Ultros is the latest arrival in the Metroidvania genre, thrusting players into the world of Sarcophagus — defined by the game's information as a cosmic uterus that contains a demonic being. The stunning visuals do not show any signs of Ultros being Hadoque's first completed game, which is taking the platform-gaming world by storm. Added to the beautiful artwork and fluid controls, Ultros delivers many unique spins on the Metroidvania genre, turning the experience onto its head and leaving players at the edge of their seats.
As combat and exploration take the front seat, Ultros also gives its player base a more laid-back function: gardening. Players will occasionally discover plots of land that can be turned into soil, which is then used to grow crops for food consumption. This ability adds a real human element to Ultros' fantastical playing style, as maintaining a healthy diet of creature parts is essential to both unlocking new skills and growing stats.
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The gardening aspect may not feel as important as the task of sweeping away enemies and chomping down their discarded parts, but it's something that Ultros players shouldn't dismiss. The function is rather simple, and the benefits in the long term are worth the investment.
The Importance Of Gardening
At the start of the Ultros journey through Sarcophagus, a side character will be discovered and will paint a haunting picture of what lies ahead. The traveler re-tells his long battle in Sarcophagus, and how there is no escape. Thankfully, he takes a break from the grim reality to focus on the importance of gardening. Players will occasionally run into a plot of land, which is indicated by areas of the ground that glow. Here, players can stand on the plot of land to begin a new gardening cycle.
The Importance Of Ogu Mumin
Traversing through each area, finding Ogu Mumin is the key ingredient to beginning a new garden. This green seed, once planted, will blossom into a tree that produces food for the player to consume. The type of food produced will grant larger statistical boosts than more commonly found parts in Sarcophagus. Finding these seeds and planting them should be a higher priority early on.
Once the tree has grown to its fullest potential, it will remain in the overworld forever. Players will need to crawl under it in order to get by, or perform a double jump to get over it. The further players go, the larger and more detailed the trees will become.
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Keep Growing Cacomin When Possible
Once the tree has fully blossomed, players can collect a food item known as Cacomin. This part resembles an eyeball and has a pink and orange color. In this item's description, Cacomin is a blend of potent nutrients and is mutated by the soil of Sarcophagus. Consuming them is considered taboo among those who roam the underbelly world, mainly due to the resemblance to the demonic entity that lurks Sarcophagus.
Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons, and players can stuff their faces with Cacomin to receive significant stat boosts. They also go a long way to opening up new skills and abilities in the Cortex tree, as well as replenishing a decent amount of health. Whether players are preparing for a boss battle or keeping a few on hand to replenish their health and grow stronger during the fight, Cacomin should not be disregarded.
Tracking Gardens And Composting
Best Skills For Gardening
The Cortex tree provides players with the chance to unlock unique abilities that can either enhance the combat system or gain new skills to help explore different areas. For gardening purposes, there are a few that can benefit the player early on; assisting with the tracking and locating of each unlocked garden on the map, and utilizing each garden to its fullest potential. Within the first handful of Cortex nodes, consider unlocking these skills for better gardening abilities:
- Track Gardens - Once a garden is unlocked, it will be highlighted on the map.
- Green Thumb - Unlocks the composting ability, allowing players to drop food into the soil and turn it into compost.
Gardens not only serve as a source of food and replenish HP, but they can also be used to help unlock different areas in Ultros. Often, these trees will offer players a shortcut to another area, resulting in new locations or saving them from the daunting task of having to backtrack and waste time. This is where the Track Gardens ability comes into play, as knowing where each one is can help players get to more difficult paths without having to remember where each one is by memory.
Players should also consider using a Memory Lock for this skill. Knowing where all gardens are in every subsequent cycle is an invaluable skill to have. Memory Locks are hard to come by in Ultros since they are a finite resource, so players should be weary of what they spend them on.
