Jumping into a long-running series might feel like a leap, but I took the initiative to try out Minoria with no prior knowledge. A new fan of 2D Metroidvanias thanks to Rogue Legacy, I wanted to expand into a non-roguelike format and this was the game to do it. With a premise as wild as this one, and seeing acclaim for similar games like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells, this point of entry is as good as any.

Minoria‘s story is set within a war between witches, specifically the fourth Witch War. Players will take control of a smooth-moving witch equipped with nothing but a sword and a skillset to boot. Levels have checkpoints where players can refill their health boosts and, unlike Souls-likes, enemies will not respawn upon reaching these. Using these smartly is critical, as death could set you back several minutes of progress.

That’s the big kicker with Minoria, it’s tough as nails. You can only take 3 or 4 hits before you’re down in a heap. As such, the mechanics that the game presents to you demand a high level of mastery. Parries and dodges are necessary for survival and, thankfully, these feel great on a controller. Movement really is key in difficult titles, and it’s done well thanks to Bombservice’s experience in this genre. Players of earlier titles in the Momodora series will likely have no issue picking up and tackling Minoria.

Players are sure to die several times in their playthrough of Minoria, but they are never unfair deaths. Replaying tough bosses gives the player a sense of progression, once they whittle down more health and find openings/patterns more clearly. It’s not a rite-of-passage like it would be for uber-difficult games like a Dark Souls. Instead, it’s a more even-paced learning curve that will get the best out of players without pushing them too hard.

Worthy of note for this game is its gorgeous art style. With hand-painted art and just the right amount of cel-shading, nothing appears stiff, and it’s as effective as if it were digitally-animated. The amount of work put into a project like this is unfathomable and worthy of all the praise in the world for its end result. Labors of love such as this are just as fun to watch as they are to play, perfectly-syncing with the hyper-fluid gameplay at a steady 60FPS on a standard PS4.

Minoria certainly isn’t for the casual gamer, unless they’re ready to dive into a sad world with a difficulty curve that’s potentially off-putting. Otherwise, it’s a great entry point for newcomers, with a nice challenge at a meager price tag. It runs like a dream and looks like one, too. Unfortunately, it’s over before you know it, at a quick 6 hours (a decent portion of it is cutscenes.) Regardless, it’s worthy of purchase come a sale if $20 is too much in the midst of a backlog. Check out Minoria if you’re ready to get put to the test in the fourth Witch War!

A PS4 review copy of Minoria was provided by Dangen Entertainment for this review.

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Minoria

$19.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Tight Combat
• Gorgeous Art
• A Rewarding Challenge

Cons

• Criminally Short
• Too Hard For Some