Gestalt: Steam & Cinder – Review

Platforms: PC (Steam)

Review code provided by publisher.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a narrative-focused 2D action-RPG and the first title from developer Metamorphosis Games. Players assume the role of Aletheia, an elite Soldner of the Steam City Canaan, as she wields long-lost weapons and a mysterious power in her fight for the future of humankind. Along the way you’ll uncover the long-buried past of Canaan, as well as hidden truths about Aletheia herself.

Inspired by 16 and 32-bit classics, Gestalt takes cues from games like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – in other words, it’s a ‘Metroidvania’ game. Players traverse Canaan by engaging in combat and platforming, gradually unlocking new abilities that enable them to navigate more effectively and discover new rewards in previously explored areas. As players advance and level up, they will unlock new abilities on the skill tree and gather accessories to bolster Aletheia’s strength further.

Visually Gestalt is very impressive, lovingly rendered in stunning pixel art with excellent handcrafted animations throughout. As the name of the game might suggest, Gestalt bears a steampunk aesthetic that gives it a charming look and feel. While it might not be an entirely original flavour, it helps the game stand out in a genre that often veers towards gothic fantasy and sci-fi aesthetics.

However, the writing of Gestalt leaves something to be desired. The game has a clear emphasis on its narrative, which isn’t a fault in itself, but it comes at the expense of the game’s flow. A vast majority of the story is communicated through dialogue between characters, with the game often cutting away to scenes taking place elsewhere entirely. These conversations can be longwinded, repetitive and lacking in substance, with some characters feeling like they’re stuck on repeat (looking at you, Balthazar).

Despite being the protagonist, Aletheia isn’t present for much of the game’s exposition, nor does she feel like a driving force in the narrative. The story introduces several elements that are mentioned or set up but ultimately don’t lead to a payoff. The pacing is uneven, building slowly before suddenly ramping up and hurtling to an abrupt and unsatisfying cliff-hanger ending. Gestalt may not be telling an especially original story, but it’s inoffensive and enjoyable enough – it just feels somewhat undercooked.

That ‘undercooked’ feeling comes through in the gameplay as well. Gestalt’s design lacks any glaring faults, but there are a number of smaller grievances that add up and bog the game down.

Gestalt wears its influences proudly, but fails to evolve the ‘Metroidvania’ formula in any meaningful way, repeating some of the genre’s mistakes in the process. For example, the map is still just a bunch of vague rectangles connected by lines, offering almost no help in navigating the many large and complicated rooms you’ll encounter. Backtracking to upgrade and buy new equipment feels inconvenient, and there’s not much incentive to go back and re-tread old areas unless you’re after 100% completion. The game also does a poor job of sign-posting where to go next, giving objectives that simply say ‘go here’ without marking ‘here’ on the map.

While the controls are tight and responsive, combat feels somewhat awkward and became a nuisance over time. Aletheia’s attacks might be flashy and fluidly animated, but they have almost zero hit-stun. As the game progresses and enemies attack more aggressively, it becomes impossible to land more than two or three hits before needing to dodge. Later areas have enemies that vomit projectiles more quickly than your dodge-roll can recover and without hit-stun their attacks can’t be interrupted, making them frustrating to deal with. Attacking enemies in the air feels clumsy as well, and airborne enemies only get more frequent as the game goes on.

One of the core combat mechanics is a ‘stun’ gauge – Aletheia must land light attacks to charge up her projectile attack, which can deplete large chunks of the stun gauge. Once the gauge is empty and the enemy is stunned, they’re left vulnerable for a few moments (usually enough for a full combo string). This mechanic features heavily during boss fights, which usually need to be stunned before you can deal any meaningful damage.

However, depleting the gauge can take several shots and some bosses are very aggressive and tricky to hit. Others have a lot of health, meaning you have to deplete the stun gauge over and over before the fight ends (the first boss is particularly guilty of this). How much health a boss has feels somewhat wonky – some of the later fights ended very quickly. There’s also a couple of nasty boss fights involving multiple enemies, which the game’s combat doesn’t seem suited for.

Overall, the game’s balance could have used some fine-tuning. Later areas become tedious to navigate, with lots of enemies that are harder to fight than they are to ignore. Some of the platforming sequences felt poorly thought out too, with enemies placed in ways that broke the flow while being difficult to get rid of.

These problems may have presented more of an issue if the game had been longer. However, Gestalt is quite short and can be finished in less than six hours. Completing the game 100% would likely take just a few extra hours. The game’s shorter duration may make it feel somewhat hurried, but it also ensures that it ends before wearing out its welcome.

In spite of its faults, I still think that Gestalt is still a very solid game, particularly for a developer’s first outing. I would recommend it to fans of action-RPGs, particularly those that like the ‘Metroidvania’ style. It’s a niche that is somewhat underserved, and Gestalt is an enjoyable entry with a reasonable price.

Given how the game ends, it seems likely that a sequel or an expansion might be in the cards. If that proves to be the case, then I’d like to see how the game develops and builds on the foundations they’ve set down. Much like a piece of brass, Gestalt could truly gleam with a just a little more polish.

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