From the moment I booted up Constance the first message that caught my eye was:

“This games explores themes of mental health, including burnout, famillial conflict, trauma, anxiety, and depression. You can also find Accessibility options in the settings that let you adjust the experience to your own needs”.

I myself suffer from juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, have experience burnout and depression and I also happen to be a motion designer. Could it be that Constance was me?

Naturally I spiralled into a full blown mission to find out everything and anything about the team behind this mirror staring right back at me! The more I played this game and the more I read up about it the more I wanted to tell others about it. So here we go!

Sebastian Drews and the development team started Constance as a passion project. They wanted to share their combined life experiences and personal struggles.

To tell this story they correctly, they didn’t just focus on a game that played and look great, they chose to place a high priority on the user’s experience and emotional value it had on the player.

Let’s see I can start on the small details. Because you’ll eventually understand why that matters.

Sebastian pointed out on his YouTube channel that in the accessibility setting you can toggled heartbeat on or off. As somebody who struggles from misophonia, noise triggers me. Like the factory alarm in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. I mute my TV just to get through it. He also pointed out a vast library of language settings and highlighted the recent addition of Arabic, saying, “It was very challenging for us to put Arabic in, but we’re very happy that we made it.” He welcomed player feedback for future improvements.

Clearly the team care about neurodiversity, mental health and inclusion. Map improvements were a massive highlight, and the team worked hard, driven by player feedback. I’ll cover this feature later in the article.

At first I felt frustrated and underwhelmed, but as I played the game just opened me up. The controls and mechanics feel buttery smooth in my hands. It just flowed and I had all these lovely aha moments unlocking new upgrades. Here’s a little taster for what the menu has to offer.

You have a health meter and a paint meter.

The paint meter is responsible for all your 8 unlockable paint techniques as you progress the game. Which are:

• Paint Dive
• Paint Stab
• Plunge
• Somersault
• Paint Stroke
• Paint Clone
• Wall Dive
• Visage of Hope

When your paint meter run dry, you can still use your skills, but at the cost of your health meter. This makes for some intense platforming and boss encounters.

Mastering your paint moves is highly rewarding for traversal, combat, and puzzle-solving.

The most vital tool of a Metroidvania are the maps and the devs clearly know this and have given it priority.

There is no need to pause as the map moves with you and one can see oneself traveling in real time. There is a breadcrumb system that draws your path from one room to another and then completed rooms get marked with diagonal lines. You can take snapshots and pin them to your map to remember areas to return to.

Bosses are clearly marked, so you can prepare or revisit a fight and its a brilliant quick-glance feature lets you look down, spotting obstacles otherwise hidden from view.

I love that feeling you get when you are fighting a boss, and you lose and rather than give up you feel excited at giving it another go. Each chip you make get’s you than much closer. The dev’s really enable you to learn and enjoy.

Boss fights reminded me of Mega Man, where you enter a room and it locks you from both sides.

The fights are hard as nails. Thankfully there are clear patterns and great visual aids that help know the boss’s next planned attacks.

The life meter has bonus overhealth meter that fills play. Be sure to keep this topped up before you enter a boss match.

The game is set to standard mode by default. The huge but, or should I say butt kicker is “Puppeteer’s Curse”.

If you die, you can choose to be either respawned to my shrine save point. Or start exactly where you died, choosing to persevere with the curse that makes enemies and bosses tougher to beat.

No way in hell am I going back the the save point, I’d prefer to crawl back faster! …and Master, master!

I really don’t like comparing, but I think this game stands on it own and clearly breaks new ground. But for those asking what it taste like..

I’ve heard players say that Constance is similar to:

• Hollow Knight
• Celeste
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Personally it reminds me of:

• Rayman
• Shovel Knight
• Wonder Boy
• Beauty and the Beast
• The NeverEnding Story
• Fantasia 2000

While Hollow Knight explores a somber monotone world, this game features a vibrant, living world where childhood toys become twisted enemies, constantly reminding you of Constance’s haunting traumas.

Here’s the talent you should follow.

Siba Gasser is the lead artist behind the 2D hand-drawn Metroidvania game Constance.

Sebastian Drews is the game director behind Constance. Follow his journey on YouTube: Constance YouTube Channel

• Wonderful illustrations and frame by frame animations
• Smooth movement and mechanics that feel great on a controller
• Chock full of features that save you from wasting time

• Puppeteer’s Curse can really up the heat
• Some minor minion combat is a weak, not all.
• Slow pacing at the start

Constance is an evolved Metroidvania.It resolves what it’s predecessor have not and lays the foundation for the new set benchmark. It shouldn’t be compared to other games, yet it should have the right to stand on it’s own accord.

I’m done convincing you, let me get back to having my ass handed to me. I’m this close to beating the next boss. If you want to check out Constance on the Xbox Store, you can find the link here: CONSTANCE