Xeodrifter is a fun little game I played on Wii U a few years back. It was a neat take on the metroidvania genre while also being a tough as nails experience that was frustrating, but the kind of frustrating that kept you coming back again and again. Now it has come to the Nintendo Switch for a new audience, and thus I took the time to play again and see if the game is as good as I remembered, or was I looking through rose tinted glasses.
Xeodrifter has a deceptively understated design style that hides its true nature brilliantly. It has art reminiscent of the Mutant Mudds series, yet feels very different from that game. Mutant Mudds was for people who like a tough platformer to challenge them, Xeodrfiter on the other hand is for those who want a more exploration focused game. There is no skimping on the difficulty here, as you will die over and over again fighting the bosses and love every minute of it, Atooi games have a distinct style and it works for them, as their games are extremely high quality.
Xeodrifter has some excellent music to it, which is a must for this genre, but its especially noticeable here. It seems simple but builds quickly and proves itself to be an exhilarating way to get into the experience. I also like the great amount of secrets stored in the game, but it is not completely great however. I have noticed a few graphical glitches here and there, but what annoyed me was that some of these ended up obscuring areas I was supposed to go to. Fortunately however, these are not too common and the overall experience is absolutely amazing. This takes the metroidvania genre and kicks the difficulty up several notches and yet it loses none of its fun. It is one of those rare games that just hooks you and makes you want to stay even as it beats you down. I suggest checking this out!