Constance Hands-On (Xbox Series X/S)
Constance is undoubtedly a beautiful game. Take one look at it, and you will be filled with a sense of awe. It doesn’t play half bad either; Connie’s movements match the fluidity of the animation, creating a buttery smooth experience that genuinely feels like wet paint landing on the canvas. You don’t have to be an artist or passionate about watercolours to enjoy Constance either, as it’s just a visual representation of her inner turmoil. You see, Connie is a graphic designer, so it makes sense that her psychosis would be presented in this way, for at the heart of Constance is a story about mental health and the struggle to balance life with work. This is conveyed exceptionally well because after 15 hours with Constance, it might be detrimental to my mental health, too. I don’t know if it was intentional, but Btf Games definitely made me feel addiction, stress and utter contempt.
Constance lures you in with the promise of a Metroidvania – for which it is, most of the time – only to pull the rug from under you, pitting you against a seemingly endless run of bosses. The joy of slowly unveiling the map is continuously interrupted by a bombardment of powerful kingpins, cheapening the thrill of discovery. Metroidvanias reward you with incremental upgrades, but Constance doesn’t even do that. Instead, every boss you encounter rewards you with some cash to spend on upgrades you don’t even have yet. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Chaotic Carnival. This section, which looks like a circus with a few fairground rides, is 6 boss fights with 1 upgrade to Connie’s move set. It’s so repetitive that reaching the 6th boss is exhausting, and because there’s no reward after each battle, there simply isn’t that dopamine rush that makes any of it feel worth it.
Maybe it’s trying to be meta, because the plot centres on Connie’s mental health, exacerbated by her stressful work environment. Collecting Tears – which is the main objective of the game, and are glimpses into Connie’s life – are so difficult to get that it’s impossible to form any connection with the main character. I would love to know more about Connie’s struggles, but when the game makes it so easy to dislike it (and as a consequence, myself), what’s the point?
If you love Hollow Knight and Silksong, this is just a prettier, less challenging version of that. In a nutshell, it’s one long boss run dressed up as a 2D sidescroller, and I can’t help but think all the platforming elements belong in a different game.
