Kotama and the Academy Citadel is a metroidvania sidescroller from Atomstring Games, starring Kotama, a mysterious new student at the futuristic, magic-infused Carmel Academy. Competing for the coveted Caramel Star title, she must unravel the academy’s century-old secrets through time-bending exploration while battling gangs, rogue machines, and fierce rivals.
Will Kotama rise as the next standout heroine in a packed genre? Dive into this niche gamer review to see how this latest metroidvania-inspired adventure stacks up.
Kotama and Academy Citadel Review
Developer: Atomstring Games
Publisher: 2P Games
Platforms: Windows
Release Date: January 14, 2026
Price: $19.99
The story mostly revolves around hunting down bosses standing in the way of becoming the Caramel Star. The title is a lot like graduating with honors or wearing prestigious cords in school; the more impressive you are as a student, the greater the rewards.
Here, the Caramel Star is basically the Valedictorian title, but instead of studying in the citadel, you earn it by helping classmates, taking down bad guys, and making choices. On top of that, other students have to vote for who gets the honor.
This is where the “vote” system comes into play. The more you explore and complete objectives, the more the gauge fills, though in reality, it’s just a standard game completion meter cleverly dressed up to fit the story.
Gameplay is where Kotama truly shifts into high gear, though not always in the literal sense. What stood out most to me was the challenge presented even before starting the game. Alongside a locked hard mode, selecting tougher difficulties locks you in for the sake of immersion. Unlike many recent games that let you swap difficulty at any time, Kotama and Academy Citadel stay committed to keeping players engaged through these hurdles.
Once you choose your difficulty, you’re in it for the long haul. Designed by gamers for gamers, the experience feels intentional. At first, controlling Kotama can seem restrictive, with the Umbrella Spear as your main weapon until you later unlock the Whip Hammer and Liquid Blade. Parrying is vital from beginning to end, fueling one of the game’s core mechanics.
Like Splatoon’s Inkling, repeatedly striking an enemy slowly coats them in a flashy purple hue. Once fully marked, a finisher or diving attack deals huge damage and heals Kotama. Timed parries speed this up, often marking enemies after just a few well-executed moves.
Combat feels like pure metroidvania bliss, though the game leans more toward Metroid than Vania. There’s no experience level progression at all, which is a bit disappointing given how much it borrows from RPGs otherwise.
This means no grinding; progress comes only from exploring or revisiting areas with new abilities. Fans of the genre will feel right at home with this classic concept. Just learned to double jump? Time to backtrack with your new mobility.
Weapons can be upgraded using the game’s currency, but that currency is tied to a mechanic that’s always hanging over you, whether you’re healing or getting knocked out. While not exactly “souls”-like, your currency is always at risk, though you don’t lose it all on death. Instead, you forfeit whatever you earned since your last checkpoint.
Healing is an interesting twist; you can do it anytime by holding the assigned key, channeling currency into health up to your max. The catch is that it leaves you exposed for about two seconds, and getting interrupted cancels it. Pull it off, and it costs a small portion of your current currency, so it’s best saved for emergencies.
In boss fights, you’ll often take hits if you haven’t mastered the timing to dodge or parry attacks. One big gripe I have with the game is how ridiculously large and drawn-out the boss health bars are.
It can be frustrating when you’re trying to learn attack patterns, especially since it can take about five minutes just to whittle their health down to 50%. Once you do, the boss usually switches to a tougher moveset, making the fight even harder.
On higher difficulties, you’ll need a lot of patience and multiple retries, as there’s no grinding and upgrades are scarce for most of the game. In the end, it’s all about your skill, knowledge, and reflexes.
Kotama and Academy Citadel feature some baffling design choices that feel completely out of place in gaming. Politically charged elements pop up even in minor cameo roles, with one standout example being the training dummy in the hub, which unmistakably resembles a certain prolific US politician (probably your favorite politician if we’re being honest, folks) complete with his signature hairstyle, blue suit, and red tie.
The game also contains questionable dialogue that clearly reflects the personal opinions of the creators. The push for political messaging feels especially jarring given the highly sexualized character designs, which feels downright odd.
Kotama and Academy Citadel offer a striking experience for fans seeking another captivating heroine in the metroidvania genre. The game earns respect for rewarding harder difficulty and sticking to the challenge without allowing changes, as well as for its bold, alluring character designs.
While the genre rarely strays from its familiar formula, this title adds a few fresh twists to stand out. The inability to grind or power up at key moments can frustrate players on tougher settings, leading to repeated boss battles until their multi-phase patterns are mastered. For a more accessible metroidvania with appealing characters and richer content, the Bloodstained series remains a solid choice, with its sequel on the horizon.
Kotama and Academy Citadel was reviewed on PC using a code provided by 2P Games. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Kotama and Academy Citadel is now available for Windows PC (via Steam).
