Treasures of the Aegean

Outer Wilds + Fate of Atlantis + Tomb Raider + Prince of Persia
short and sweet

This is a really neat little game. I wouldn't call it a metroidvania; it's really more a platformer puzzler with a time loop mechanic. You run through a massive, open environment within a time limit, solving small puzzles and navigation challenges. Any items you collect either permanently add to your time limit, or add to some of the game's lore. You're working towards solving some of the game's biggest puzzles, and the final challenge is to unlock them all in the same run.

Graphics-wise the game is modest, but the environment design is pleasant. The character portraits are clearly hand-drawn and nice, though they aren't very consistent. Your main character, Marie, can look like a different person from panel to panel.

The only other criticism I have is the game's English translation has some occasional issues. Nothing that would stop you from playing through it though.

Overall just a really neat idea for a game that is well-executed and doesn't last longer than it feels like it should. I beat it in about 6 hours with only a few optional collectibles missed.

A time loop game in a 2D exploration platformer shell. The movement feels good, allowing you to build momentum when you find the right line, and you're rewarded for navigating the environment swiftly by being able to get more out of each loop. I liked bringing everything together in the end. A pleasant surprise.

Writing this as the credits roll, after 100% and letting the game idle for a couple hours by accident.
This is a weird game to evaluate, but without burying the lede, I really enjoyed this one. I 100% would not describe this as a metroidvania, and I think the game would be more interesting and easier to pitch if it wasn't marketed as one. I might be more inclined to refer to it as a metroidbrania, though. (I know a lot of people find that genre name obnoxious. Whatever, lol)
The base price on this one is kind of crazy, too. I try not to harp too much on nebulous value debates in my Steam reviews, but 20 euros for this game is rough. The game is only generously 6 hours long to 100% without a guide, and there isn't actually even 6 hours worth of unique, quality content. The game loop, which I'll get to, kind of intentionally causes a bunch of backtracking. And that's fine! But if you take away a lot of the random meandering through areas you've already cleared out, the game is probably closer to 4 hours, and of those 4 hours, maybe 30 minutes are a story that doesn't really go anywhere or have anything interesting to say.
For 5 euros though, it's still easily worth it.
I also did really enjoy the gameplay loop overall. It's extremely novel, and one of my favorite implementations of a timeloop in a game off the top of my head.
My main issue with it is that the majority of the exploration just... isn't worth it. You honestly have more than enough time to finish the game even without picking up any collectables other than what you happen to come across, you get no real reward for finishing the prophecy or the treasure log, and the "powers" that are the meat and potatoes of the optional content are absolutely, completely, worthless.
The lion's share of the optional content "challenges" boil down to "see the object and jump over to its ledge." This is okay, again, the game isn't exactly long. It's hard to say it really overstays its welcome, but you're looking at a game with a really strange make-up of content.
The game, when doing nothing other than running around finding what you need to finish the game, is probably 2 hours long, and is maybe 6 hours long to 100%. This means that's 2/3 of the content in an already short game is optional, and of that optional content, maybe 80% of it is wholly uninteresting, and 100% of it is unrewarding. Meh.
I'm being really rough on the game, but it's more from a place of love than hate. I really did like the experience overall. The novelty of the setting and gameplay premise are more than worth the price of admission when on sale. It's a cute experience I'll probably find myself thinking about off and on for a while. It just feels like the game was designed as a metroidvania, but only superficially. I wonder if the game would have been a better, more focused experience if the map size and collectable count were slashed in half, with more interesting gameplay variety and reward systems in the remaining content.
The comic book art style is really nice, too. One of my favorite aesthetics. Unfortunately, a lot of the actual animations are... stiff, to say the least. But all of the actual cutscenes are gorgeous.
P.S. I understand that French is the native language, but the English store page could have used a lot of work, and I know I'm a hater, but if I didn't see this recommended on Reddit, I probably would have been pushed away by all the random typos and grammatical errors. Non-lineal is not the word you were going for, that would be non-linear.

Take 1 Lara Croft, remove the guns but increase mobility, add a time loop like the one in Outer Wilds, put the mix into a 2D metroidvania (or "metroidbrainia") drawn in a European comic-book style and you get... a really nice game, very original. The historical setting is also hardly ever seen anywhere compared to the Greek city-states that existed centuries later.
The only downside is that I wish the game made the difference between pure collectibles and plot-related items more obvious, since you really need to mark the latter on your maps if you have the same bad memory as me.
Highly recommended unless you want combat (there is none) or can't stand timers. And you need to figure things out yourself of course, the game doesn't explain anything outright except the controls. It's all about fast platforming and learning the map here.

A rather brilliant parkour-platformer. If you ever wanted the puzzle-solving part of Tomb Raider as a 2D game, this is it.

If you like time loop games and info-based progression, this one's a no brainer. Undercoders has quietly been trucking along making cool little hidden gems and this is probably their best work. Excellent feel to the movement and a large island to run around on and explore.