Jakejames Lugo of The Koalition writes: Exile’s End is a 2D sidescroller that borrows heavily from classics such as Super Metroid and Castlevania. However, it doesn’t have the same level of quality or execution as those aforementioned games, which laid the groundwork for an entire genre. A shallow plot, terrible pacing, and annoying design choices are only part of the issues that make Exile’s End feel like a cheap imitation. The game is short and doesn’t require multiple playthroughs to see one of two endings, but some might give up within the first few hours before ever seeing this sci-fi adventure through to the end.
Exile's End is indie developer Magnetic Realms' homage to the CRT-monitor classics of the Amiga, and a follow-up to their first title Inescapable. While Inescapable garnered rough reviews due to it's linear nature and lackluster graphics, Exile's End boasts art design by staff from Secret of Mana and Mother 3, a soundtrack by NES legend Keiji Yamagishi (Ninja Gaiden, TecmoBowl), and gorgeously pixelated cut-scenes by OPUS (Half-Minute Hero). If that's not reason enough to grab your gamepad, than nothing is!
Exile's End was programmed entirely by one man, Matt Fielding, with some art and music assistance by Japanese veterans, including creators from games like Ninja Gaiden NES, Secret of Mana, and other early greats. It was his intention to make this game as an homage to early 1990s classics like Flashback and Another World. When launching this game for the first time, it is immediately obvious that it could have easily lived among games from that era.
Pure PlayStation: XSEED Games brought Exile’s End to PlayStation Network on the 25th of October for PS4 and Vita. Originally developed by Matt Fielding in collaboration with other Tokyo-based developers and backed by Japanese publisher Marvelous Inc, the sci-fi metroidvania is a port of the PC original that released via Steam. We’ve solved the mysteries of its extra-terrestrial conspiracy story to bring you our review.
