Steam] 2D Action RPG "ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights" Review A masterpiece with too beautiful graphics and full of addictive elements!

How are you doing, Akiba Research Institute readers? I am Nero Hyakkabe, a writer who buys too many games. I'd like to ask you all, have you recently felt that you have played a good game? Have you had a good game experience recently?　The criteria for a good game experience vary from person to person, but I personally think that I can feel that I have played a good game when I "forget about time and keep playing" or "feel an indescribable sense of fulfillment just by moving the characters".

Therefore, this time, I would like to introduce "ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights," a game I recommend to those who want to play a "good game" and is now available on Steam.

The story and basic system of "ENDER LILIES" are introduced! A young girl, Lily, advances through the land of the end with her souls. ......

ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights" (hereinafter referred to as "ENDER LILIES") is an exploration type 2D side-scrolling action game in the so-called "Metroidvania" style, in which the areas you can go to expand according to the skills you acquire in the course of the game. The game is a 2D side-scrolling action game in the so-called "Metroidvania" style. The game also includes RPG-like gameplay with the concepts of level-up and skill enhancement.

The most eye-catching feature of this game is the overly beautiful graphics, which are characterized by decadent and melancholy colors. The animation in the game, combined with the unique and fantastic atmosphere, gives the illusion of a moving picture book, and the movie scenes inserted here and there are of such high quality that you can't help but be impressed by them. Even if they do not know the contents of the game, the graphics alone will make them decide to purchase the game immediately, and I have a feeling that there are many so-called "jacket buyers.

Before introducing the contents of the game, let us first introduce the story and world view of "ENDER LILIES.

The setting of this work is a world called the "Land of the End. In this world, the rain of death has suddenly begun to fall, and all living things have become the "defiled ones," or the rabid living dead. The people are helpless in the face of such a tragedy beyond human understanding, and the kingdom eventually falls into ruin. In the depths of a dimly lit church in this ruined world, "Lily," a girl who has lost her memory, awakens. ...... is the synopsis of this work.

The dark fantasy-like story that matches the graphic atmosphere will thrill players whether they like it or not. Incidentally, the backbone of the story, such as the overall picture of the story and who Lily is, is not all made clear to the player from the beginning, but is gradually revealed as Lily progresses through her adventures. This could be described as a cinematic story structure.

Immediately after Lily wakes up in the church, she meets an immortal being called the "Knight in Black," who is watching over her, and sets off on an adventure with him.
This encounter with the "Knight in Black" is actually the basis of the battle system in this work. Lily, a frail young girl, can jump and evade, but she has no way to fight on her own. She then borrows the help of the "knight in black.

Lily can set up to six different "skills" in her slots, which can be activated by pressing the corresponding buttons. The "knight in black" mentioned above is also treated as a skill, and when the corresponding button is pressed, the knight in black appears in front of Lily, attacks the front with his sword, and disappears when the attack is over. This is the most orthodox normal attack Lily can use. This unique system, in which "Lily herself does not fight, but attacks her enemies with the help of immortal beings," fits perfectly with Lily's character setting and the content of the story, naturally drawing the player into the world of "ENDER LILIES.

As Lily travels through a devastated world, she encounters a variety of powerful enemies. If Lily manages to win a battle against such boss-class enemies, she will learn new skills by "purifying" the fallen opponent. The skills acquired in this way can also be activated by setting them in the skill slots and pressing the corresponding button, and each time, the purified boss character will appear and exert its power for Lily.

The opponent who has been struggling with you becomes your friend and fights for you (and with the same attack technique that once made you suffer!) This situation is very exciting, just like "yesterday's enemy is today's friend.

Another unique feature of this title is the ability to activate different skills simultaneously. For example, while invoking the "Merchant of the West," a skill that shoots a remote attack that homing enemies, it is possible to invoke the "Guardian Seagret," a skill that attacks by swinging a powerful iron ball, and then attack at close range with the sword of the "Knight in Black.

If Lily herself were to fight alone, it would seem physically impossible for her to swing her sword and fire homing bullets while wielding an iron ball, but because of the system in which her companions wield their power for her, she is able to launch multiple types of attacks simultaneously. This system allows the player to simultaneously launch multiple types of attacks, which I feel makes for a unique and highly original combat experience.

