Out of all the Nintendo Direct announcements last week, the one I was most sad to see not get a PC release date was the sequel to the much beloved Metroidvania Ender Lilies. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise, all told, and I was worried I’d have to consign it to what I’ve now dubbed my Unicorn Overlord pile of games that are never coming to PC. Happily, publishers Binary Haze Interactive have now confirmed that Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist is, in fact, coming to PC (and other consoles) after all, and that it’s coming real soon, as its PC early access release has been set for just weeks away on March 25th. Result.
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the mist – Announcement Trailer –
I’ll admit, I have not yet played Ender Lilies, but I have only heard good things about it – including the praise from your own reader comments about it in our list of the best Metroidvania games on PC. It is a game I’ve been meaning to play for some time, and now I have just the extra impetus I need to get my skates on.
In the sequel Ender Magnolia, you play as Lilac, a person known as an ‘Attuner’ who’s on a quest to cleanse the souls of man and machine alike in a place known as the Land Of Fumes. Sounds delightful. The land’s magic has corrupted those who live there, you see, turning them into hordes of vicious Homonculi. And clearly, it seems that the only thing that will bring them to their senses is the business end of your sword and magic tome.
As you can see from the trailer, you’re not alone in this quest. You also have a Spirit Reaper who can fight alongside you, and you’ll also be able to tame and use the spirit abilities of the bosses you defeat to further your quest. Yep, sounds like classic Metroidvania fare to me. Sign me right up.
On the Steam page, developers Adglobe and Live Wire say they plan to keep Ender Magnolia in early access for approximately six months to a year, depending on player feedback, and that the early access release will only feature the first few areas of the game. More locations, enemies and bosses will be added over time, and that the price will likely increase as a result once it reaches 1.0.
Either way, I’m keen to see what lies in store in Ender Magnolia, and I’m glad we won’t have to wait too long to find out, as it launches at 8am PST on March 25th (or 12am JST March 26th).
