| But Why Tho? |
Kyle Foley |
9 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
ULTROS is a masterclass in environmental storytelling combined with solid Metroidvania mechanics in a truly excellent package. Go into this one slow and ready to enjoy the journey and it will more than pay off. |
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| COGconnected |
Mark Steighner |
80 / 100 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a game with a very strong visual identity, trippy theme and a few unique mechanics, like its gardening system for upgrades and abilities. Strip away the psychedelic art and gauzy narrative, however, and you’re left with a somewhat familiar-playing 2D Metroidvania. That isn’t necessarily bad, but I wish the game’s combat and exploration matched the imagination of its art. |
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| Digital Chumps |
Will Silberman |
8.3 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a psychedelic cosmic loop of a metroidvania. Its combat is approachable and simple, while its gardening encourages creativity and problem-solving that is rarely seen in the metroidvania genre. I had a good time playing Ultros; it mystified me while giving me room to stress-test its cosmic universe and fully explore its boundaries. While I wanted more complex combat and intentional varieties of color, I was quite satisfied with my journey to warrant a play in the future. Ultros is a trip worth taking at least once. |
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| Digital Trends |
Giovanni Colantonio |
3 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a bold and beautiful artistic vision, but a convoluted Metroidvania. |
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| DualShockers |
Emma Ward |
8 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
A psychedelic trip best appreciated twice. |
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| Eurogamer |
Christian Donlan |
Recommended |
02-12-2024 |
Psychedelic stylings accompany a game of transformation and discovery. |
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| Everyeye.it |
Gennaro Saraino |
8.7 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a must-have experience not only for lovers of the metroidvania genre, but for anyone looking for a work with spirit and character. |
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| Game Rant |
Cameron Swan |
4 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
ULTROS is a psychedelic metroidvania where you wake up stranded on The Sarcophagus — a cosmic uterus holding an ancient, demonic being. Trapped in the loop of a black hole, you will have to explore The Sarcophagus and meet its inhabitants to understand the part you play… |
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| GameBlast |
Farley Santos |
7.5 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is an adventure of contrasts, in which its innovations shine against the backdrop of its executional flaws. The game stands out for its extravagant atmosphere, creating a unique experience that, despite its problems, is still worth exploring for fans of the genre looking for something out of the ordinary. Full appreciation of the game requires a willingness to experiment, explore, and sometimes tolerate its less refined elements. |
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| GamesRadar+ |
Joe Donnelly |
4.5 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
“Just when you thought Ultros couldn’t get any more outlandish, it has its own gardening system.” |
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| God is a Geek |
Mick Fraser |
8 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Expect to be confused, bewildered, and visually seduced by Ultros, but don’t expect to be too surprised by what simmers beneath the surface. |
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| Hardcore Gamer |
Kyle LeClair |
4.5 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
A psychedelic metroidvania game with hints of time loop and roguelike mechanics, the game sees you seemingly having crash landed on a massive structure known as the Sarcophagus, which houses the ominous being known as Ultros. Making use of alien gardens and biology in order to further one’s skills, players have to fight their way through to break the loop, or maybe find hidden pacifist solutions along the way instead. |
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| Hey Poor Player |
Josh Speer |
3 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
More than anything, I feel amazing Metroidvanias need to strike a great balance between combat and exploration, where everything you accomplish is constantly bringing you one step closer to reaching the end of the game. I don’t feel that’s the case in Ultros. The rewind aspect of the game, combined with constantly losing platforming abilities and combat upgrades, makes the entire experience a painful slog. So even though I respect the ambition and creativity on display, ultimately, that’s not enough to elevate this game beyond its peers. |
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| Hobby Consolas |
Álvaro Alonso |
76 / 100 |
02-12-2024 |
With a gameplay approach that is as psychedelic, disconcerting, and unique as its visual style, Ultros is a constant stimulus for the senses. If you value originality and like different games, don’t hesitate to give it a try. |
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| Metro GameCentral |
Max Freeman Mills |
7 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Sometimes visuals are enough to carry a game and they certainly take Ultros far, although mediocre combat and some jankiness slightly undermines the unique vision. |
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| Press Start |
Brodie Gibbons |
9 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros takes the durable, and fortunately resurgent, genre of Metroidvania and places a clever roguelike spin on it that incorporates memory and gardening, placing it all within a cosmic womb orbiting a black hole at the edge of space. It’ll be El Heurvo’s art that’s sure to capture your attention at first, but Ultros’ several wedded ideas flower into a game that does well to keep it. |
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| PSX Brasil |
Marco Aurélio Couto |
75 / 100 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a good journey through colors and sound effects; A relaxing journey that inspires the preservation of life and its renewal. However, it could be a memorable experience if it was better balanced in some of its aspects. |
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| Push Square |
Max Freeman Mills |
7 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros boasts a visual identity that deserves real recognition, a stunning vision of alien colour with design ideas that live long in the memory. Its platforming and combat can’t quite match that vigorous success, sadly. Still, if you’re on the hunt for a unique-looking Metroidvania game that comes bursting with ideas and a modest 10-hour runtime with the option of more if you love it, few games can match it for style. |
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| Rock, Paper, Shotgun |
Katharine Castle |
Not Recommended |
02-12-2024 |
Late-game fiddliness spoils what is otherwise a vibrant and always interesting Metroidvania, whose emphasis on growth, connection and (tripping out on mad monsters) make it one of the most sumptuous games of 2024 so far. |
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| Screen Rant |
Leo Faierman |
Recommended |
02-12-2024 |
Further and further in, Ultros’ world seems one of creative, chaotic malleability instead of precision, opening up to sequence-breaking and weird shortcuts through experimentation. It’s a game about amassing the tools and time to carve a connective path with nature, learning the layout of the land, and collaborating with it to continue on. Ultros takes the common ingredients of the modern metroidvania, then transplants them into an utterly original DMT-infused Metroid fever dream, in the very best way. |
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| Shacknews |
Josh Broadwell |
9 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a kaleidoscope game. It takes a handful of ordinary things, shakes them up and sticks the pieces together, and then spins it all around. It’s just a different version of what we’ve seen dozens of times before, sure. But it feels special, and it sure does look good. |
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| Siliconera |
Cory Dinkel |
8 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros drips style, but does not skimp on substance. The psychedelic art style and dreamy soundtrack elevate the familiar, but not quite tired, gameplay loop. |
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| The Games Machine |
Nicholas Mercurio |
8.8 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a passionate and addictive Metroidvania, with excellent art design and level design, strong in impactful graphics and an art direction of absolute value. It is a long-lived and detailed video game, very original and multifaceted, with a game design that explores its every potential in a peculiar way. A must have if you are a fan of the genre, and if you are a beginner. It is also particularly suitable for beginners. |
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| TheGamer |
Andrew King |
3 / 5 stars |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is a fascinating new Metroidvania where bombs and missiles are replaced with gardening tools. |
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| WellPlayed |
Ash Wayling |
9 / 10 |
02-12-2024 |
Ultros is one of those rare beasts that ticks many, many boxes for what makes a game memorable, right from the second its title screen sucker punches you with its prismatic panache. |
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