The indie Metroidvania market is so saturated that it’s becoming more difficult to stand out, but newly formed studio Gloomsoft is doing their best with Moadra, a game so heavily inspired by Metroid that you can’t help but take notice. Not just Metroid, but Metroid’s influences as well, specifically the Alien films, with an eye-catching art style.
You play as Moadra Meres, a reconnaissance officer sent on a rescue mission to Protea VI. She’s wounded in the line of duty and put back together with alien technology, and so begins her quest to find answers about her mission, the planet she’s on, and herself. Moadra features a massive world to explore full of secrets, power-ups, and upgrades. It also has a scanner mechanic that is key to almost everything you do on Protea VI, whether it’s combat, puzzle-solving, discovering secrets, lore, or gaining information about the world. Of course, every piece of information is catalogued in a logbook for reference just like the Metroid Prime games.
Gloomsoft is a small team with a passion for 1990s-era 2D sidescrollers, based in Helsinki, Finland. Moadra is their first game and they’ve self-published it across all platforms. A true indie.
Moadra is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Check out the launch trailer below:
OVERVIEW
Traverse a massive interconnected world on the sand-swept planet of Protea VI. Unveil the grim mysteries of Protea VI at your own pace as Moadra. Endure challenging combat and evolve Moadra’s abilities, solve puzzles, and reveal countless hidden paths and secrets throughout your mission to uncover your lost Neera heritage.
EXPLORING AN OTHERWORLDLY WASTELAND
Whether you are trying to endure the desolate surface, ascend the deadly, freezing summits, or scout the research facility infested with malicious alien species, Protea VI has many lost secrets to uncover after your ancestors’ extinction 20,000 years ago. Dangers await around every corner.
TOOLS OF SURVIVAL
Use Moadra’s agility to your advantage to roll, dodge, leap, wall jump, and sprint at never-before-seen speeds to evade deadly organisms and hazardous elements. Use your swift reflexes, an arsenal of weapons, and special abilities to survive everything from low-level threats to gargantuan monsters that force you to use every tool at your disposal.
USE THE ENVIRONMENT TO EVOLVE
Activate your scanner bot and use X-ray vision to examine creatures and your surroundings more closely. Reveal hidden paths and secret areas invisible to the naked eye, and map out the places you explored.
Blow up unfriendly creatures and organisms to absorb their Protoplasm, lumps of energy-packed biomass. Consume it inside organic chambers to apply metamorphosis, and evolve your abilities and weapons to new levels.
