Ultros was presented on May 25, 2023, during a State of Play conference organized by Sony. The title more than caught the eyes of players. It must be said that with its artistic direction, the title developed by Hagoque and published by Kepler Interactive is impressive with its artistic direction. An action and platform game that's all about fun? Answer in our test
Ultros is probably the second big metroidvania released this year. Following on from a very good Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the title released on February 13 on PC, PS4 and PS5 tries to place itself in the list of contenders. An ambition that he displays in an indiscreet manner with an atypical vision. Artistic direction, atmosphere and even gameplay… Ultros innovates at all levels.
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This tomb will (or not) be your tomb
Described as a “love letter to science fiction”, Ultros clearly places its scenario in this vein. After the crash of his ship, the player lands on the Sarcophagus. It's a gigantic space building (compared to a cosmic womb on its Steam page) sheltering a demonic being who gave its name to the game. The latter has such an influence that, even when asleep, he manages to lock the main character in a time loop. To escape, he must explore the Sarcophagus in search of an exit door.
A fairly basic synopsis that doesn't get thicker as it progresses. We only meet a handful of other characters who give little (if any) detail regarding the universe. We quickly feel left behind. A bit like the player we actually play. It is then simply a matter of going to hunt the shamasal (incubated individuals) to move things forward. A slight lack of support and contextualization that we find, unfortunately, with other aspects of the title.
A shamazal.
Multiple endings
If we've seen the game's credits for the first time, we know that other endings exist. The successes of the game provide information on several styles of play to experiment with, which promises on paper to fully exploit the time loop mechanics.
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You have to cultivate your garden
In fact, Ultros never takes the player's hand. For now, it's really up to the latter to explore as they wish at the risk of getting lost despite its linear structure. At the start of each time loop, you must collect your sword and set out to eliminate the remaining shamasal (do we say shamasals?). The receiver, a kind of little gadget that accompanies us, then gains a new technique to help explore the sarcophagus. It is thanks to him that we can, for example, have a double jump but above all tools related to… gardening.
Because in reality, Ultros is a metroidvania that focuses its mechanics on growing your own garden. If this proposition is the opposite of Candid and its precepts (we still come here to get involved a little in what doesn't concern us), it is very innovative and requires a certain amount of time to adapt.
The Sarcophagus, far from what its name suggests, is a thriving place of life. From the first moments of the game, we encounter a species of humanoid wisp. The latter speaks of himself in the third person and would have the name Gärdner (very close to to garden, gardener in English). It shows the fertility of certain trees and invites the player to plant seeds in turn. And bingo. It is the flora which gives access to new areas due to their specificities: some allow you to run faster, others act as a stepping stone when some come to break dangerous grinders. A super refreshing idea that takes time to understand. There are around ten different seeds with names straight out of science fiction books. It's hard to remember which seed does what, especially since it's not listed anywhere.
A basic mechanism to which is therefore added, as we talked about above, the receiver. A tool equipped with functionalities during the adventure such as a drill to dig up the seeds or a sprayer to make the plants react. Other abilities related to gardening exist (like the possibility of making compost for example) but are not necessary to complete the adventure.