ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist Review – A bloom with a view

Reviewed January 22, 2025 on PC

Platforms:

Xbox One, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S

Released:

January 22, 2025

Publisher:

Binary Haze Interactive

Developers:

Adglobe, Live Wire

There is something that just keeps me coming back to Metroidvanias. It’s the satisfaction, I think, that you feel when making progress. The feeling of starting out at the weakest you’ll ever be, and being able to go from zero to hero as you get drip-fed tools to chisel your way through a world that tries, but just can’t seem to stop you. ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist does incredible justice to this feeling and the genre as a whole, offering a Metroidvania experience where every step forward brings you closer to uncovering the mysteries hidden in the Land of Fumes.

Set decades after the events of ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights, Ender Magnolia is Live Wire and Adglobe’s next addition to the Ender Lilies world. I came to Ender Magnolia without playing the previous game, which I initially was a little nervous about. While I am not new to Metroidvanias, I am quite fresh to the Ender Lilies world, which I thought would make it difficult when it came to understanding the world or the lore. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. My experience wasn’t negatively impacted by my unfamiliarity with Ender Lilies and while there were definitely many references to the past game that went over my head, it did not take away from my enjoyment overall.

Ender Magnolia opens with a memory that establishes the tone for the journey to come. Memories are crucial in unravelling the lore of this world, and they become a familiar occurrence the more you play. Presented in brief, animated cutscenes, these memories (as well as the entirety of Ender Magnolia) are completely unvoiced, with all dialogue presented exclusively through text.

In this memory, you hear a provocative rumour. Homunculi, the part-magic part-mechanical artificial life forms in the world of Ender Magnolia, are almost human. The speaker, however, then dismissively refers to them as mutants. While they may look human, they insist that the similarities end there. The memory then shifts to another perspective. A woman leans in close, urging someone to listen carefully. She reassures them that everything will be alright and that the moment they’ve been preparing for has arrived. With a tear in her eye, she gently seals them inside an unexplained pod, leaving them with an instruction, seek allies and find the Attuners.

This is all the backstory you get before a young, silver-haired girl, who you quickly find out is called Lilac, emerges from a pod in the ruins of a testing facility, and the game begins. Lilac wakes up an amnesiac, but quickly finds out that she is an Attuner, someone able to help the rogue Homunculi that have gone mad due to the fumes seeping into the world. Determined to restore her lost memories, she sets off to find other Attuners and reach the upper stratum. Along the way, she brings her Homunculi friends that she ‘tunes’ with her.

In the beginning, the narrative can feel a bit confusing, but this always feels intentional. Lilac herself knows very little, as she awakes from the pod without her memories. While amnesia is a cliché trope, sure, it’s still a fitting narrative device in Ender Magnolia that, most importantly, works. You learn at Lilac’s pace, piecing together the mystery alongside her as she learns about her memories. I was intrigued off the bat. I needed to know who the hell Lilac was and what happened to her. Why was she sealed away? Her personal mystery aligned her goals with my own, creating a natural incentive to explore this world. A bit overdone, but it works.

Although I will hold off revealing any more of the story, I will say I was quite pleased with how it developed. It was wonderful to watch Lilac grow into her own, especially alongside her supporting cast of Homunculus friends, who also had some really touching moments. Much like Ender Lilies, the game features multiple endings, and I am eager to revisit it to uncover them all.

At its core, Ender Magnolia’s gameplay is based on all the classic Metroidvanias that have come before it. As a 2D platformer, it features fluid platforming, with combat and ability-based progression, all built around that classic loop of exploring the interconnected map and getting stronger. There’s the typical assortment of Metroidvania staples that you come to expect with the genre, bosses, puzzles, opening locked doors, finding hidden areas, backtracking and more. All that good stuff. What sets it apart, however, is the way it seamlessly combines these elements with its Homunculus-filled world.

Homunculi, gotta catch ’em all!

Lilac can’t do much. She can run, jump and dodge, but that’s about it. In her defence, she’s a tiny child. However, her Homunculus friends have her shortcomings covered. Each Homunculus you tune adds them to your arsenal, unlocking an ability for Lilac that helps her with either exploration or combat.

