Indie game publisher 2P Games announced that the side-scrolling action Metroidvania ‘Kotama & Academy Citadel’, developed by Atomstring Games and published by the company, was officially released on Steam on January 15th.
Kotama & Academy Citadel combines hardcore Metroidvania with subculture aesthetics. Players take on the role of enigmatic exchange student Kotama, navigating the colorful yet bizarre Carmel Academy City while utilizing the unique Flow Burst system and the time-rewinding Rewinder ability to uncover sealed secrets.
As the exploration progresses, the seemingly peaceful campus becomes increasingly tainted by bizarre enemies and conspiracies, and the user must form a party with unique girls to participate in the 100th anniversary celebration of Carmel Academy City, or collect ‘video tapes’ scattered throughout the city to uncover the academy’s hidden old plan and the secret surrounding his own birth.
This work is characterized by a subtle combination of “hardcore Metroidvania” and “subcultural sensibility.” It features a visual style characterized by high-saturation colors and elaborate Live 2D dynamic illustrations. To further enhance the visual perfection, a “battle destruction system” has been introduced, which changes character appearances depending on the battle status. In tense boss battles, intense production and “defeat CG” are applied depending on the outcome, providing a high level of immersion.
The combat system is centered around the unique “Flow Burst” system, which combines “weak” and “strong” attacks to create a single, cyclical flow of attack and recovery. This creates a fast and brisk combat tempo. Key to this system is its active use of various exploration abilities, as well as reaction-based evasion and guarding.
Notably, it breaks the “rolling” mold of the traditional Metroidvania genre and adopts a non-linear exploration structure. As the game progresses, various movement and exploration abilities are sequentially unlocked, offering a greater degree of freedom in gameplay. Furthermore, the game combines a map structure that changes over time with spatiotemporal puzzle content utilizing the “Revive ability,” providing a constant sense of freshness and discovery as you explore the city.
In addition, players of all skill levels can enjoy the optimal gaming experience through detailed difficulty selection and the ‘Memory Option’ system, from light play focused on story immersion to hardcore challenges that pursue extreme control.
Kotama & Academy Citadel has been certified as “fully compatible” with Steam Deck and supports Korean. The game is priced at 21,500 won, with a limited-time 10% launch discount.
