Astalon Tears of the Earth - Playthrough Part 15 (True Ending)

Finally managed to discover a room I was missing to obtain 100% of the map. In my defence it was really hard to notice it and I thought the game glitched on me because it erroneously showed that I was missing an item in one of the rooms. The secret developer area is not part of the map completion. Now having all the items and completing the map, I faced the final boss once more. This time around Algus did use the homunculus as his replacement to evade capture by Epimetheus, who despite being tricked found some respect for Algus' craftiness. The ending was slightly altered by seeing Algus triumphantly return with the rest of the crew. This unlocked a new mode where you go through the tower with the Black Knight, who has a high jump, can throw energy balls at the cost of some HP and his sword can damage every enemy and destroy blocks. He can't talk to Epimetheus for upgrades and I didn't see a way for him to recover health, so going through the tower with him will be a challenge.

Astalon Tears of the Earth is a fantastic game and an easy recommendation for any Metroidvania fan. The gameplay is responsive, the level design is superb and there's a huge variety of enemies and environments. The backgrounds deserve a special mention since they managed to achieve some striking images with the 8-bit aesthetic. There's plenty of secrets to discover, which gives you a good sense of progression. The story is well told with the character interactions, which gives them distinct personalities. You also have a lot of replayability with the alternate game modes giving you a different way to experience the game. This so far is my game of the year and that's saying something considering I've managed to play some pretty unique titles.