Typically, the only Homunculi you can attune are the major boss Homunculi. Nola, the very first Homunculus you attune to, is the exception. Within the first few minutes of play, Lilac stumbles upon her in the testing facility ruins and tunes her. From this point forward, Nola becomes your primary melee attack, appearing in front of Lilac and brandishing her sword when summoned to attack, reminding me of a stand from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. It’s an incredibly satisfying moment, amplified by the beat of the music kicking in as you finally can head out to do some damage to the withered skeletal Homunculi that you previously had to awkwardly scoot past.

With each attuned Homunculus comes a new ability to play around with. A teeny spider gives you the ability to grapple onto hook points, and an adorable big flower-wearing robot gives you the ability to dive into the ground and break through growths in the floor. Personally, my favourite had to be the wolf (yes you can pat that Homunculus dog) that unlocked fast travel. Clever boy.

The list of movement abilities just keeps on growing, especially as you upgrade your movement Homunculi with the progression of the story. That cute spider? It eventually gains the ability to propel you through the water, who would’ve guessed? Movement is immensely satisfying, and it’s a delight seeing your Homunculus companions appear alongside you when you execute these abilities. The more you gain new movement, the more opportunities you are given to explore every nook and cranny of the map. When you complete an area on the map, it turns from grey to blue, and it made me very happy to finally get abilities that let me turn area after area blue. By the end of the game, there’s truly nowhere your Homunculi can’t take you. The other side of the map? Sure. Through the sky? No problem. To your grandma’s house? I’m honestly sure they could pull that off too.

As for combat abilities, you can equip any four abilities at a time from the spread of combat-based Homunculi that you have tuned. There are ten Homunculi in total that can be used for battle abilities, which doesn’t initially seem like a lot. However, taking into account that each Homunculus has three unlockable abilities, leaving you with thirty different abilities to choose from, gives you a lot to play with. Each ability, too, can be further enhanced upon unlock. That’s a lot of options. Personally, I found myself sticking to a handful of my favourite abilities that I switched out infrequently, with only two abilities, Nola’s scythe attack and Shackled Beast’s parry, being permanently locked to my hotbar. Like the movement abilities too, when you use your combat abilities your Homunculus friends pop into existence with Lilac.

On top of your equipped abilities, you have access to special Attuner Arts corresponding to your chosen Homunculus loadout. These arts are just flashy, insanely powerful skills that can only be used when the corresponding gauge is full. You fill the gauge by landing attacks on enemies and when it is full you have the option to unleash a massive attack, dealing devastating damage and, most importantly, looking absolutely sick.

More than machines

One of the most delightful surprises in Ender Magnolia is the surprising depth and heart of the Homunculi characters, perhaps even more so than the smattering of notable human characters. While they are, at their core, the abilities you use, they’re also their own unique characters that have stories to tell alongside Lilac. Occasionally at Respites, which are locations in the game’s world that function as save points and points to access Lilac’s loadouts, my favourite little notification would pop up signalling that there was a conversation I could play between Lilac and some of her Homunculus buddies. The conversations range from serious to silly, and I loved seeing them chat amongst each other. It really made them feel special and more than just the buttons I pressed to hit things or move about the map.

The combat itself is incredibly solid, with a satisfying Soulslike rhythm. Each action carries a sense of weight, requiring deliberate execution for best results. Lilac faces a diverse array of varied enemy Homunculi all trying to kill her. Depending on your location, you might battle samurai, a variety of bugs, armoured knights, flying robots, mining machinery, freaky flesh creatures and more. Enemies don’t deal contact damage, only their attacks and projectiles can hurt Lilac. You can dash through both attacks and projectiles, making the use of carefully timed dodges essential for Lilac’s longevity. When you do happen to take damage it feels, for the most part, deserved. 

Enemies also have, in addition to a health gauge, a break gauge that is depleted by attacks. When completely depleted, the enemy is staggered and you can get Lilac up close and personal to deal major damage. Some abilities are better at inflicting break damage than others, allowing for some careful planning if break damage is something you want to maximise.

Boss fights are where the combat truly shines. The faster pace and bigger threat amplify the Soulslike rhythm of studying patterns, reacting to tells and executing well-timed counterattacks. These battles demand a blend of quick reflexes and strategic thinking, providing some of the most exciting (and frustrating) moments in the game. I died a lot. While I adore these games, I sure am not the best at them. Thankfully, Respites are typically right before the boss arena. After dying, I got to quickly respawn and jump right back into the fight to try again. Each boss felt like a unique, fair challenge, making the process of trial and error genuinely enjoyable rather than punishing, with victory always feeling well deserved. 

