The May 24 PlayStation Showcase surprised fans with the reveal of a number of creative-looking new indie titles, although the recently-delayed Hollow Knight: Silksong was nowhere to be seen. What was revealed, however, was a new 2D Metroidvania title called Ultros featuring a captivating art style and roguelike twist. Last month's official delay of Hollow Knight: Silksong from developer Team Cherry came as a blow to fans hoping to get news about the game's planned 2023 release, but Ultros seems to continue the trend of indie developers stepping in to craft compelling Metroidvania titles in the absence of the long-awaited sequel to Hollow Knight.
Ultros' trippy, psychedelic art style and aesthetic immediately set it apart from other Metroidvanias and help to establish it as a unique game in what is continuing to be a favorite genre for indie developers. There is no shortage of quality indie games in the Metroidvania genre, and new titles arguably need to have a unique mechanic or visual presentation in order to stand out. Thankfully, the trailer for Ultros indicates the title has both. For fans continuing to wait with bated breath for any shred of news regarding a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong, Ultros' reveal comes as a welcome surprise.
Ultros' Technicolor Nightmare Is a Stark Contrast to Hollow Knight: Silksong's Dark Palette
Hollow Knight is an absolutely beautiful game with a distinct art style and color palette, but that palette does tend to skew toward cooler tones. The darker colors used in many of the game's areas work as a means to communicate a melancholic tone to the player and add a sense of danger being around every corner.
The first impressions of Ultros show it to be a vastly different game in terms of its design, both in terms of the art style on display and the use of vibrant color almost dropping from every inch of the screen. Where Hollow Knight hides its perils in the shadows, Ultros has theirs proudly on display and dripping with neon color.
The bold and vivid artwork used in Ultros is the work of Swedish artist Niklas Åkerblad (aka El Huervo) whose previous work on the cover art for Hotline Miami 2 and other titles uses a similar style. Colorful and psychedelic while also indicating the possibility of something slightly off just beneath the surface, the bright color palette used in El Huervo's artwork works as a means to have the intricate detail it uses on full display. When comparing Ultros to Hollow Knight or similar modern indie Metroidvanias, the game's art style immediately sets it apart into a league of its own.
The Planned 2024 Release Date for Ultros Could Still See the Title Arrive Before Hollow Knight: Silksong
Fans viewing the May 24 PlayStation Showcase had a wide range of titles that they had hoped to see. While many expected Sony to unveil more first-party AAA titles, the expected presence of third-party studios' games in the showcase left a fleeting hope that fans might get some shred of Hollow Knight: Silksong news after the recent official delay. Unfortunately, Hollow Knight: Silksong was nowhere to be seen in the Showcase, and it's likely that the game won't be present at Microsoft's upcoming Xbox showcase focusing primarily on Starfield.
Ultros is the debut game from new studio Hadoque and is targeting a 2024 release date according to the trailer revealed at the PlayStation Showcase. With no discernable release date in sight for Hollow Knight: Silksong, it's entirely possible that Metroidvania fans will get their hands on Ultros before Team Cherry's long-awaited sequel sees the light of day. In the continued wait for what is becoming perhaps the most-anticipated indie title of all time, developers like Hadoque are stepping in to provide players with compelling Metroidvania titles that showcase just how much room for innovation still exists within the genre.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
