If you are like most of the gaming world you don't even know what Ender Magnolia is. Well, it is the follow-up game to Ender Lilies (yes, just one "L") that was a surprise Metroidvania hit back in 2021. I am a prime target for this type of game and one thing that made Ender Lilies so unique was that it was a metroidvania that had XP, which while I am sure there are other ones out there that also do this, I haven't had much exposure to them.
Another aspect of the Ender games that make them so special is that you play the role of a little girl and you don't actually have any ability to dole out damage. Instead, you are invoking the spirits of purified undead to do all the work in combat for you. Really the only thing that you as the little girl do at all is walk and dodge, the rest of the actions are done by the spirits that you envoke.
it's an interesting system of attack because there are a ton of different spirits and you can pick and choose which ones you want on your loadout. Since I am a bit of a sissy when it comes to combat, I normally will go with a ranged attack as soon as I get one because even though they do less damage, I like to be able to avoid damage altogether if possible.
Now Ender Magnolia follows in the same footsteps as "Lilies" and honestly they kind of feel like the same game with a few tweaks such as the fact that contact with enemies doesn't = damage to you in Magnolia, which is a welcome thing to have happen. I've never understood why any game would have you take damage simply for touching something else. Why don't they take damage as well?
As you would expect you progress through certain areas and always are aware of certain things that you cannot do yet but will be able to later as you get more items and the eventuality is that you will get to a boss room that is blocking your progress. After defeating said bosses you normally will absorb the spirit they are carrying that you can add to your arsenal if you so choose and also can carry on in the direction that the boos was blocking.
Unfortunately this is where I am having a problem with the game and I think some of it was actually put in there intentionally.
At just the 2nd boss in the game I experienced such a problem in getting past him that I had to step the game difficulty down to easy and even then I had problems and had to fight the boss 3 or 4 times before I got past him. I always hate putting games on easy because I feel like it is a copout thing to do. But the thing is, other than the boss, I wasn't really having much problem getting through the level.
I think that perhaps this was built into the game because you always have the option of going back and fighting all the monsters in a certain area over and over again in order to gain levels and become more powerful in both offense and defense.
perhaps I was doing too well and this is the reason why the boss was killing me in 2 or 3 hits. I've never been a fan of bosses that can do this especially when it take me 30-50 hits to kill them.
I didn't just start gaming yesterday, I am aware of the fact that bosses are supposed to be difficult and you aren't supposed to be able to figure them out on the very first try. Since there is a save bench right next to the entrance it doesn't really affect you very much but I draw the line at the fact that this is the 2nd or maybe 3rd boss in the game and it is already killing me with 2-3 hits.
I don't know if they are trying to get you to go and grind for more levels and then come back... if that is the case you can go ahead and count me as not interested. Also, it could be a case of them wanting you to become ultra-focused on using the dodge button more than you are using the attack button and that is fine, but I am still not down with a game system where I die so quickly if I make a small mistake. When you are dealing with bosses, they normally have an absolutely HUGE area of effect with their attacks and you also have a delay of sorts so you can't just be dodging all the time.
I have read that this becomes even more of a problem later on in the game and this is why a majority of people that have purchased this game have not completed it. They max out the level, have 1 or 2 bosses remaining, but every time a certain type of attack happens they get 1-shotted. This is something I hate about any game. When a boss can kill you with one hit and the fight takes a while to get through this means that one tiny mistake is going to make you want to toss your controller at the TV.
This is why I stopped playing Path of Exile 2 and I hate to be a bitch, but I think I will just go ahead and stop playing this game before I even get to the point where I am going to be come enraged. Maybe I should just go back and play the farming simulator because maybe I really have become that bad at gaming.
parry this you filthy casual!
I reckon I will give it just one more day before I call it quits and that is a shame because this game is visually stunning, has a wonderful soundtrack, and the controls are simple enough. Why can't it just ramp up the difficulty gradually? I am blazing through the regular enemies in the areas leading up to the boss with no problems at all but then get absolutely worked by the boss.
I suppose the expert teenagers out there would likely tell me to git-gud.