Even if all you play are metroidvanias, chances are you won’t run out of entries to check out. It’s probably the one genre that has blown up the most in recent years. And because of that, a metroidvania can have a difficult time standing out from the masses, needing to do something unique or different in order to succeed.
It seems like Lausanne-based Sunnyside Games is very well aware of this. From the moment Nocturnal 2 starts, it’s very clear what the game is about: fire. Fire is your damage, your progression key, your light source, and seemingly the core of the story as well. The latter can only be experienced partially, as the demo appears to have been curated to avoid spoilers. I assume this means that some content that you would usually learn about early into the game, including context and lore, has been cut and will only be available in the final release.
Lose your flame and you hit like a wet noodle. Light things up, and suddenly the world opens. Literally. Lighting lamps progressively reveals the map, some rooms only become accessible once you burn their doors away, and even background props like curtains or boxes react to your flame. Most of it is cosmetic, sure, but it looks really good and helps emphasize the overall theme.
Every swing of your sword kicks up a gust of fire, and it never gets old (or at least it didn’t in the hour I spent with the demo). Hits feel weighty and combat feels punchy, with the sound design doing a fantastic job of adding the “umph” to each swing and making them feel heavy. The contrast between the dark world and the bright flames makes everything pop. The game is intentionally dim, after all, nothing is lit until you set things aflame. This works thematically, but it can occasionally hurt readability. This is especially noticeable when you’re low on health and the near-death effects make the screen harder to read at exactly the moment when you really want clarity. It’s stylish, sure, but maybe not ideal for such a dire situation.
There are no full cinematics in the demo, but the beautiful vignette-style introduction does a great job at setting the scene. This is generally a very strong point in Nocturnal 2: the game is hand-drawn, thematically consistent, and absolutely gorgeous. It calls itself “atmospheric,” and it definitely nails that aspect.
The demo itself takes place in a single starting area, but there’s also a brief glimpse of a black-and-white, more “dreamy” space that feels distinctly weird compared to the main area. Combined with the demo ending on “the main city waking up,” it seems safe to expect some biome variety in the full release. The end of the demo also feels like the moment where the main game truly begins.
One last nudge at the presentation: in terms of UI, Nocturnal 2 absolutely nails it. Clean, minimal, and readable. Nothing flashy, nothing distracting. Just the information you need while you play, an easy-to-navigate menu… no bloat, just great.
Combat and Movement
Gameplay-wise, Nocturnal 2 feels familiar, but in a good way. Surprisingly, there’s nothing comparable to a corpse run. There’s also no parry system, or at least no parry ability was unlocked in the starting hour, so combat largely revolves around dashing, positioning, and committing to your attacks. Initially, I was dashing away from enemies after landing a single hit, but once I figured out (arguably way too late) that you can dash through enemies without taking contact damage, combat started to feel more deliberate. You still need to stay alert, though, because enemies recover fast. You can’t just mash attack and stunlock everything, which keeps encounters engaging.
Movement feels excellent overall. The dash is responsive, double jumps feel good, and you even keep them when repeatedly jumping off walls. Smartly, the level design uses spikes and hazards to prevent you from trivializing climbs. The only real hiccup is the camera during dashes; it snaps instantly instead of flowing smoothly, which can feel a bit choppy. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it did stand out.
When it comes to character builds, there seem to be multiple systems in place. You have regular abilities, many of which can be unlocked within the hour-long demo. You’ll find the genre staples here: double jump, downward slash, charged attack, and so on. Nothing revolutionary yet, but judging by the corresponding section in the main menu, there are many more abilities to unlock, with clear room for more interesting, possibly fire-themed upgrades later. Then there are Brands, which act as permanent upgrades (the demo includes a +1 HP Brand and improved healing). Pledges and collectibles are teased as well, but they weren’t accessible here, so their impact remains unclear.
Healing is handled nicely, too: defeating enemies replenishes your healing resource, encouraging you to engage in combat rather than avoid it entirely. Checkpoints are also well spaced, keeping frustration to a minimum.
Enemy variety is already decent. You’ll fight melee units, ranged enemies, turrets, and shielded heavy hitters. Visually, they’re all kept in cooler blue and purple tones, which makes your red flames stand out even more. As far as I can judge, this is a simple but effective design choice, though there might be lore in the full game explaining the nature of those creatures.
The demo ends with a dog-like boss, which is… fine. The boss itself has a great design, and combines multiple attack types from the enemies you have been fighting up to this point. It’s very easy, but that’s expected for a first boss. It’s also one of those bosses that you could expect to encounter as a regular enemy later in the game.
What I found interesting is a potential mechanic hinted at during the fight: portions of the boss’s health bar turn bright red when damaged, but only deplete after a short delay. That could point toward health regeneration, delayed damage, or something more interesting down the line. Or it could be nothing. It’s hard to say based on the demo alone, but it caught my attention.
Conclusion
The Nocturnal 2 demo leaves a strong first impression. It’s stylish, mechanically solid, and confident in its theme. Nothing here reinvents the metroidvania wheel, but everything feels polished, consistent, and intentional. Combat is fluid, movement is satisfying, and the fire-centric progression gives the game a strong identity.
If the full release builds on this foundation with more creative abilities, varied biomes, and deeper systems built around fire, Nocturnal 2 could end up being something special. At the very least, this demo does exactly what it should: it made me want to see what happens next.
