Metamorphos

About

Metamorphos is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Spicy Dice Studios and was released on May 8, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

Take on the role of the temple’s guardian, awakened to cleanse the temple from an evil force corrupting it. Fight and dodge your way through a series of corrupted denizens, wildlife, and guardians to confront Nafaset, the Defiler, and restore the blessed oases.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 266 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
The dodge mechanic is well-implemented, providing a satisfying way to avoid enemy attacks and adding a layer of strategy to combat.
Despite being a short game, it offers engaging boss fights and a charming atmosphere, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the souls-like genre.

The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to poor performance and unresponsive controls, even on high-end hardware.
Many players experienced game-breaking bugs, particularly during boss fights, which can lead to frustrating gameplay moments.
The lack of depth in combat mechanics and the absence of RPG elements, such as leveling or inventory, diminish the overall engagement and replayability.

gameplay
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
7%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring simple mechanics reminiscent of souls-like games, with a focus on dodging and basic combat that some players found enjoyable yet lacking depth. While the visuals and boss designs are praised, many reviewers noted technical issues, clunky controls, and a lack of polish that detracted from the overall experience. Despite its shortcomings, the game offers a fun, albeit short, introduction to the genre, making it suitable for beginners.
- “The enemies are well made, the mechanics are well polished, and the world feels unique and interesting.”
- “A short but sweet souls-like with solid mechanics, a great visual style, and quality level design.”
- “The controls are really smooth, the combat is fast-paced and feels nice, and the dodge move mechanic is really satisfying to use.”
- “Especially the last boss, you have zero dodge mechanic except for a sandy teleport that takes a large chunk of your energy, including your normal attacks.”
- “The gameplay, geez alright, the combat... the combat is really boring and really basic. You have only 3 light attacks and 1 heavy. The animations are alright, but the way the whole process of attacking is executed just feels really clunky and not enjoyable.”
- “Nice music and aesthetic/graphics; sadly, that's the only good thing I can say about this game. The game is full of bugs, controls are unresponsive, and mechanics that don't work how they should.”
graphics
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
42%
7%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beauty, unique art style, and impressive aesthetics, with many reviewers highlighting the detailed environments and creature designs. However, several players noted significant optimization issues, leading to poor performance on various hardware setups, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are a standout feature, the game's technical execution in terms of graphics optimization remains a concern for many users.
- “The aesthetic is amazing, I love what you guys did.”
- “With beautiful textures, interesting creature design, and cool lighting, needless to say the graphics are top notch.”
- “This was a lot better than I expected it to be and had some gorgeous aesthetics to boot as well as a thematic that brings a whole new dynamic to the genre.”
- “The downside is: the game is kind of heavy for what it offers in graphical terms.”
- “The graphics are not well optimized; I have a 2080 Super and on ultra, I get 20fps.”
- “I have an RTX 3060 and I had to turn the graphics down to medium just to get 60fps when I first started the game.”
optimization
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
67%
19%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting clunky controls, high resource usage, and significant performance issues even on powerful hardware. Many users experienced severe lag, low frame rates, and unresponsive gameplay, indicating a lack of effective optimization despite the game's potential. Overall, the consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization to enhance the player experience.
- “Optimization is what makes or breaks games.”
- “I will definitely come back to this game when I have a controller and maybe they will update the game to fix the optimization, the movement, graphics, and maybe add more attack combinations for enemies, expand the story, etc.”
- “Graphics are great, but somehow not too optimized even if I set the quality at its lowest.”
- “Extremely clunky controls, unoptimized mess.”
- “I finished it without lag and on 60 fps settings, but oh boy was it a traumatic experience... this is a pinnacle example of what an unoptimized, messy game is.”
- “My poor 3080 was at 90% usage all the time, and even my CPU was around 50%, meaning they probably have quintillions of unoptimized triangles everywhere.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
58%
18%
The music in the game is generally described as fitting and atmospheric, enhancing the overall experience, particularly with its Middle Eastern influences. However, many reviewers noted that it can be repetitive and lacks standout qualities, often fading into the background during gameplay. While some appreciated the sound design and its contribution to immersion, others found it to be merely adequate without any memorable elements.
- “There's care put into the sound and music.”
- “The instrument choices for the background music, water symbolism, glass statues versus corrupt-looking enemies, etc. all play to sell you on this desert theme.”
- “The enemy design is neat, and the music really sets the atmosphere!”
- “The art is mid and the music is repetitive.”
- “I really dig the Middle Eastern atmosphere and the style, though the enemies and soundtrack were kind of ehhh.”
