Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights was easily one of my favorite releases in 2021. From checking out the Early Access version to playing the full release, the Souls-like captured my attention in ways that most don’t. Its sequel, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is now in Early Access, aiming to improve the formula Ender Lilies built.

Ender Magnolia takes place in the Land of Fumes, a magical kingdom that has met severe decline. Toxic fumes from underground have turned the kingdom’s Homunculi, artificial life forms, into mad, violent creatures. You play as Lilac, an Attuner who seeks to find her lost allies while using her powers as an Attuner to save the transformed Homunculi.

In its current Early Access iteration, there are only four areas (and a village) available. However, there are a variety of boss confrontations and tons of secrets to find. Ender Magnolia is being built more like a Metroidvania than its predecessor. Difficulty options are being developed (but aren’t available yet) and the general build of the game gives more room for multiple play-styles,

Another change from Ender Lilies is a seemingly larger emphasis on characters and the plot. Ender Lilies took a lot of inspiration from the Souls games of yesteryear and let a lot of the environment and item descriptions build the story. However, Ender Magnolia builds a cast of characters as you interact with other surviving humans and homunculi, uncovering what transpired while Lilac was asleep.

As you help homunculi and recruit them, you can equip them to multiple buttons to set up your preferred play style. I find this new combat system much more versatile and user-friendly, especially since each homunculus can be leveled and upgraded in multiple ways. As you kill enemies, Lilac also levels up overall, increasing stats like attack and defense. These stats can also be increased with equipment or relics as well.

The controls are smooth and while the combat isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, it is fair. I never felt like I was dying in encounters simply because of a fault of enemy balance or otherwise. If anything, it took a bit of time to learn enemy patterns and figure out how to approach fights.

Another thing I have to praise about Ender Magnolia is that it looks beautiful. The art style has developed further from its origins, and it is not only more colorful than Ender Lilies, but the bleaker areas with grays and browns have more depth in them. It is nice to have the more colorful areas, but the darker ones are visually interesting too.

If I had to complain about Ender Magnolia in this stage of the Early Access period, I would say that there isn’t enough lore grounding the world. The music is there, with the original composer (Mili) for Ender Lilies returning, and the world itself is there, but the lore to tie it together is missing. Granted, there are more cutscenes and dialogue segments now, but I’d like to see the story displayed on multiple cohesive levels. There are some collectibles that give lore details, but I’d love to learn more about the Land of Fumes.

Overall, I really like where Ender Magnolia is right now. For an unfinished game, it has a shocking amount of polish. I can’t wait to see what other areas are developed and how the final project unfolds. Between Ender Magnolia and Hades II, my Game of the Year pick might be difficult.

A PC Preview Copy of Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist was provided by Binary Haze Interactive for this Preview.

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