It’s not often that I find the visual style of a game so arresting that it completely grabs my attention, but that’s exactly how I feel about action platformer Ultros. With bright psychedelic colors, a Ridley Scott’s Alien vibe, and a really promising atmosphere, this is one that your early 2024 videogame radar should be attuned to.
A metroidvania game about waking up in a rainbow cosmic uterus called The Sarcophagus, you’ll need to explore the insides of the entity that holds an ancient demonic being with the titular name: Ultros. Oh, you’re also stuck in the time loop of a black hole, if that helps.
You might also recognize the visual and audio stylings of Ultros, and that’s because the art style comes from Niklas ‘El Huervo’ Åkerblad – who contributed to the iconic art and music of Hotline Miami, one of the best indie games ever made. Then there’s the OST from Oscar ‘Ratvader’ Rydelius – the composer of games like The Gunk and a whole lot more, with the team at Hadoque handling the rest of Ultros.
You can check out the psychedelically fantastic Ultros trailer, which was shown at Day of the Devs, below.
If none of that is enough for you, it also looks like there’s a sprinkle of games like Deathloop and Outer Wilds in Ultros too, as Hadoque delivers quite an elevator pitch.
“The rich world of Ultros holds many secrets for those curious enough — and fearless enough — to seek them out. A unique loop-based mechanic will allow you to start over at key moments in the story, providing opportunities to unfold such secrets, unlock different areas of the world and new abilities on a branching skill tree. Experiment with and master your own specific fighting style as you explore the world of Ultros. Each loop brings you closer to the truth…”
Ultros releases on Steam on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, and up until the week after launch, you can bag the game for 10% so expect to pay $22.49 / £17.99. You can find the Steam page right here.
If you can’t wait for more while being completely mesmerized by Ultros like I am, you can check out all the best currently available platform games on PC, alongside some incredible PC action-adventure games too.
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