I really wish Steam had a 'neutral' rating. The game looks great, and I didn’t run into any bugs or crashes. It started off okay, engaging enough through the early and mid-game, but it eventually wore thin. Combat quickly becomes repetitive: dodge behind the enemy, hit, repeat. Later, the only variation is having to dodge twice instead of once, because enemies start chaining attacks (in a very simple way). That's about the extent of the combat depth. Boss design is another weak point. Many are reused, and the way the game increases difficulty is by throwing two of the same boss (at once) at you instead of one that is stronger than before. They could have at least make it look a bit different by adding a few details, renamed it and made it stronger. Not a completely different boss but an evolved version of the boss. Just doing two of the same at once feels cheap. You also encounter bosses that can one-shot you, even towards the end of the game with your health fully upgraded. The wo...

fix your fucking ledge grabbing

[h1]Decent Soulsvania[/h1] I am really hesitant to classify this game as a metroidvania. The game has some key elements suggesting it, but the progression feels more in-line with traditional, linear action RPG. Nonetheless, Mandragora: Whispers Of The Witch Tree is still a decent soulsvania. Combat is solid even though it breaks no new ground. The Talent Trees have some interesting connections between each class but the nodes and level requirement are really tight. If you like Salt & Sanctuary, chances are you might also enjoy this one. [h2]Things I Like About Mandragora:[/h2] [b]Compliments[/b] [list] [*]The art style is impressive. Each biome is crafted with dynamic background and fantastic lighting. It feels really lively. [*]Everything is smoothly animated and well-telegraphed. From characters' movement to background props, the animation is fluid and pleasing to look at. [*]NPC's close-up face during dialogues may seem uncanny at first, but it does a great job at helping me mem...

Mandragora is a Metroidvania souls-like similar to games like Salt & Sanctuary and Salt & Sacrifice, where it follows traditional souls-like core principals but adapt it into a side scrolling platfromer like the the Metroidvania genre. There are a lot of things I like about this game but sadly there are far too many glaring issues I have with this game that I simply cannot recommend it. Lets first start off with the good things I enjoy about this game. Pros- Mandragora has an alright story, nothing ground breaking but still enjoyable enough. I like the theme of the player being part of the Inquisition, a holy order of elite soldiers who serve the man known as the King Priest. From the start of the game you can already tell that he is not a good guy which contradicts his title as the "King Priest". The combat of the game is not the worst I've encountered in a souls-like, but it mainly boils down to a hit and run tactic which kind of bogs down the flow of the game. Also think th...

This game should be better than it is, but its not. It has all the trappings of something that could be great but in every aspect possible, it falls short of that potential. Its fine. The game is fine. If you can catch it on a good sale, its worth picking up and checking out. But I just can't recommend it at full price.

One of the best Metroidvania games I’ve played for sure. The experience reminded me of the feelings I had when I first played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. There’s a wide variety of areas to explore, plenty of enemies, different armor sets and weapons, and even multiple classes to try out. The Souls-like elements are handled well too, though it’s worth noting that this is first and foremost a Metroidvania. The second phases of the main bosses are no joke—I got my ass kicked plenty of times, but it was always fun. XD The story, however, feels a bit weak. At times it comes across as illogical or inconsistent. That said, the fairytale-like atmosphere, enhanced by the visual design, makes up for it. Some of the NPCs even have surprisingly deep and engaging backstories. Overall, it’s a fantastic game that kept me immersed for hours, delivering an adventure I really enjoyed.

Honestly this game is awesome the bosses are a little bit too hard but overall really great game I have a bad PC and still enjoy it so if you have a good PC don't waste time and buy it

It's a good game. Devs listened to a lot of feedback to get rid of most annoyances. Enemy difficulty can be adjusted any time. I played most of it at 80% damage taken and 80% enemy health. Still had a challenging experience but fun. Story is ok. Progression and exploration are rewarding. Graphic style is very nice. Played most of it on Steam Deck (mid graphics, locked 45 fps, tipp: set post processing to low to get rid of vignette), only one boss would tank fps so much I had to switch to PC.

Tl,dr; I'm frustrated to the point of boredom and no longer want to keep working through these boss fights. The game has a lot of options for character building, but as the paladin class, I can only use one type of weapon, and I only have one spell that's reliably worth using. There's a big skill tree for development and several spells for each character class, but when you actually get down to it, not much changes as you fill it in. There's no game changing unlocks in there. Which would be sorta fine, but bosses are REALLY spongy and do tons of damage, which makes them all start to feel the same. You have to basically bash your head against them until you master the patterns, rather than finding a new approach amongst a varied set of abilities, and it starts taking longer and longer the farther in you get. I just got to a spot where there was a long, tough fight against a castle's ruler, followed almost immediately by an even longer, tougher fight against 3 summoned creatures (trying...

Overall a solid game, I would recommend it if you are a fan of Metropolitan and Souls-Like games.