Metroidvania games are often how an indie developer finds their footing in the gaming industry. The genre is so malleable that it allows a great entry level platform for developers to explore their creative talents in a multitude of ways. From games listed among the all time greats such as Ori and Hollow Knight to more recent splashes such as Ender Magnolia : Bloom in the Mist, the genre is still going strong. Although the high number of entries in the genre can perhaps lead to some being overlooked.
I don’t think that’ll be the case for INAYAH : Life After Gods, an upcoming metroidvania from ExoGenisis studios that does look quite promising. The game which sees you play as the eponymous character as she searches for her lost tribe. The game features beautiful hand drawn animation that reminds me of Genndy Tartatovsky’s Primal. With gorgeous backdrops and some of the most fluid animations I’ve seen in a game I can’t wait to see what the final product looks like when the game does release.
The gorgeous animations alone are sure to capture the eyes of gamers, but the gameplay feels great as well. Inayah features a combat system where you quickly cycle through three different weapons. A Sword which has abilities common to the genre such as a parry and a disc to throw, a flail which does massive damage and can absorb projectiles, and a pair of gauntlets which can generate shields and gets stronger with repeated attacks. Each weapon has 3 abilities all with their own skill trees which are quite extensive. I was able to unlock a few during the demo and they made a noticeable difference during gameplay so I can’t imagine what the final product will look like. Each weapon also has a traversal ability such as a wall cling for the gauntlets and a grappling hook for the flail.
You’re encouraged to swap between the weapons as while one ability may charge, you can swap to another to immediately set up your next attack as the situation calls for it. Combat can feel challenging but for the most part it didn’t feel unfair. The game also features 3 difficulty settings as well as a custom difficulty in case things feel too hard or too easy for some.
A staple of many metroidvania games are very memorable boss fights and INAYAH : Life After Gods looks like it will nail that area as well. The demo featured three boss fights each with great designs.
I died a few times on two of them but they didn’t feel cheap and I got through them once I saw the patterns on each of their phases. However, the last boss in the preview did cause a bit of concern as it did legitimately feel unfair for a multitude of reasons.
The headless rider was not only a damage sponge with very hard hitting attacks that could kill you in 3-4 hits, his second phase in particular did not feel fair as rocks begin falling during his second phase. You can’t tell when or where the rocks will come in and as I attempted to dodge an attack where the boss spins along the ground, a rock would often randomly hit me as I jump and knock me into the boss. Your grounded dodge and parry don’t work when he’s doing this attack so your only option is your air dodge. The gauntlets shields also aren’t as useful as they only take one hit and only last a couple seconds as is. The lower the bosses health gets the more rocks start falling as well. There were even a couple times where I died as I was about to land the final hit and a rock fell down and killed me.
Hopefully the rider gets adjusted and he’s an exception and not the rule when the game comes out fully.
Issues with the third boss aside, the short time I had with INAYAH : Life After Gods was very enjoyable overall and looks like it will stand out in the metroidvania genre.
The game doesn’t have an official release date yet but is expected to drop within the first quarter of 2025 so it shouldn’t be too long of a wait. INAYAH: Life After Gods is expected to launch on PC, Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation.
Are you interested in INAYAH: Life After Gods? Let us know in the comments!
