Constance

Fans of the Metroidvania genre have had plenty to enjoy over the past few years—just look at the list of some of the best games in the genre released recently: Hollow Knight: Silksong, Mio: Memories in Orbit, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, The Rogue Prince of Persia, and Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, to name just a few.

Constance was released on PC last autumn, but now it's finally coming to consoles. It comes from the small German developer Blue Backpack, who most recently brought us the charming The Berlin Apartment, and if you've played that game, you'll probably realise that Constance is something entirely different. It's also something as unusual as a Metroidvania with a message, and if there's one thing I personally love, it's games that tackle real-world issues and try to convey a message, showing it doesn't have to be all fantasy and magic.

That said, Constance may not have a clear-cut message, but it certainly draws on and focuses attention on topics like mental health, work-life balance, stress, and workplace pressure, as well as dreams and personal growth. These are quite relevant topics that many of us can probably relate to.

You take on the role of the young woman Constance, who often finds herself in two different worlds. In her daily life, she works as a graphic designer and experiences constant pressure from demanding clients, bosses, project managers, and tight deadlines. It's not that anyone is directly mean to her; she simply feels pressured and stressed at work. This is expressed in some rather nice little sequences where, among other things, she sits in front of her computer and watches messages pour in while she complies with clients' requests to make the logo on the latest publication 15% larger and move it up slightly, and this applies to all files for the client, by the way. Of course, it all has to be ready in just a few minutes, but she also has to remember to send a report to a project manager, and another client really wants a promotional video for approval right away.

When all of this becomes too much, Constance retreats into her other world—a fantasy world where she is the heroine, where she uses her passion for art and creativity to defend and liberate the fantasy world's population from various robot-like creatures. These robots "coincidentally" resemble objects from her real world, that is, the world that pressures and stresses her. It could be an old-fashioned telephone, a coffee machine, or something else typically found in an open-plan office. It sounds silly, but it actually works quite well.

Naturally, you spend the vast majority of your time in this fantasy world, which is designed as a surprisingly traditional, yet quite well-played, Metroidvania. Here, you journey through truly beautiful and magical worlds, filled with these dangerous robot enemies, hidden treasures, and deadly traps. You gradually gain access to new abilities, upgrades, and new ways to move, which open up new parts of the vast map. These are fairly traditional Metroidvania mechanics, even though several of the abilities are rooted in art, creativity, and other similar concepts. For example, a dash move is one of the first abilities you gain access to, and it works because Constance can turn into liquid paint, so she doesn't take damage when dashing through dangerous spikes or enemies. She can also dash through narrow openings, as the liquid paint simply adapts to the tight passages.

As in most other games in the genre, there are also complex and challenging platforming sections where you need to be quick on your feet and time your jumps and dashes perfectly. Constance is by no means an easy game, so don't be fooled by its beautiful and charming visuals, as it can definitely pack a punch. If you find the game too difficult, you have the option to adjust various settings, including having enemies deal only half damage (or no damage at all), and I must admit that a couple of the boss fights forced me to turn it down to half damage, as they are quite challenging.

Unlike Mio: Memories in Orbit, where the bosses gradually got easier the more times you were defeated by them, Constance has a slightly opposite mechanic. When you die, you can choose to return to the last save point—which may be relatively far away—or be revived in the immediate vicinity of where you died, though this will give the enemies an energy boost, making them even tougher when you try again. It's a nice risk/reward mechanic, though it can feel a bit harsh at times; however, it can also be turned off in the game's menus if you prefer. Constance isn't an easy game, and it's nice that you can dial down the challenge if you're not the type who loves being tossed around "Silksong-style" by your game.

The designers at Blue Backpack has really nailed a beautiful visual style with Constance. You pass through many beautiful areas, and there are plenty of details in the surroundings, especially in the animations, which are beautiful and silky smooth. It's simply a pleasure to watch Constance in motion, and these screenshots don't do the visuals justice at all. Check out the trailer at the bottom of this page, where you can see just how beautiful it looks in motion.

Constance is a pretty nice Metroidvania, yet another one for the collection, one might be tempted to say. It feels good to play; for the most part, everything just works as it should and it actually touches on everyday topics that many can relate to. You might wish for a bit more innovation, since the game plays it safe within the Metroidvania genre, but a game doesn't necessarily need to set new standards to be entertaining and worth your time, and Constance is a great example of that.

Constance is definitely worth checking out if you haven't yet had your fill of the many great games in the genre that we've been spoiled with over the past while, and it's priced quite reasonably, at just around £17.