This cyberpunk Metroidvania co-written by a Resident Evil veteran also wants to be an RPG with romance, and I went from "this looks cool" to "I need this right now" playing the Steam demo

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Altered Alma only takes a few minutes to turn into something very cool

Altered Alma art of Jack flirting with purple alien
(Image credit: 2Awesome Studio)

I've had my eye on a cyberpunk Metroidvania called Altered Alma for over a year now, so I was excited to give its demo a play in this week's Steam Next Fest. After clearing a few areas and getting some upgrades, I'm pleased to report that it is indeed good. I am also surprised to report that it's taken a page or two from Cyberpunk 2077, not just in its RPG elements, but also in some very sexy romance scenes that caught me off guard in the latest trailer.

A problem I often have with action game progression systems is how the early sections may suffer from limited gameplay options. You get tons of cool stuff later, but the opening minutes or hours – arguably the most important part of a game – are extremely one-dimensional because all the cool stuff is backloaded. Altered Alma has this problem, but only for about 10 minutes. If the game feels a little slow and difficult at the start, that's because it is, but stick with it and you'll soon find a fast and responsive platformer with delightfully violent combat.

Altered Alma - Kickstarter Trailer - YouTube Altered Alma - Kickstarter Trailer - YouTube
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You start executing enemies with finishers that are as lavishly animated as the rest of this gorgeous game. You fly through and around walls and enemies, chaining parries and combos together to maximize your damage and the amount of health energy you regenerate (not unlike Soul for healing in Hollow Knight). It isn't perfect – the parry is wimpy, and the ledge grab is far too slow – but Jack is a fun heroine even with many upgrades missing.

The RPG influences called out by developer 2Awesome really pop up in the screen for those and other upgrades – with Metroidvania-style discoveries flanked by new moves and gear tied to resources – and in the companion system. I've only met one friend so far and it's clear from the trailer that he's very romanceable. That trailer also makes it abundantly obvious that Jack is playing for both teams here, so if you like the look of anyone in the cast, there's some good news for you RPG romantics.

It's hard to judge deep systems like this from a free sample, but the demo for Altered Alma certainly didn't disappoint me. It made me want more of a game that's been on my radar for a while, which is about all I could ask for.

A fantasy Fallout opening pushes me right into one of the most promising RPGs I've played in ages, and it's by far the best Steam Next Fest demo I've tried.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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