Sundered: Eldritch Edition

Interesting, while Dead Cells was more roguelike than metroidvania, this one is more metroidvania than roguelike. Both are interesting in their own ways.

After Jotun (which I could only beat because of the tremendous amount of hours I spent in Hades I + II), it seems like the developers at Thunder Lotus Games made freedom and ease of movement a top priority in their next title. And it really paid off.
The abilities, the combat, the exploration, and the discoveries, everything in this game is so much fun. The sense of progression with the central skilltree is really nice, and I very much enjoyed piecing the story together. It's not a large game, but it's very polished and well-calibrated (I played on Easy, Normal, and Difficult), which made me want to have more game than was there. So instead, I 100% my three saves.
The artwork is gorgeous and very creative, and a lot of effort must've went into the animated sequences (which reminded me of Jotun). And the voice actor for The Shining Trapezohedron (still not sure if the stone is talking or if it's a conduit for that Nyarlathotep guy) is super awesome. Whenever he would talk I would just stand there and listen. Oh, music and sound design, too. Both greatly enhance the atmosphere.
Also, I also wanted to say thank you to Thunder Lotus Games for featuring female protagonists in all 3 titles I've played so far. As a female player, it just feels different, somehow.
TL;DR: I liked this game so much I put other metroidvania games on my wishlist. I played through it three times, unlocking all endings and 100% the game's achievements. I could not recommend this game more.
NOTE: If you're having trouble with the game's unusual keybinds (I'm used to moving with WASD and attacking with my mouse), consider changing them in the options.

They mean it when they describe this game as chaotic. On early game, that can feel frustrating. After you get some upgrades and corrupt some abilities though? You feel like a god killing all those enemies like it's nothing. I think whether you'll like the game or not heavily depends on how patient you are to get through the frustrating start.
To me, Sundered is a good game that features some genuinely insane design choices. The unlimited enemy horde rooms are definitely one of those. These choices are not bad, and definitely make for a very unique experience with the game... But a lot of it can get overstimulating and "too much" at times. When I wasn't extremely confused about what is on my screen though? I was having the time of my life with this game. The combat, and the corrupted abilities especially, feel really smooth and satisfying to use, and going through endgame felt great as hell. The game is not balanced, but damn if it doesn't own up to it and feel great to play the endgame as an extremely OP powerhouse of a character. It's definitely a good payback after the weak early game. Also, the bosses feel so satisfying to beat. The overall game feel is good as ♥♥♥♥. Also the sound design, music and the language? Cool af, I rarely want to listen to these "companion"/"temptator" kinds of voices but this was an exception, this guy cool as ♥♥♥♥ and actually those abilities were worth it.
That being said, this same amount of chaos and freedom of the game and the unbalanced aspect of it all do have their downsides. The hordes can feel overwhelming very often, and usually when I was in such sections, at least before late game, I closed the game pretty fast, whether I succeeded or died, just because of the sheer overstimulation of it all. Eventually I learnt to ignore the hordes if they proved to be overwhelming and just do my own thing while they followed. I recommend you do the same, especially on early game. I also think the skill tree is too much of a headache, and requires too much grinding.I think there should have been less upgrades that do more and, potentially, cost more.
Other than that, not a good or bad thing but the game means it when it says it's equal parts roguelike and metroidvania. To me that was a fun balance, but i'm sure not everyone will appreciate that.
Overall I think if you don't mind the tidious early game or the skill tree being kind of a mess this is a pretty fun game to try out. It sure has its flaws but ultimately makes for a really fun time with some extremely cool bosses and the best ability set I've experienced in a metroidvania.

Sundered is a smooth, but short, metroidvania wrapped in a Lovecraftian sci-fi shell. The combat feels incredible, the skill tree offers another layer of character progression, and the world is well designed with sequence breaks and secrets to discover.

I enjoyed it enough to do two playthroughs, one for each ending. The two endings require you to pursue different unlocks for your character, drastically altering the way you play the game. The “Embrace” path of corrupting your abilities gives you access to a much improved movement kit. The “Resist” path offers an upgraded skill tree and additional combat prowess. I vastly preferred the Resist path based on combat feel alone. My Embrace character felt underpowered in comparison, but navigating the world felt incredible with the improved navigational abilities.

There’s a wide array of difficulty options, from choosing a difficulty at the main menu to equipping perks that offer greater risk for greater reward to grinding for shards to increase your player power. I thoroughly enjoyed mastering the game on hard, grinding to max out my character, and then facing the empowered bosses.

Highly recommended to fans of Metroidvanias. It hits all the right spots and is the perfect length.

Just 100% the game, loved everything about it. Did wish the story telling could be a little bit more clear, but definitely one of my favorites.

The art and the soundtrack are incomprehensibly good and work together to produce a magnificent atmosphere of the eldritch beating down on existence, the horde mechanic as much hate as it gets from others, seems quite fitting for the mood that the game is trying to set. You are not supposed to have chill time, the randomized levels not letting you get comfortable with layouts also tracks. I just wish there was more.

A masterpiece. An amazing game. Came in with no expectation. Came out with an incredible experience.