Sundered is a procedurally generated, 2D metroidvania with a focus on fast-paced combat, enormous bosses, and gorgeous, hand-drawn animation. While Thunder Lotus Games’ first title, Jotun, borrowed themes from Nordic Mythology, Sundered instead draws inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft, made apparent by the many tentacled beasts you face throughout the game.
During my demo, I played through an area several levels into the game, affording me many of the abilities not available at the start, such as double-jumping, hookshot, and so forth. With the sometimes overwhelming amount of enemies and the quickness of the combat, the game felt more like a metroidvania-gaiden, requiring a mastery of the game’s mechanics to effectively manage enemies. However, whereas the game is still in early Alpha, the precision is not quite where it should be yet. However, I was assured that the controls will be tweaked before launch. Furthermore, combating enemies does become easier after each time you die as you get to spend “shards” you’ve collected, leveling up attributes like damage resistance, attack power and so forth.
Sundered is slated for release on PC and PS4 in July for approximately $20. For more information on the beautiful art style, leveling system, and influences of insanity and corruption of abilities, check out our in-depth interview with William Dube, Founder and Creative Director of Thunder Lotus Games.