The charm of "ENDER LILIES" lies in its exciting exploration elements and challenging RPG elements!

As mentioned above, this is once again a "Metroidvania" style action game.
One of the features of "Metroidvania" is a system that allows players to go to areas they could not go to before by acquiring new skills and items through exploration. In this "ENDER LILIES," the system gradually expands the range of action by defeating boss characters and allowing Lily to obtain special actions. Large steps that could not be reached by normal jumping can now be reached by two-step jumping, and underwater movement actions allow progress to the bottom of the water surface that could not be dived ...... and so on. Every time you get a new action, you can say, "Oh, by the way, maybe I can get to that place by using this action: ......?" You can enjoy the pleasure of revisiting places you have already passed through. This is the essence of Metroidvania.

Some of you may be wondering, "No matter how much fun Metroidvania is, isn't it too much trouble to go back to a place you passed by a long time ago ......?" I think there are some people who are concerned about this. In this regard, "ENDER LILIES" is equipped with a very well thought-out system. The first and foremost is the "fast travel" system. By selecting "fast travel" from rest points that appear along the way, you can immediately warp to another rest point you have been to before. Moreover, players can return to the last rest point they rested at any time along the way. This system allows players to return to the vicinity of where they want to go immediately after getting new action, making for a comfortable and stress-free exploration.

Incidentally, this fast-travel system also features the "carriage-drawn horse," an unholy person encountered along the way. I was very impressed that the fast travel is not a mere warp, but rather, like the knights in black, it is made possible thanks to "beings who lend their strength to Lily".

In addition, the "map" in this title is also designed in a very friendly manner. The "current location," which is the area Lily is currently in, the "route" that shows how the areas are connected to each other, and the location of rest points can all be seen at a glance, and of course, the "unexplored route," "areas with remaining items," and "areas where all exploration has been completed" are also clearly displayed on the map. The system is designed to display "unexplored routes," "areas with remaining items," and "areas that have been fully explored. This allows for efficient exploration, such as returning to an area with an unexplored route or areas where there are leftover items when a new action is acquired. Compared to other works in the Metroidvania genre, I found this system to be one of the easiest to play.

Although the game is a comfortable Metroidvania, as I mentioned earlier in this article, it is not just an action game, but also contains elements of an RPG.

First of all, character levels. When you are defeating enemies along the way, a level-up indicator may appear above Lily's head. This happens when a certain number of experience points, known as "stains," obtained from defeating enemies, are reached. As the level increases, Lily's power, or attack power, increases. The benefits of level will be felt everywhere, such as the fact that an enemy that used to require three slashes to defeat can now be defeated in two.

However, it is important to note that Lily's HP limit does not increase even if her level increases; in order to increase the HP limit, you must wear an item of equipment called a "Relic," which has the effect of increasing the HP limit, or obtain an item called a "Piece of Amulet"! (The "amulet piece" is a piece of equipment that increases the maximum HP limit of the equipment. Since these are items that can be found along the way, it is important to explore every corner of the area, making full use of the actions you have learned, etc.

In other words, in order to strengthen Lily properly, it is required to play "defeating enemies to raise her level in order to increase her attack power, and exploring all over the area to increase her HP. I felt that this is a well-balanced growth system that does not bias play toward either enemy combat or area exploration.

Lily herself is not the only element that can be enhanced in this work. The souls that accompany Lily, in other words, the "skills" that Lily sets, can also be enhanced.

It is no exaggeration to say that strengthening skills, such as increasing the damage inflicted and the number of attacks, is a shortcut to success. In order to strengthen skills, you need to consume "dregs" of souls and impurities. This can be obtained by examining the red-lit corpse that Lily encounters along the way and by breaking objects on the stage, such as tars and wooden boxes.

As with the aforementioned "amulet pieces," the key is to explore the area thoroughly. Skills can be strengthened to a maximum of six levels, but this requires a large amount of residuals, so players will inevitably have to think about which skills to strengthen first. Should they strengthen remote attack skills to make the battle against enemies along the way a little easier, or should they strengthen the more powerful melee attacks to prepare for close combat with larger enemies? ...... One of the depths of this title is that there are as many strategies as there are players.

