In fact, I would say that the fact that I didn’t put everything together until after I had finished the game works in its favor. You can relax if you’re bracing yourself for impact-I’m not going to start ranting and raving because Lost Ruins isn’t built like a traditional Metroidvania. However, now that I have stopped to think about the game’s layout, I’ve realized something- Lost Ruins probably has the least interactive map of any Metroidvania game that I’ve ever encountered. And, having said that, I’ll admit that I was so focused on other aspects of the game when beginning this review that I hadn’t really stopped to think about how everything was laid out map-wise. I want to make it clear that I was sure to beat Lost Ruins ( with the Holy Sword, I’m proud to say!) before writing this review. Lost Ruins offers plenty of challenge, but there’s not much going on in the platforming department. It knows what it is it’s unapologetic about what it does, and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s perfectly fine. It would much rather dedicate all of its energy not related to gameplay into creating a bevy of cute anime girls with jiggle physics that are honestly pretty impressive for a 2D pixel-art game. Lost Ruins isn’t overly concerned with telling you a soul-shattering story. And, to be frank, what is there is fairly predictable.

Outside of the scraps of lore found in books and journals tucked away in parts of the castle and the occasional conversation, you aren’t going to get much in the way of a narrative. Lost Ruins is a short game, and it does not dedicate much time to storycrafting. Desperately wanting her memories back (and literally having no other choice at this point), the young heroine sets off, unsure of what dangers await her further inside the castle walls.

Fortunately, it isn’t long before she finds an ally in the mysterious sorceress Beatrice, who informs her that the Dark Lady has sealed her memories away and that the only way to break said seal is by defeating her minions scattered about the castle. Having literally no idea what’s going on-or even who she is at this point-she continues to press forward. Lost Ruins‘ story centers around an amnesiac schoolgirl who suddenly finds herself summoned to and subsequently dumped into a mysterious, other-dimensional castle. But as for what that means, exactly? Well, we’ve got an entire review to go over all of that! And just what does that mean for Lost Ruins exactly? Obviously, that it’s not exactly your run-of-the-mill Metroidvania experience. If I had to describe Lost Ruins to you as quickly and accurately as possible, I’d tell you that it feels like a bizarre combination between Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight and Salt and Sanctuary-two other Metroidvanias which are unique in their own right. Still, with that having been said, I don’t think that I’ve ever had trouble comparing any Metroidvania game that I’ve played to one of the two inspirations behind the genre before… at least, not until I played Lost Ruins. Metroidvanias, as a whole, have come pretty far, and there’s way more nuance going on now than they used to be.

Now, I know it’s not quite that simple anymore. Does it favor RPG elements over a completely platform-oriented experience? Easy, it’s inspired by old-school(ish) Castlevania titles more so than Metroid ones. Is it more platform-oriented? Bam, it’s more Metroid than Castlevania. It usually isn’t too hard to liken a Metroidvania to something else out there on the market.

Lost ruins wiki