Binary Haze Interactive officially released Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist on January 23, after a 10-month Early Access period. Following in the steps of its prequel Ender Lilies, the dark fantasy metroidvania RPG got off to a strong start, quickly gaining an “Overwhelmingly Positive” status on Steam as players praised its art, UI and combat. At the time of writing, the game maintains its popularity, with 95% out of 10,500+ reviews on Steam being positive.
What made Ender Magnolia so successful? AUTOMATON talked to director Keisuke Okabe and lead game designer Yasuhiro Yokoyama to get their perspectives.
Yokoyama explains that Binary Haze Interactive’s CEO Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who started the Ender series and acts as its producer, was always passionate about art and worldbuilding – which are definitely aspects that make both Ender Lilies and Ender Magnolia stand out. However, Kobayashi was also conscious of the need to incorporate fun gameplay into his worldbuilding, and sought to combine emotional narrative with entertainment value.
Ender Magnolia’s success, according to its developers, may be a sign that they managed to achieve the balance they strived for. “There are games out there that are moving in terms of story but have their quirks when it comes to gameplay. At the same time, there are games that tend to rely too heavily on just gameplay – but I think that the Ender series may have struck the perfect balance between the two,” Yokoyama comments.
When Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights came out in 2021, one of its most often-mentioned strengths was its haunting and somber atmosphere, which Magnolia inherited. While the sequel lowered the difficulty, shifting away from soulslike influences, it introduced many improvements to gameplay, including more rewarding exploration, smoother battle mechanics and more customizable playstyles.
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is available for Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam).