Speaking of dying a lot, the difficulty settings for Ender Magnolia are quite interesting. You can choose from set difficulties, easy, normal and hard, or choose to personalise your settings. A fair amount of options, like HP values of enemies, attack frequency and attack strength, are able to be tweaked. You could choose to lower these options or choose to crank them to increase your Fragment Bonus modifier. Fragments can be used to unlock different attire colours for Lilac, or unlock enemy and character artwork and other concept art. It’s a neat addition to something that could have just been a simple difficulty selection.

Combat’s only real drawback is Lilac’s fragility. She’s a glass cannon, capable of dishing out incredible damage with her attacks but easy to break. While you can reinforce glass by levelling Lilac up and purchasing defensive equipment, she remains, at her core, fragile. A few hits without chugging a Healing Ward (the game’s healing potion equivalent) between damage, and she’s a goner. With only three charges of your Healing Ward between Respites, I found myself dying a little more often than I’d like to admit. The silver lining, though, is that death comes with no penalties. There are no souls to recover, no currency lost, and no items scattered around to hunt down again. The only real cost is a slight loss of dignity, especially when, hypothetically, you find yourself repeatedly murdered by the same swarm of tiny rats. A complete hypothetical thought, of course.

“The way the game juxtaposes such stunning visual beauty against the tragic, bleak world it showcases is delicious.”

Now, I’ve waited far too long to gush about the art. Holy smokes (or maybe holy fumes?), Ender Magnolia is an absolute visual marvel. You’d think a world called The Land of Fumes would be grotesque, covered in toxic gas and plagued by mutant Homunculi, but I found myself utterly captivated by its beauty. The Land of Fumes is absolutely stunning.

The game, from start to finish, is a feast for the eyes, full to the brim of so much obvious care and thought going into every section of the world. The way the game juxtaposes such stunning visual beauty against the tragic, bleak world it showcases is delicious. The use of colour is striking, with each area offering something different. From dilapidated crystal mines to whimsical forests and magical academies, the game has it all. Even the most rundown, decrepit areas have their own charm that draws you in.

Paired with beautiful music by Mili, the Japanese indie music group who also did the music for Ender Lilies, the game is just such a treat for the senses. The soundtrack covers such a wide range, with sombre piano tracks, playful strings and melodic vocals that work to perfectly complement the tone of the action onscreen.

One of my few major gripes with Ender Magnolia is that some areas can be incredibly obtuse to navigate, particularly the Crimson Forest. This area was an absolute nightmare, and I found myself wasting so much time, feeling completely lost and out of my depth. Having to navigate transition spots alongside warp points made it incredibly frustrating to progress through. While navigating the transition spots wasn’t too bad since their destinations are clearly marked on the map, I cannot say the same for the numerous warp spots scattered throughout the area. While where the warp spots start are marked on the map, where exactly they spit you out isn’t. 

Another issue I encountered was that, as I reached a certain point of the late game, it felt like I needed a clearer pointer to what to do next. I spent a long time just running around the map aimlessly, unsure of where I was supposed to go. It was only by complete luck that I stumbled upon the final item I needed to progress. My total playtime was around 15 hours, but I’m sure at least an hour of that was spent wandering without a clue as to what I was actually trying to do at that moment.

8.5

Great

Positive:

  • Interesting story to puzzle out
  • Movement feels good, and gets even better as you unlock abilities
  • Boss fights are equal parts exciting and challenging
  • Wonderful Homunculus characters that have a lot of heart to them
  • An audiovisual delight with incredibly impressive art and music

Negative:

  • Lilac is an extremely delicate glass cannon
  • Some areas with warp points are incredibly frustrating to navigate
  • Small portion of the late game is unclear

ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist offers an impressive Metroidvania experience, featuring hauntingly beautiful visuals, an evocative soundtrack, a unique story and a wonderfully genuine Homunculi cast that offers an exciting challenge for both seasoned Metroidvania fans and newcomers alike. While Lilac’s fragility and the few navigational issues may hinder your progress temporarily, stay persistent. It’s well worth seeing it through to the end to uncover the secrets of the Land of Fumes.