Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a metroidvania, action RPG made by Adglobe and Live Wire Inc. A Dystopian adventure where a discovery beneath the world’s bounty causes many to die by creating artificial life forms known as “Homunculi.” These artificial beings were used to improve life throughout the kingdom in various ways, such as mining and other important qualities of life.
Unfortunately, they became corrupted by a powerful toxin which caused them to turn on their creators. With the help of “Attuners”, people can purify themselves from madness. Lilac is a young Attuner who wakes up inside the wreckage and sets off to do so.
Along the way she meets homunculi who not only help her once she purifies them but also serve as friends and companions who share their plight with her and hope to reach the upper stratum. Can Lilac’s metroidvania stand out in an ocean of similar games? Find out in our Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist review!
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
Developer: Adglobe, Live Wire Inc.
Publisher: Binary Haze Interactive
Platforms: Windows PC (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Release Date: January 22, 2025
Price: $24.99
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist‘s gameplay is tried and true metroidvania at its best, mixed with themes and a setting many will find familiar along the likes of such titles as Nier: Automata, and Stellar Blade. A dystopian world where hope seems to have been forgone long ago, small settlements of paupers, relying on whatever the world left them in the wake of awful events… starring white-haired waifs.
Traveling the many regions, it will become clear that many paths will be barred by various obstacles that will suggest either a key or an ungained ability. As Lilac progresses and gets further in her game, she will attain such abilities through her homunculi that will allow her to access those areas, much like Samus Aran, from the Metroid series.
Lilac is a lot less like the Samus and is more like 2B but without the juicy booty. She has numeric “RPG”-like stats like attack power, healing power, as well as defense, and many more. Equipment/gear will help her stay on equal footing with the many foes which only become stronger.
The further she progresses, tactical use of accessories is mandatory, such as wearing an amulet will greatly reduce fire damage and sequential burning damage over time inflictions. Killing enemies earns Lilac experience points further bolstering her power.
Lilac’s health does not increase from leveling. Instead, much similar to the Megaman X or Zelda games; fragments of life are found that permanently increase her life. Like most games today, Ender Magnolia has a healing feature similar to Dark Soul‘s estus flask. Users can be replenished at resting zones, as well as resetting all defeated enemies except bosses.
The combat itself is very satisfying and completely refined to perfection, with possibly a few hiccups at its worst. The first homunculi named Nola, powerful combo-based melee attacks can be performed to utterly raze most enemies standing in Lilac’s path.
To make things even more interesting, rare materials found throughout the game either from quest or discovery can give the option to enhance and even alter the homunculi’s attacks. The progression gives a great sense of horizontal and vertical progression.
Traveling the regions feels very similar to a Megaman game, complete with momentous dashing and jumping across perilous gauntlets. It’s a perfect combination of a pixel-perfect dash jump, a second dash, and a second jump will need perfect execution to reach a very isolated treasure or landing, entailing a very rewarding find!
One issue I can mention during gameplay, however, is using the gun using homunculi which aiming can be an absolute beast. If Lilac is not facing the target, the homunculi will just shoot his gun in the opposite direction, where the target suggests that it is being auto-aimed regardless of her direction.
The music has a similar feel to Nier: Automata and Stellar Blade. There is a very whimsical, gorgeous feel of a woman performing vocals, mashed against ear-pleasing melodies throughout.
One thing that does feel absent during the adventure is certainly the acquisition of enemies dropping loot. It would have been nice to add a little excitement to see a rare accessory or even material drop every so often to keep regular enemy encounters more exciting. Sadly, this is reserved only for boss encounters, which is the best part of the game!
Every Boss fight requires some nuance to approach, be it from what Lilac is equipped with, her homunculi, and more importantly, memorization of the boss’s attack patterns. The programmers certainly did well illustrating and indicating how every attack performed by a boss is fairly telegraphed, leaving it to the player to read and react. To make things fair, Lilac’s dodge has a generous invincibility window.
The game’s difficulty itself is a rather enjoyable one, however, the developers took extra measures to ensure there is a plethora of options for true gamers. They even added a one-hit death mode!
For lesser challenges, it’s possible to modify other parameters such as damage dealt, enemy health, and more. There is a net positive, as a trade-off which in turn rewards more rewards. A staple that all games need to take a lesson from.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a true success. While not the most ambitious or inventive in the genre, this one is a pinnacle example of how to make an excellent one. It has a fantastic story, gorgeous characters, and perfectly executed gameplay that takes the right features from the best.
There are a few more things that felt were missing, but Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist manages to bloom as Lilac herself. If there’s anything I learned from this is that cute girls with white hair in a dystopian setting, are a sure-fire recipe for success.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist was reviewed on PC using a code provided by Binary Haze Interactive. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.