The first thing that struck me 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 to be okay—I ended up having a great time swiping my brush at enemies and working my way through complex platforming puzzles.
Constance is a pretty stripped down Metroidvania, at least from what I've seen. All the usual mechanics are at play here: you jump from platform to platform, use new skills to explore previously inaccessible areas, acquire new techniques to use in battle, and fight bosses. However, I was particularly drawn to Constance's art style.
The backdrops you drive through 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 flowers that I could smash to gain health.
I appreciated that once your health bar was full, you could continue to collect health points to fill a bubble next to the bar that allowed you to regenerate health during battle or platforming.
Constance and the enemies she fights look more cartoonish – I was also impressed with how well the enemy design telegraphed their fighting styles and weaknesses. For example, a robot holding what looks like a window reaches out to hit you, pushing you back while using it as a shield, so it made perfect sense to me to dash behind it and hit it with the brush. . Another robot is wielding what appears to be a pointed scraper in a swordsmanship stance, so I instinctively knew he would lunge at me unexpectedly.
Most importantly, the platforming in Constance feels incredibly fluid and is challenging but not overly punishing. It was easy for me to enter a state of flow, moving through the levels with surprising speed and ease. I managed to get through one particularly difficult level on the first try because I was completely locked to death right on the last platform. I like to brag that the developer told me that no one has seen it before. Of course, I wasn't able to recreate that perfect run for another ten minutes, because flow states are hard to regain once you lose them.
Another thing that eases Constance's difficulty is the choice you'll be presented with when you die. You can choose to return to the last save point, which may be far away, or you can choose to persevere at the cost of limiting your maximum health points. This option allowed me to either go back and explore a different, less punishing area, or push through through sheer willpower, and offered built-in difficulty customization. I played with a female developer by my side, so I had first-hand information about whether or not I was close to a meditation point, which influenced my decision. They told me that the studio is still working on ways to give players more information to help reduce unnecessary backtracking.
Constance can be difficult, though incredibly satisfying. That said, the studio is also looking at ways to ease the difficulty of the game for people who may have accessibility issues or just want to play for the story – the developers are apparently exploring mechanics similar to Hades' God Mode, which increases your resistance to damage. every time you die. I used God Mode in Hades because I'm shit, and even though I didn't find Constance nearly as difficult, more accessibility options are always a good thing.
Constance is currently scheduled for a Q4 2025 release and will be available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch.
