Some play video games for challenge, others to relax. Some, however, do so to explore. It is for those kind of people that the Metroidvania “genre” exists, and forma.8 is one its absolute purest form, as seemingly nothing but the curiosity of the player can stop the probe they are in control of while exploring a large alien planet.
For many, the bread and butter of the gaming experience is exploration rather than challenging combat or amazing graphics and cut-scenes. The joy of figuring out what to do and to find hidden secrets drive those people to play on, and forma.8 listens to the needs to those kind of people in this bare Metroidvania which captures the very core of the genre.
forma.8 is filled to the brim with clever puzzles, well-hidden secrets, and tricky bosses to fight off on the quest to uncover the secrets of an unknown alien planet, with nothing but their probe to help, and, of course, whatever power-ups found during the quest in true Metriodvania tradition.
The choice to use a floating probe as the controllable object is a really clever choice, as it removes many limitations to the whole exploration thing, as the player is not restricted to their movement at all during it all. This means that, instead of having to focus on platforming or physics, the player can fully focus on the core of the experience, the exploration.
Another really neat feature in forma.8 is how the entire map connects through different shortcuts, which makes backtracking for the many collectibles that can easily be missed very easy. This creates a very convenient and fun experience, and one avoids the most common pitfall in the genre, that the transportation between previously visited locations takes up too much of the time spent in the game to the point that it undermines the fun of exploring around.
