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If you thought January was a bit dry for amazing new games and that all the good stuff would begin to roll out in February, think again. After a stint in early access, Metroidvania sequel Ender Magnolia has just hit 1.0 and it’s drowning in praise. This dark fantasy adventure already boasts an eye-watering 98% rating on Steam, glowing reviews from the critics, and is enjoying a big influx of players.
With its predecessor, Ender Lillies: Quietus of the Knights, already one of the most revered Metroidvania games around, there was a pretty high bar for Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist to hit – well, consider that bar comfortably cleared. Ender Magnolia is a 2D sidescroller that mixes the dark fantasy backdrops and themes of games like Blasphemous with an anime art style for its characters. Unlike Ender Lillies, it features a speaking protagonist, Lilac who has the power to fix rampaging beasts known as Homunculi that terrorize her world.
This world, known as the Land of Fumes, once turned to magical forces to advance its civilization, and in the process the Homunculi were created as a legion of artificially intelligent mechanical life forms. A disaster fell upon the Land of Fumes, which allowed the Homunculi to go rogue and leave the world broken and desolate.
Now, Lilac must traverse this Metroidvania world, meet and save human survivors, and take on the Homunculi in epic boss battles. To enhance Lilac in combat, you’ll gradually pick up new skills from the companions you acquire, find new items, and upgrade your equipment.
Even in its incomplete form throughout early access, fans have been going crazy for Ender Magnolia, but now that it’s hit 1.0, it’s experiencing a fresh wave of players and praise. On its opening day as a full release, it peaked at around 6,800 concurrent players, which is impressive for any new single-player game of its stature.
Its overall Steam review score also sits at a mighty, ‘overwhelmingly positive’ 98%, which puts it on a par with all-time greats like Stardew Valley and Portal 2. However, if you look at recent reviews only, it’s got an even mightier 99% rating. Wild stuff.
While not widely reviewed by the press, its Metacritic average is an extremely impressive 89 out of 100, comfortably making it the best-reviewed game of 2025 so far (yes, I know we’re only three weeks in). Sure, before the year’s out, it may have a run-in with the most-anticipated Metroidvania of them all, Hollow Knight Silksong – if that game ever shows up… Regardless, Ender Magnolia has already cemented itself as one of the best PC games of the year.
If it wasn’t good enough already, developers Adglobe and Live Wire plan to add three key features in future updates: a boss rematch setting, a boss rush mode that sees you fight all of the game’s big bads back-to-back, and a New Game+ experience.
Ender Magnolia Bloom of the Mist is out right now in 1.0 on Steam. You can pick the game up for yourself or learn more about it here.
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