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I get it, there’s a ton of fantastic Metroidvania games out there, and it’s hard to keep up with it, but 2021’s Ender Lillies: Quietus of the Knights was a definite highlight of the genre. And it turns out that the teams at Adglobe and Live Wire are pretty good at this whole thing, because its sequel, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, managed to surpass it.
First announced last year, then released into early access shortly after, Ender Magnolia properly released earlier this year and landed an 84 on Metacritic and an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ rating on its Steam page. Rather than being a direct sequel to Ender Lillies, Ender Magnolia takes place decades later and follows a new protagonist – Lilac – aiming to protect humanity from raging Homunculi and attempting to save the artificial beings in the process.
The game is on the meatier side of Metroidvania games, clocking in at around 18 hours according to HowLongToBeat (not 35 like was touted before launch, but it’s still a big one). But even with all that content and the game just fully launching less than two months ago, the developers have released a massive new update to keep you coming back even longer.
Announced on the game’s Steam news page, Ender Magnolia’s 1.1.0 patch is out now and gives you even more ways to sink time into the game. The biggest new update is a New Game+ mode, which allows you to bring your character forward into an even harder version of the world where enemies and bosses are stronger and more aggressive than ever. Although, thankfully, your Relics can be upgraded to a new level, so you’re not fully at a disadvantage.
Also in this new update is the ability to rematch bosses after defeating them. This is available at any time during the game and will give you useful ‘Fragments’ for beating them. However, the real main event for boss rematches comes after you’ve defeated all of the game’s bosses, as this update also adds a Boss Rush mode to the game, allowing you to run the gauntlet of bosses in back-to-back brawls.
It’s really good timing too, as Ender Magnolia is one of the hundreds of games discounted in the Steam Spring Sale, sitting at a 25% discount right now ( $18.74 / £15.74 / AU$27.37). If you haven’t played the original, Ender Lillies is also on sale at a 60% discount, making it $9.99 / £8.79 / AU$12.97, so there’s plenty to sink your teeth into.
I don’t think it’s possible to talk about Metroidvanias without mentioning the horrific wait for Hollow Knight Silksong. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming sequel.