This title is not only a fun exploration action game, but also a RPG-like growth system, with character level-up, item collection elements such as reliquaries and amulet pieces, and skill enhancement through the collection of residues. All in all, I felt that this work gives players a sense of fulfillment that says, "Ah, now I am fully immersed in playing a game.

This is what is great about it! My personal recommendation for "ENDER LILIES

The graphics, music, world view, and game system are all full of "I like it! The author's personal recommendation is "a good amount of tingling".

It is a theory in the game world that games with a dark atmosphere usually have a high level of difficulty (?). This "ENDER LILIES" also follows this theory and is designed with a high level of difficulty. Most of the enemies' attacks in the game are very powerful, and if you get hit by them two or three times, you will be at the end of your HP. If this is the case with ordinary enemies, the bosses are, of course, even more powerful. If you are not careful, the game will be over in no time.

Although the enemies and bosses are quite tough, the difficulty level is not so unreasonable that you will want to give up playing. One of the reasons for this is the system in which enemies inform you when it is time to attack. Enemies in this game always emit a red light before they attack the player. This means that when players see the red light, they can stop attacking and prepare to evade. By using the so-called "hit and away" strategy of attacking and then avoiding, the player will naturally be able to conquer battles with the enemy.

However, in order to succeed in "hit and away," it is essential to learn the attack patterns of each enemy. If you do not properly assess your opponent's moves, you will find yourself in a tight spot in no time. Especially in boss battles, a single mistake can be fatal. If you are attacked by an enemy, you will want to recover somehow, and in fact, in this work, there is an action in which Lily can pray at any time to activate recovery. However, there is a limit to the number of times the prayer for recovery can be used, and furthermore, while the prayer is being offered, the player cannot move, creating a gap. It is important to know when to recover as well as when to avoid attacks.

If you are caught in a momentary gap, you will find yourself in a pinch in no time. On the other hand, if you can detect the enemy's momentary gap, you can win the battle without taking any damage. I felt that this "tingling sensation," which is the essence of the "deadly games" with high difficulty levels, and the feeling of accomplishment upon defeating the enemy, are the major attractions that make this game so addictive.

However, in fact, there are almost no negative elements, so-called "death penalties," which are given when the game is over. In some high-level, death-defying games, once the game is over, you lose all your possessions and items you have acquired, but in this game, the only penalty, if I may say so, is that you are returned to the last rest point you stopped at. I am a game enthusiast, but I am by no means a good one, and I have had experiences in the past where I have given up on a game because of a severe penalty. For such a person like me, the exquisite "not-too-harsh, not-too-tense" feeling of this game was the biggest attraction that made me fall completely into the game.

I would also like to introduce one more minor point that I would like to mention.

When Lily sits on the chair at the rest point, the menu for saving and changing skills appears on the screen, and at this time, her friends with the currently set skills materialize and appear around her.
This is the moment when Lily's friends with the current set of skills materialize and appear around her! She is fighting together with her friends! This is my favorite part of the game.

Incidentally, the game's UI menu can be hidden by pressing certain buttons on this screen. That means a chance to take the best screenshot possible. Well, what a heartbreaking feature. ......

What you are looking for in a game, you will find in "ENDER LILIES"!

So, we have introduced "ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights".

It is a fun metroidvania, a challenging RPG, a perfect balance of high difficulty action, goosebumps-inducing graphics and music, and a dark and beautiful story and worldview. All the elements that gamers want in a game... This title is packed with all the elements that gamers want in a game. This is a title that I recommend to anyone who loves games to play, no matter what it takes.

ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights" Steam

Title Information
"ENDER LILIES Quietus of the Knights" (Live Wire, Adglobe)
Genre: Action
June 21, 2021
Price: 2,728 yen (as of January 14, 2022

Author: Nero Hyakkabe: Freelance writer who buys too many games. Currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. His works include "Yubisaki Kaidan: 140 Scary Stories" (PHP Kenkyujo) and "Goa-ken: Unrated Edition" (Kodansha).; Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/KINGakiko; Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nero100kabe; about.me: https://about.me/nero100kabe/

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