Adventure of Samsara Review (Switch eShop)

Spare a thought for Adventure of Samsara, Atari’s newest retro-styled Metroidvania. Developed for over a decade by the Brazilian studio Ilex Games, it has the unlucky distinction of releasing on the very same day as ultra-anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, which is bound to take all the oxygen out of the room among the gaming commentariat upon release.

This, however, is an interesting place to start. Samsara’s creators, according to a developer podcast, spent years being told by publishers to make their game “more like Hollow Knight.” They resisted calls for ultra-fluid, instant-response combat, opting to stick to their own vision of a platformer where fighting unfolds at a weightier and more deliberate pace.

The result is a surprisingly deep, beautifully rendered but hard indie that draws inspiration from the original Prince of Persia titles and Super Metroid, while paying homage to the archetypal spirit of Warren Robinett’s 1980 classic, Adventure, for the Atari 2600 (playable on Switch via Atari 50). Samsara, though, is not a remake, a sequel, or revival of the latter title – it’s very much its own thing.

Samsara unfolds in a universe that deliberately collides with Atari’s original Adventure, in a setting where dragons roam and high technology mistaken for magic is scattered across 10 distinct biomes, which consist of everything from frozen medieval wastelands and dread-infused cloning labs to dense subterranean green spaces teeming with giant insects.

You control a nameless champion resurrected as a vessel of solar power tasked with restoring balance to the multiverse with the help of fractured communities known as the Orphics. They aim to end the rule of Necromancers who seek to end the cycle of death and rebirth — the concept behind the Sanskrit word samsara — in pursuit of immortality.

Core mechanics centre on sword-and-shield combat with a timing-based parry system, supplemented by spells, ranged weapons like the bowgun, and a slow but high-damage hammer. There are also unique tools used to open up environmental traversal, which see you use solar energy to blast away thorny obstacles and restore ruined platforms.

The Metroid influence is clear in both the world design and sci-fi presentation, particularly the armour and visor-like UI, from which you can customise your build by slotting different discoverable items into a gauntlet to shape your playstyle, whether by favouring raw damage, defensive resilience, and healing, or decreasing the cost of spellcasting.

Each of the three weapons carries its own upgrade tree, allowing enhancements like faster charge times for heavy attacks, stronger base damage, or added defensive perks. In combat, you can switch between these weapons on the fly to adapt to the situation, with the bowgun being particularly useful for targeting enemies from afar while avoiding combat damage.

Samsara’s combat has a lot in common with the Souls-like Blasphemous, which also leans on deliberate and weighty combat, pattern recognition (especially during colossal boss fights), and spellcasting. Once an attack animation begins, you’re locked in, unable to cancel or heal until it resolves. Likewise, precise timing is key to triggering powerful counterattacks when parrying.

Combat encounters thus play out like methodical duels. However, given the genre’s emphasis on backtracking, low-level encounters soon begin to feel repetitive. Pair that with parkour-style platforming that isn’t immediately intuitive and knockback from enemies that can easily send you falling into a pit with the loss of a big chunk of health, and frustration is inevitable.

Another quirk is that when jumping to strike a fast-moving aerial enemy, colliding with them by mistake often results in being knocked backwards into another foe, triggering a 'ping-pong' chain of collisions that drains health rapidly. This issue is especially pronounced in tight spaces with multiple enemies out to eviscerate you; positioning becomes quite unforgiving.

Fumbling attacks on even a minor foe can result in taking steep damage. You have elixirs for healing, which can be upgraded, but taking them effectively requires standing still to avoid any simultaneous inputs, and taking a hit mid-use cancels the recovery, leaving health partially restored. The system’s rigidity adds difficulty and feels punishing, especially during frenetic boss fights.

But, after several hours, I gradually adapted to the rhythm of combat and what the game’s systems demanded — patience, timing, and a careful awareness of spacing — and began to enjoy myself as I manoeuvred with greater confidence. The game also shifts between relentless combat gauntlets to more exploration-driven areas that provided a welcome change of pace.

Boss battles are among the game’s standout moments, with each prefaced by a brief, pixel-art cutscene that heightens the atmosphere as you face colossal foes that initially feel insurmountable. Success comes not from frantic button-mashing but from learning the 'dance' – carefully studying attack patterns, dodging strikes, and parrying with deliberate timing.

Toppling a hulking adversary delivers a rush of satisfaction, just be prepared to try, try, try again. It can easily take 15-20+ hours to get through Samsara’s campaign, but that number will vary based on skill. Still, there are heaps of hard-to-access collectibles used to upgrade and customise your build, as well as secrets to uncover, so completionists will be kept busy.

The score leans into sombre, atmospheric textures that echo both mystery and melancholy. Boss fights feature epic symphonics, while most traversal plays out over minimalist ambience and your own footsteps. Samsara’s lore is likewise Souls-esque, with storytelling established through myths, rumours, and accounts offered by the Orphic villagers.

Samsara’s ties to Atari’s top-down 1980 classic are largely superficial. There are nods to the original – differently colored dragons that randomly spawn across the map, bats that swoop in to steal items, lots of keys, and scattered references that serve as Easter Eggs. Beyond these callbacks, though, Samsara is essentially a new IP with a few scattered winks to the past.

Performance-wise, the game ran well without any noticeable FPS drops in docked and handheld modes on both the Switch 2 and the base Switch model. I experienced one instance where the game crashed without auto-saving my progress, and another minor bug that occurred after backtracking to a save point after a boss fight instead of progressing forward as intended.

Fortunately, the game auto-saved after I won the fight, saving me from repeating the encounter. These are wrinkles that need to be ironed out in further updates, but they were far from game-breaking. For Metroidvania and retro enthusiasts who thrive on challenge, Samsara has a lot going for it. But, at present, it risks feeling cumbersome and too rich for the blood of more casual players.