I do so love a good pixel art Metroidvania. I was very fond of the first Aggelos (which was sort of an amalgam between Ys and Wonder Boy), so its sequel easily floated to the top of my list once announced. It’s a very different game than its predecessor — better in some ways, albeit worse in others. Though I enjoyed it quite a lot, some bizarre design missteps do get in the way.
Aggelos 2 is much more of a Metroidvania than the first game was and makes for one of the more efficiently paced genre entries I’ve seen in some time. You can get a bad ending in around seven hours, while it takes about ten to get the good one, but the game is absolutely stacked in terms of its map. There’s little downtime, and there’s constantly a bevy of things to backtrack to.
You’ll regularly find a new ability, then hunt for collectibles and the way forward. Honestly, it feels like a bit much here, as the amount of this stuffed into a mostly economical space can get overwhelming and a bit tedious. However, it does fully scratch that Metroidvania itch if you love scouring the map and getting a game to divulge its secrets.
Unlike the first game’s slower, more grounded approach, here you’ll be firing off shots as if you’re playing Mega Man. Your bracelet is your main weapon, although you can use a sword too. There’s no equipment this time, so you don’t have to worry about purchasing new weapons and armor, although you will buy a couple of upgrades for each.
It doesn’t take too long before the game just flat-out allows you to fly around at your leisure, although your flight energy does run out quite quickly. It’s quite a treat to fly through the game’s areas while blasting away, plus the game adds some interesting wrinkles. The main one is that you can change between the normal and dark version of the hero, which I wasn’t expecting.
Both the light and dark versions have different shots and sword attacks. Beyond these, you can charge up shot and sword attacks and use a couple of extra spells, all which make use of magic. The light hero can destroy pink enemy projectiles, while the dark destroys red. Aggelos 2 can be quite challenging, so it’s best to make use of these, especially in the bullet hell-esque boss fights. Hallways are also often so jampacked with enemies that it gets a bit obnoxious too.
Thankfully, you don’t lose any progress upon death and just need to retrace your steps. However, certain design choices do get in the way. For instance, if you forget about a single room right before a dead end, then you won’t remember to return there to unlock the true final boss (which is disappointingly a rehash of another boss fight). Additionally, you’ll almost always be at your limit for currency, as the game has a bizarre way of slowly increasing your storage capacity for it. Lastly, the game also doesn’t track collectibles, so if you don’t find one of the 100 eggs (which is required for a specific ability), then just like me, you probably won’t be able to track the last one down.
Verdict
Aggelos 2 is certainly a very good Metroidvania, but it would be markedly better with some more QoL and signposting here and there. I had a great time with it, though, even though I’m still aggravated that I couldn’t find that 100th egg.
