodora: RUtM I enjoyed finishing the game more than once, including in Insane Mode, here there is no real incentive to finish the game a second time to get the second ending, which makes the second playthrough frustrating. The map in New Game+ starts completely open, but although this helps, there is no indication of which areas you have already passed through in this second playthrough, which ends up confusing the player a little.
Despite everything, I still recommend the game and I think it's worth at least one playthrough, as you'll hardly want to revisit the game again.

The good:
-Beauty soundtrack.
-Beauty pixel art.
-Simple gameplay.
The bad:
-It was easier for me than Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight.

✔️ The Good
• Beautiful Art Style: Minoria features a visually stunning art style that immerses players in a captivating and atmospheric world.
• Engaging Combat: The game's combat system is fluid and responsive, providing a satisfying blend of challenge and excitement.
• Rich Lore: Minoria weaves a compelling narrative with deep lore, adding layers to the story and the world it unfolds in.
• Variety in Enemies: The diverse range of enemies keeps gameplay interesting, requiring players to adapt their strategies and stay on their toes.
• Atmospheric Soundtrack: The game's soundtrack enhances the immersive experience, setting the mood and tone for each moment.
• Puzzles and Exploration: Minoria incorporates engaging puzzles and exploration elements, adding depth to the overall gameplay.
❌ The Bad
• Lack of Weapon Variety: Some players may find the limited weapon options a drawback, craving more diversity in combat choices.
• Occasional Repetition: Certain gameplay elements, especially in combat encounters, may feel repetitive over time.
• Limited Replayability: While the initial playthrough is engaging, the lack of branching paths or multiple endings may limit replay value.
⚠️The Ugly
• Limited Character Development: The main characters may lack significant development, making it challenging for players to connect on a deeper emotional level.
Overall Score:
10/10

Maybe due to the length I would say get it on a sale, but otherwise quite enjoyable. The leveling system and combat are a little odd but make sense after a bit. Youre not really supposed to tank hits so its a slight challenge but there are more than enough save points to keep the pacing feeling good. The 'parry' you get also has an insanely generous window. Would love to see a more fleshed out sequel one day.