Wings of Endless review

Wings of Endless is a metroidvania with just a few more role-playing game elements than your typical genre entry. Like Isoca Games’ inaugural effort, LootLite, the title seizes your attention with its attractive pixel-art. Fortunately, there’s some decent dialog to complement the retro-style aesthetics.

You’re thrust into the role of Hariku, a young bounty hunter whose life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a talking owl, kicking off an adventure with intrigue and even a bit of heart-warming comradery. Before long, the storyline delves deeper than you might expect, detailing how a long-forgotten war has shaped the landscape and its inhabitants.

Traditional Movesets for the Trio of Playables

Undoubtedly, Endless’ combat system is rooted in metroidvania tradition. Hariku’s navigational abilities are quickly augmented by a succession of upgrades that provide abilities like double-jumping, dashing, and hovering. Each provides access to previously gated-off areas, providing a bit of guidance across the game’s expansive map.

The boisterous bounty hunter wields a giant hammer that can be charged, thumping both ground and air-based foes, with the latter providing a helpful hoovering ability. Not long after, you’ll unlock Diana, who’s armed with throwing daggers and bombs while Makoto will give you access to elemental attacks and well as icy shielding. Once you’ve unlocked the playable, you can freely switch between them. As such, you’re spurred to harness the advantages of each character’s capabilities, swapping playables frequently.

An Assortment of Irritations

Hariku’s lofty leaping meant he was the default character when navigating Endless’ expansive map. But even if you can forgive the lack of parity between the game’s protagonists, it will be difficult to not become frustrated by the level design. Sporadically, Wings of Endless’ camera won’t reveal a spike-bed or lava pit just off the bottom of the screen, leading to some discouraging falls. When hazards hit you simultaneously, such as swarms of bees and poison-spitting plants, Wings of Endlesswill test your patience.

Unquestionably, the game’s worst constituent is the sporadic boss battles that last far too long than they should. Some of the early showdowns are fine, but when each you’re tasked with shaving their gargantuan heath pools with feeble basic attacks, you’ll probably consider permanently sailing away from Wings of Endless. I did on no fewer than three different occasions.

The way item use is handled exacerbates the issue. Whenever you’re using one playable, you two reservists gradually heal, which is a compassionate mechanic. But when you are forced to say use a potion to stop poison from draining your life, Endless unreasonably forces a cooldown timer on you.

No Shortage of Graphical Variety

Endless’ trek takes you through several biomes that boast different types of topography, from thorn-covered flora, arid deserts, and even snow-capped foothills. Building on that, the game has at least 50 distinctive enemies and it’s pleasing to see developers rejecting the lure of basic palette-swapping. This variety does help to keep the gameplay fresh, constantly pushing you to adapt to new foe behaviors. And while the game also includes a crafting system, it’s the type of component you’ve probably seen dozens of times before.

Wings of Endless delivers a mildly satisfying experience. At its best, the game blends engaging storytelling and pixel art visuals to create a world that invites exploration. But Endless’ combat issues limits enjoyment, injecting a bit too much frustration into the adventure.

Wings of Endless was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.