Constance

Game Title: Constance
Released: November 24, 2025
Game Length: 7 Hours
Grade: C

 Gameplay 

Story: Unlike games like Hollow Knight that plays out as if the story is real, Constance goes in a different direction. It initially starts with a warning that the setting will portray elements of a mental illness through anxiety, depression, and being overwhelmed with events. The world is a metaphor of the memories the girl has to fight through and the bosses embody the feelings she deals with in her real life struggle. The events hit you hard with people who are indecisive, impatient, demanding, uncaring, and downright rude in how they converse with the main character. These aren't happy experiences and the only ending that you receive isn't all flowers and rainbows.

Controls: For someone who is used to being able to freely move around, there is no denying the lack of flexibility from your character. In the beginning, all you are able to do is strike to the left or right. Other moves will require upgrades, using other buttons, and consume stamina. Removing corruption that comes back a few seconds later must be used with a special ability. You must press a button that turns you into paint the moment you are clinging to a wall to bounce off. Bouncing off spikes is unlocked completely separate than your special strike and does not consume stamina. The moment you use an ability once you are out of paint, which is pretty easy to do when you are dashing around the place, will start consuming your health. Ironically, I played the entire game without ever knowing there was a double jump ability.

Environment: Your goal is to collect "tears" from various biomes. The problem is that these areas are not easy to traverse. The map has this unusual way of marking a trail through the rooms you have been, allow you to take screenshots that display exactly where you took them, and specifying which rooms have something interactable. However, many of these visible pathways can only be unlocked after you defeat a boss or complete a puzzle on the opposing side. The platforms and quests can be pretty difficult. You will engage with moveable cubes that can still be electrified, hopping on top of balloons, and grappling across entire rooms. You are unable to fast travel between save points, but you are able to use an elevator to quickly enter another biome.

Punishment: Trying to learn how the mechanics work is perhaps the most difficult part of the game. You can't just be swinging your paintbrush around when you might need stamina to dash or bounce off a wall later on. Destroying objects that are usually located next to boss rooms is the only way to earn health at the basic setting. Oddly enough, the game can get easier after you die by choosing to "empower" enemies and revive in the same room instead of your last shrine. All standard enemies will then drop health in addition to currency. Defeating the giant slime by getting into a giant cube or running from a devourer through a platforming sequence isn't going to be done in a single run. Casual players will get frustrated trying to figure out the exact buttons you need to press to get through the sequence.

Summary

Review: Limiting your controls, hiding upgrades, and getting through sequences with platforms that required accurate precision was not an enjoyable experience. While I applaud the effort in extending the setting in a more artistic direction, the ugly nature of how real life events were portrayed was very depressing to watch. The game felt very short and its ending was not satisfying at all. I had a hard time playing this game over a period of days. I do not recommend it.