Constantia is a picturesque metroidvania with an incredible flow

The first thing that caught my attention about Constance was its theme. The 2D Metroidvania puts you in the shoes of the titular Constance, an artist trapped in an inner world created by her deteriorating mental health. I didn't get to see much of the story in my 30-minute demo, but it turned out really well – I ended up having a great time swinging my paintbrush at enemies and working my way through challenging platforming puzzles.




Constantia is a pretty clear Metroivania, at least from what I've seen. All the usual mechanics are at work here: you jump from platform to platform, use new skills to explore previously inaccessible areas, gain new techniques to use in combat, and fight bosses. However, I was particularly taken with Constance's art style.

The backgrounds you rush past are beautifully hand-drawn, and according to the developer, each biome and its enemies represent different aspects of Constance's psyche and history. The setting I explored was a sun-drenched city with beautiful old architecture, full of potted plants that I could smash to restore health.

I appreciated that once your health bar is full, you can continue to collect health points to fill a bubble next to the bar that will allow you to regenerate health during battle or while platforming.


Constance and the enemies she fights look more cartoonish – I was also impressed with how well the enemy designs conveyed their fighting styles and weaknesses. For example, the robot holding what appears to be a window extends its arms to hit you with it, pushing you back using it as a shield, so it made perfect sense for me to run after it to hit it with the brush. Another robot wields what looks like a sharpened paint scraper when it's in a fencing stance, so I instinctively knew it would come at me unexpectedly.

Most importantly, the platforming in Constance feels incredibly fluid and challenging, without being overly violent. It was easy for me to get into a flow state, moving through the levels with amazing speed and ease. I managed to get through one particularly difficult level on the first try because I was completely blocked, only to die right on the last platform. I am happy to boast that the developer told me that he has yet to see anyone do this. Of course, I couldn't recreate that perfect run for another ten minutes, because flow states are hard to get back once you've lost them.


Another thing that softens Constance's difficulty is the choice you are offered when you die. You can choose to go back to your last save point, which may be far away, or you can persevere at the cost of a maximum hit point limit. Giving me that choice allowed me to either go back and explore another, less brutal area, or push through through sheer willpower, and offered a built-in difficulty adjuster. I played with the developer right next to me, so I had first-hand information about whether or not I was near the meditation spot, which informed my decision. They told me that the studio is still working on giving players more information to help them reduce unnecessary backtracking.


Constance can be tough, but it's incredibly satisfying. However, the studio is also looking at ways to soften the game's difficulty for people who may have accessibility issues or simply want to play for the story – the developers are apparently exploring a mechanic similar to Hades' god mode, which increases your resistance to damage every time you you are dying. I used God Mode in Hades because I'm retarded, and while I don't find Constance to be that difficult, some extra accessibility is always a good thing.

Constance is currently scheduled for release in Q4 2025 and will be available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch.

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