Ender Lilies

It’s a mechanically strong Metroidvania with branching paths, hidden areas, and exploration, but what I love about it is the atmosphere and the juxtapositions is uses.

It is a crumbling decaying kingdom full of monstrosities, and the main character is an innocent little girl in a pure white dress. Lily does not attack, some of the monsters she is able to purify to restore their mind at which point they help her. So when you attack a monster appears to do the attack animation, while lily cowers a bit behind it.

One thing I love is when you are in a boss fight and shit is going down hard, the sound track is extremely chill piano music. The soft and beautiful contrasts against the harshness of the situation is a very compelling way.

The sequel Ender Magnolias is good as well. Mechanically there are some improvements, but I don’t feel like the atmosphere or world building is as good. That may be because I played Lilies and was used to it. If your haven’t played either I’d suggest starting with Lilies, and if you like Magnolias is worth your time.