Released to great acclaim on PC in 2025, Constance has now found its way to console. It tells the tale of a mysterious artist, one who has awoken in an alternative world after having suffered from professional burnout. Anxious, depressed, and alone, our heroine must rebuild herself, rescuing the inhabitants of this realm.
This is a sumptuous 2D metroidvania, one with smooth and satisfying character traversal. As you rapidly gain abilities, the artist soon stays in a state of near constant movement. Like a cute Venom, she’ll shapeshift into splodges of purple paint, darting from wall to wall, flipping and swinging with effortless ease.
Levels are demanding, with huge complex structures of platforms to navigate between, with the player having to remove obstacles in their path mid-leap with a quick tap of a button to reach safety. It’s often frustrating, the slightest mistake sees you plummet to your doom, though the satisfaction upon completing a particularly tricky section is palpable. Thankfully, player annoyance is eased by a generous quick save system, usually plonking you on the last platform you were stood on before falling to your death, enabling you to get right back into your second – or thirty-fourth – attempt.
You’ll want to keep trying though, as the gorgeous dreamlike hand-drawn environments demand to be explored. Indeed, the world-building in Constance is entirely unique, offering visually creative environments that you simply won’t have seen in a metroidvania before. A near endless library cram-packed with precarious stacks of books and dripping in oppressive atmosphere, a sun dappled art-deco glasshouse, a vast Victorian factory that rises into the clouds; each biome is a memorable encounter, with not an ice cave or lava level in sight.
The combat, considering you spend your time smacking robotic foes with an enormous paintbrush, is surprisingly visceral. Full of deep combos and evasive dodges, you’ll use have to use your limited energy bar strategically to unleash your best attacks at the right moment. Foes are plentiful, and it’s all to easy to be overwhelmed when you button bash. Instead, there’s a rhythm and flow to combat, with the player often encouraged to evade rather than fight every creature in sight.
The boss fights are dramatic and extremely well structured, pushing you to the brink of your capabilities – and often beyond – as you must avoid attacks with near-pixel-perfect precision to survive long enough for your opportunity to counterattack. Indeed, my one criticism of the game is the quality that likely many of its advocates adore about it: it’s unrelentingly, crushingly hard.
It’s interesting that for a game all about burnout, that it should cause me to burnout from playing it, forcing me to take breaks on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, this is a brilliant metroidvania, it’s just, does every moment of it have to be quite so gruelling? Whether it’s the precision platforming, tricky combat, or exhausting boss fights, Constance is constantly pushing back against the player. Accessibility options are limited. Sure, you can turn off combat damage, but where’s the fun in that?
What it would really benefit from is the option tinker with nearly every element of the game, such as the set-up Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown offered, allowing you to craft a satisfying experience that matches your abilities. Still, if it’s a hardcore challenge that you’re after, you won’t find many metroidvanias better than Constance.