Constance Review
Release Date: 24/11/2025
Platforms: PC.
Platform played on: PC.
Hours Played: 25 (98% Completion)
Score: 8/10
Constance is a beautifully crafted 2D metroidvania that follows the journey of its main character through a vibrant fantasy world shaped by her creativity and her internal struggles. The first thing that instantly grabs your attention is the art direction. The game uses a very clean and simple cartoon style that works incredibly well thanks to its thoughtful use of color. It fits perfectly with the idea that Constance herself is an artist who wields a paintbrush as a weapon. Even though the world is entirely fantastical, every enemy and environment subtly represents aspects of her declining mental health, presented in a symbolic and gentle way rather than anything dark or disturbing. The story also includes occasional scenes from her real life, which adds emotional weight to the adventure.
The gameplay follows the structure you would expect from a Metroidvania. You unlock new abilities that allow you to revisit previous areas and progress through the world. Constance is on the more compact side when compared to larger metroidvanias, and the first blind playthrough took me around five hours while leaving plenty of collectibles behind. The smaller size does not prevent the game from hiding things well. The map system uses simple squares instead of detailed room layouts, which actually makes exploration more interesting, since it is much easier to miss a hidden corner. Even after collecting everything, my completion was still stuck at 98%.
The world design is handled with care. Each of the six main regions has its own biome with a distinct visual identity. Enemies feel unique to their areas and introduce mechanics that keep encounters fresh, even if some of them repeat from time to time. That is completely normal for a game of this scale.
The bosses are among the high points of Constance. They are creative, visually memorable, and they make use of the abilities you gain throughout the adventure. The difficulty strikes a satisfying balance between challenge and fairness. Only one boss relies on unnecessary mobs, and thankfully, not every fight involves chasing things that fly in the air (looking at you, Silksong). The only real drawback is that the game does not offer many optional boss encounters. There is only one optional boss in the entire game, which feels like a missed opportunity, especially since the main bosses are strong enough to make you wish there were more side challenges to test your skills.
Combat feels good thanks to a reliable dodge with generous invincibility frames. A parry system would have fit naturally into the game, although it is not something the game suffers from without. The stamina bar introduces an interesting twist. You can overspend it, which means you can keep using stamina-based moves even when the bar is empty, but doing so damages you. It is a clever risk-reward mechanic, but taking damage while exploring without enemies can feel unnecessary. Some upgrades can mitigate this, though it still stands out as a small annoyance.
A particularly welcome feature is the respawn system. When you die, you can return to your last checkpoint or instantly respawn in the same room. Choosing the latter will make enemies and bosses stronger. It is a simple idea that saves a huge amount of time. If you die in a silly way, you are not forced to replay long sections of the map, which helps the pacing tremendously.
The game also includes a few NPCs who offer side quests. They mostly fall into familiar metroidvania patterns, but they still make the world feel more alive. Fast travel works through a station system similar to Hollow Knight, although the world is compact enough that you rarely rely on it.
If there is one aspect where Constance feels a bit limited, it is attack variety. You use the same weapon for the entire game, and its damage never increases. Everything stays balanced, but most of your combat time is spent using the basic attack or the stab attack. Movement upgrades unlock some additional offensive options, including projectiles and damage based on dashes or jumps, but having a few more combat abilities would have made encounters more diverse.
Since I create completion guides, I also want to comment on the achievements. Most of them are perfectly reasonable, but the money farming achievements feel unnecessary. I finished the game with all collectibles and every shop item, and I still had not reached the 10.000 money achievement. There is also a 25.000 one, which feels excessive. The game simply does not drop currency fast enough to make it enjoyable. On a more positive note, the game includes several speedrun achievements and even a built-in timer you can enable. I always appreciate when metroidvanias embrace speedrunning culture.
Constance is overall a charming and compact metroidvania with a beautiful art style, thoughtful themes, and excellent boss design. It does not offer the massive scale of the genre’s heavyweights, but it does not need to. It delivers a focused and heartfelt experience that respects your time while still rewarding exploration. Fans of the genre should absolutely give it a try, especially if they enjoy shorter metroidvanias that prioritize creativity and strong visual storytelling.
