Hands-on impressions of the Xplorite open beta: how its alien-planet mystery, rogue-AI robot combat, and hand-drawn exploration help it stand out in a crowded Metroidvania field, plus what the test build suggests about pacing, map design, and controller feel on PC.
Xplorite arrives in the middle of a real Metroidvania pileup, where every other week brings another map of twisting corridors and color-coded doors. After a few hours with the open beta, it is clear this hand-drawn sci-fi adventure on planet Nargal is not trying to win by sheer scale or by burying you in systems. Instead, it leans hard into a specific fantasy: being a lone operative picking through the ruins of a failed expedition, fighting a robot army that clearly does not want you to find out what happened.
You play as Sy, an agent sent by the G.S.O. to Nargal to track down a missing science team. The setup is familiar in broad strokes, but the way the beta handles it gives the exploration some welcome texture. The first areas feel less like generic alien jungles and more like the aftermath of something gone badly wrong. You pass abandoned research structures, derelict machinery and broken drones, with just enough environmental storytelling to keep you guessing about the missing scientists and the AI that has clearly taken control. The game rarely stops to monologue at you in the beta, which lets the world do the talking in a way that suits this style of slow-burn mystery.
That mystery is backed up by a strong visual identity. Xplorite’s hand-drawn art is not chasing ultra-polished anime slickness. Instead it goes for thick lines, punchy colors and nicely expressive animation that sells the recoil of a blaster shot or the twitch of a damaged robot. Biomes in the beta range from rocky caverns lit by lurid alien flora to more industrial spaces peppered with ominous terminals and automated defenses. Even in this early state there is a clear effort to make landmarks readable. Distinct shapes and silhouettes help you remember where you have been, which matters a lot in a genre where getting lost is part of the experience.
Combat is where Xplorite’s focus on rogue robots and a hostile AI really kicks in. Most enemies are mechanical and animated with a pleasingly jerky weight. Early encounters are with basic patrol units and turrets, but it does not take long for more specialized machines to appear, from shielded drones to leaping melee bots that punish sloppy platforming. Because these are robots instead of monsters, the feedback loop feels different from many organic-leaning Metroidvanias. Sparks, metal clanks and short, harsh audio cues make fights feel like you are methodically dismantling a security network rather than swatting wildlife.
Sy’s toolkit supports that fantasy nicely. The beta builds you up through a combination of new abilities, upgradable modules and drone companions. New powers unlock traversal routes in classic Metroidvania fashion, but the way modules and drones interact with combat gives encounters a bit more personality. One drone might hover and fire in tandem with you, turning narrow corridors into dangerous kill zones, while another prioritizes close-range disruption. Modules adjust damage, fire rate or defensive options, encouraging you to treat Sy more like a customizable field agent than a stock platformer hero.
It helps that combat flow is generally snappy. On a controller, movement has a deliberate but responsive feel. Sy’s run speed is moderate rather than zippy, but jumps are predictable and air control is generous enough to correct mistakes without feeling floaty. Attacks come out quickly and recover fast enough that once you learn enemy patterns, weaving between projectiles and melee lunges feels natural. The beta build suggests the developers understand that in a combat-heavy Metroidvania, moment-to-moment responsiveness on a pad matters just as much as big-picture map design.
On keyboard and mouse, the game is playable and serviceable, but it is clear that gamepads are the preferred way to experience Xplorite right now. Analog sticks make subtle movement and aerial adjustments easier, and assigning abilities to shoulder buttons feels more comfortable than stretching across a keyboard. The beta’s rebindable controls help, but unless there are significant changes before launch, PC players with controllers will likely have a smoother time, especially once the action ramps up and you are juggling multiple abilities and drones in tight arenas.
The map design in the beta hints at a structure that wants you to feel like you are gradually securing chunks of enemy territory rather than sprinting along a linear gauntlet. Early sections branch off into side rooms that contain secrets, optional fights or power-ups, then curve back into the main route. It is fairly traditional, but smart use of locked doors, one-way passages and clearly signposted dead ends keeps backtracking from becoming tedious. Visual theming is strong enough that when you loop back into an earlier area with new abilities, it is easy to spot surfaces or routes that are now reachable.
One of the standout qualities of Xplorite’s exploration is how it ties progression to the missing scientists and the AI. Audio logs and terminals are used sparingly in the beta, but when they do appear they are often placed after small gauntlets or in tucked-away alcoves that reward curiosity. These fragments add context to the strange transformation of Nargal and hint at the personality of the AI that turned defense systems and research robots into a hostile force. Rather than dumping exposition at the start, the story is something you peel back as you poke into corners of the map, which fits the investigating operative role well.
Pacing in the beta feels carefully managed. The opening stretch is tight and guided, letting you get a handle on Sy’s basic movement and early combat without throwing multiple enemy types at you at once. After that, the game starts to introduce new threats and platforming wrinkles in a way that keeps you slightly off-balance without being overwhelming. Save points and checkpoints appear at sensible intervals. Tougher encounters and set pieces are usually bracketed by calmer stretches where you can breathe, explore for secrets or experiment with new upgrades. This rise-and-fall rhythm is important in a genre that can easily slide into exhaustion when every room has the same combat density.
The open beta also shows promising attention to signposting and clarity. Hazard types are consistent in how they read on screen, so it rarely feels like you have been surprised by unclear visuals. Damage feedback on Sy is sharp and readable. Enemy telegraphs are short but fair, which matters in a game where robots can hit hard once you venture deeper into Nargal. When the difficulty spikes, it usually feels like a matter of learning patterns and adjusting your build rather than wrestling with unclear design.
Compared to the wider Metroidvania crowd, Xplorite’s biggest differentiators so far are its commitment to a coherent sci-fi investigation premise and its focus on fighting a robotic ecosystem directed by a single hostile intelligence. The hand-drawn aesthetic supports that tone rather than clashing with it, and the mechanical upgrade system reinforces the idea that you are adapting your gear to push deeper into enemy territory. There are plenty of games about lost civilizations and mystical energies. Fewer make you feel like a field agent carefully unwinding a failed mission on a distant world where every turret and drone is part of an organized resistance.
The open beta is not a final verdict, of course. There are areas that could use refinement before full release, including further input tuning on keyboard and mouse, more variety in enemy behaviors and perhaps tighter pacing in a few connective corridors that repeat familiar room patterns. But the core is solid. The exploration feels methodical and rewarding, the combat has bite without losing fairness and the mystery of the missing scientists and their rogue AI creation gives you a strong narrative reason to keep pushing deeper into Nargal’s depths.
If you are starting to feel fatigued by the endless wave of lookalike Metroidvanias, Xplorite’s open beta is worth the time it asks of you. It is not trying to reinvent the genre, but it is using familiar tools to craft a focused, characterful investigation of a broken alien world and the machines that guard its secrets. That might be exactly what the genre needs right now: something sharp, purposeful and confident about what kind of story it wants to tell with its map of interlocking corridors.