Constance from btf, ByteRockers’ Games and PARCO Games is a 2D platforming metroidvania infused with colour, personality, and a surprising amount of heart. With a paintbrush-wielding protagonist and a striking aesthetic, the question is simple: does Constance live up to the metroidvania greats—and is it worth playing?
Pick Up Your Brush
The game opens with a flurry of messages appearing on a computer screen, before you’re suddenly pulled into another world entirely. Within minutes, you meet Frida, a spirit who gifts you a mystical paintbrush that becomes your main tool for exploration and combat. From there, Constance sends you into a strange, painterly world filled with mystery and challenge.
Painting Your Path: Gameplay & Mechanics
At its core, Constance follows the familiar 2D action-adventure formula but distinguishes itself with its paintbrush system. Your brush abilities rely on a paint meter, which constantly drains as you fight. Push it too far, and you risk becoming corrupted, taking damage over time. The clever twist is that you can choose to overexert yourself—burning your own health for powerful brush attacks when the stakes are high. It’s a mechanic that rewards both precision and bravery.
Platforming is tight and responsive, but occasionally unforgiving. Two issues stand out:
- Clearing corruption, then immediately needing pinpoint-accurate platforming, can be tough, especially for casual players.
- The map is extremely basic, making backtracking much harder than it should be.
Thankfully, the developers have already acknowledged the map issue and plan to improve it in a future update.
Combat & Progression
Combat starts fairly simple—basic slashes from the paintbrush—but expands as you unlock new paint skills and later, augmentations called Inspirations. These passively enhance your abilities and damage output, helping keep combat fresh as you progress.
Boss battles can be intense and occasionally frustrating due to strict patterns and limited margin for error, but ultimately feel rewarding once you adapt to their rhythms.
A World Painted Beautifully
Constance shines brightest in its visuals. The world is drenched in colour, with memorable, hand-crafted backdrops and smooth animations. The map isn’t huge, but each region feels distinct and meaningful, and the game avoids dragging itself out unnecessarily. Expect around 10 hours to finish, depending on skill level and exploration.
The voice acting is minimal—mostly small quips from characters rather than full dialogue—but the soundtrack more than makes up for it. Composer Tiago Rodrigues delivers a gorgeous, atmospheric score that elevates every area and encounter.
Short but Sweet
Constance may be competing in a genre dominated by heavy hitters—especially with Hollow Knight: Silksong looming over everyone’s expectations—yet it still manages to stand out with its creativity and charm. The paintbrush mechanics feel refreshing, the atmosphere is captivating, and the moment-to-moment gameplay stays consistently engaging.
It’s shorter than many metroidvanias and could use more polish in places—more side quests, secrets, or an optional super-boss would have been welcome—but what’s here is genuinely enjoyable. And with the map improvements already planned, its best version may still be ahead.
Final Verdict
Constance is a heartfelt, well-crafted 2D action-platformer that delivers a vibrant world, stylish visuals, and a unique combat twist. While not as expansive as the genre’s biggest titles, it packs plenty of charm and creativity into its runtime. Fans of metroidvanias—especially those wanting something slightly gentler than Silksong—should absolutely give this one a go.
Constance Gameplay Trailer
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The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
The review was written by me and edited by my partner.
