Over the decades, the “metroidvania” genre has been getting incredibly popular, that’s no secret to anyone. And if by any chance you don’t like even a single game in this genre, well, you’re lying, that’s statistically impossible… Okay, fine, let’s get serious again. Today, we’re talking about a game in this genre, with fast-paced action, side-scrolling gameplay, and an adventure that strongly reminds us of Samus Aran’s exploits but with a unique twist, a sinister and visceral aesthetic that makes our protagonist look like a hybrid between Predator and Alien. This is Moadra, this sci-fi action game that is the first developed by Finnish indie studio Gloomsoft, and its release announcement is coming very soon.
The inspiration and resemblance to Metroid are neither accidental nor offensive, but totally intentional and respectful. Over all these years, many titles have drawn from this successful formula that blends elements from Castlevania and Metroid, and this time, we could say this is one of the best-looking ones. But what’s better than seeing it for yourself? Below, we leave you the Official Steam Next Fest Trailer, courtesy of GameTrailers, and if by any chance that’s not enough for you, you can go to Steam right now and download the free demo!! What are you waiting for?
Adapt or Die! Welcome to Protea VI
Here, as the title suggests, you will play as Moadra, who is sent to the dangerous and abandoned planet Protea VI with the goal of uncovering the mysteries of her own race’s past, the Neera. As you can imagine, this environment will be anything but friendly, but it will offer different places to explore, deadly and frozen peaks, a dangerous desolate surface, or even mysterious abandoned research facilities, infested with dangerous alien species and security systems that seem impenetrable.
Moadra will be able to roll, dodge, jump, run on walls, and move at speeds never seen before. Agility will be a key point for her survival in this hostile environment, and her varied arsenal of weapons and special abilities will be the key tools that will make the difference between life and death. Our protagonist will face both small enemies in numbers and gigantic bosses that will try to keep her from achieving her main objective.
Moadra’s tools will include a scanner robot and X-ray vision, which will allow her to examine enemies to discover their weaknesses or explore the environment in search of hidden areas and secret paths to reach new places. She will be able to analyze creatures and hostile organisms to absorb their protoplasm, a biomass full of energy that she will then be able to consume in organic chambers to apply metamorphosis and evolve both her weapons and her own abilities.
Let’s be realistic and avoid making a whole section about this here: practically everything in Moadra could easily remind us of Super Metroid, although we firmly believe that the key to its originality can be found in the details of its peculiar visual style and the successful result of a mix of characteristics that, while maybe we have seen them in the past, don’t bother us at all to find them present here. Moadra doesn’t give you time to think about what it resembles or what its references are, it simply keeps you super busy thinking about what your next step will be or the best angle to destroy that annoying turret!
Perhaps the only bad news about Moadra is that its release date has not yet been announced, although we can expect it very soon. On the other hand, the good news is that RIGHT NOW you can go to its Steam page, which you will obviously find at the bottom of this article, and download its free demo to try it yourself! What are you waiting for? And once you do, come back here and tell us what you think of this gem in the comments, deal? You know, gamer, we’ll be reading you! 🙂
Images Source: GameTrailers Official YouTube Channel, Moadra on Steam
