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Originally recorded: August 24, 2025
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I've always thought that the most tedious part of a Metroidvania (or any of the genre's off-shoots) has always been trying to figure out where to go next after you unlock the next "key" ability. I've heard that that Prince of Persia reboot lets you set specific markers at certain parts of the map for that sort of thing. Ender Lilies has its own answer for the issue, but it only solves half the problem. The in-game map shows you all of the exits on each particular section... but it doesn't exactly hint at how to approach them. As far as I'm concerned, this is probably the most balanced solution to that issue. The player still needs to explore each section thoroughly in order to find out where to go, but it's still a crapshoot as to whether or not they'll finally be able to progress when they get there.

The difficulty's begun to rise since my last session. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that I've been doing some unintentional grinding along the way. Hell, by the end of this session, I'm already past the halfway mark when it comes to the maximum level -- I was at Lv. 51 by the time I called it quits. That being said, leveling doesn't really do that much. I mean, each new level gives you a slight boost in stats... but the real meat of progression is found by finding the necessary souls to level up spirits, obtaining new spirits in general and finding relics and the associated "chains of sorcery" that allow you to equip even more of them.

However, I think the important thing to keep in mind is that I'm not getting pissed off by all these deaths. In general, Ender Lilies seems to deviate from its Souls-like inspiration, as the only punishment for dying is being sent back to the last respite you visited. Likewise, I typically understand what's killing me when I die and I've just got to learn the best way to deal with that kind of thing. I only managed to track down and beat one more boss this session. Fortunately, that means that I've got the "enhanced dodge"/air dash that everyone was telling me to find last time. However, it seems like it isn't the air mobility upgrade I was expecting. Sort of more like a stopgap measure that allows me to explore a tiny bit more of the map, but it still seems like there must be some kind of a "super jump", "grapple" or even a "climb" that should give me the vertical mobility I so desperately crave. It also looks like there are some breakable walls -- similar to the broken floors that the ground pound allows me to bypass -- blocking my progress, so I've got to assume that my next upgrade is going to be some kind of a charge move.

I'm actually considering doing all of the achievements in this one. I guess my only concern is that there are three endings and I've got no idea if Ender Lilies is cruel enough to lock you out of your save after getting any of them. If that isn't the case, then I might as well at least try to get the three endings... even if that means I don't end up doing the necessary collecting to get the rest of the achievements on stream. It's probably too soon to tell, though. Either way, when I go back to this on Thursday, I'll start looking for another path forward... and the next boss/major upgrade.