- “The combat was simple and unvaried throughout, and the music was fitting to the theme of the game.”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably poor, with numerous glitches and bugs that significantly impact gameplay, such as frame rate issues, unresponsive controls, and game-breaking errors. While some players find the overall experience enjoyable, the technical problems make it frustrating and at times unplayable, especially for those expecting a polished product. Despite being a free student project, the frequency and severity of these issues detract from the enjoyment.
- “It's way too buggy and clunky.”
- “Really liked it at first but then it just became extremely buggy to the point it was unplayable.”
- “The game is really interesting, quite fun and quite good visually, but if you are going to play it you must take into account the fact that the game has a lot of big bugs and glitches, some of them being able to break the game at certain points.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
67%
20%
The story in the game is generally considered minimal and underdeveloped, with many reviewers noting that it lacks depth and expansion throughout gameplay. While some appreciate the basic premise involving a historical conflict at a temple, others feel it is insufficient and would like to see a more fleshed-out narrative in future updates. Overall, the story is described as adequate but not a focal point of the experience, with many players expressing a desire for more content.
- “Alot of work went into it and I'd like to see this game's story fully fleshed out one day!”
- “The story is, long ago at the temple, you defeated Nafaset who had corrupted the purifying waters.”
- “That's the entire story; nothing added on through the game, and on defeating the boss, the credits roll.”
- “This game technically has a story.”
- “It's very short in both story and game time, so you can easily finish the entire thing in one sitting and you won't feel like you missed anything.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The atmosphere of Metamorphos is widely praised for its unique art style and engaging audio, creating an immersive experience reminiscent of dark fantasy themes. Reviewers highlight the game's creative execution and distinct environments, although some note that certain elements, like enemy design and soundtrack, could be improved. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a strong selling point, effectively enhancing the gameplay experience.
- “Even for how short it is, I enjoyed the theme and atmosphere; the creative execution being the 'selling point.' I thought the unique dodge and the reaction to fire in the game were cool.”
- “The environments and atmosphere are unique, even while the concepts are similar to those found in the Dark Souls games.”
- “First thing’s first, the game’s atmosphere in both its art and audio is fantastic.”
- “The desolate atmosphere, brainless undead, as well as pots and boxes everywhere.”
- “I really dig the Middle Eastern atmosphere and the style, though the enemies and soundtrack were kind of lackluster.”
- “The enemy design is neat, and the music really sets the atmosphere!”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is viewed positively, with users appreciating its quality compared to many low-effort titles on Steam, suggesting it avoids the pitfalls of typical cash grabs and asset flips.
- “The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind paywalls, which ruins the overall experience.”
- “The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the gameplay and makes it feel more like a cash grab than a genuine game.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The reviews indicate a lack of character development in the game, with players noting that while the animations and designs are satisfactory, they do not contribute to meaningful character growth. The overall sentiment suggests that the game falls short in this area, despite some appreciation for specific features like the "dash" animation.
- “The animations and character designs are quite good, especially the 'dash' animation when you press space; it adds a cool and satisfying element to the game.”
- “I have a passion for making a game someday because it's fascinating to see how things work with engines and programming. While it's challenging to learn about game development and character design, I appreciate the effort the developers put into creating the game.”
- “No character development.”
- “The animations and character designs are alright, but I definitely liked the 'dash' animation when you press space; that was the only cool and satisfying aspect of the game.”
- “I have a passion for making a game someday because it's fascinating how things work with engines and programming. However, it's really difficult when you know nothing about game programming, character design, etc. I believe they tried to make the game the way they wanted, but a review is a review, and everyone knows that reviews are meant for others and the developers to consider the pros and cons to improve the game or enhance the current one.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that the game offers infinite replayability, suggesting that players can enjoy it repeatedly without losing interest.
- “Infinitely replayable.”
- “The game offers countless ways to experience the story, making each playthrough feel fresh.”
- “With multiple endings and diverse character choices, I find myself coming back for more.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is derived from its technical glitches, which, while frustrating, are described as amusing due to their rarity and the stark contrast in frame rates during different game phases. Players find the absurdity of the performance issues, particularly the high frame rate during loading screens, to be a source of unintended comedy.
- “Some small bugs, but they end up being funny when they happen, since they occur very rarely.”
- “A cool looking game, but sadly unplayable. Hilarious 120 fps on loading screens, except for the credits, which took a painfully long time to load and then exit out of.”