“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside – remembering all the times you’ve felt that way” – Charles Bukowski

As I noted this past summer, the Future Games Showcase presented gamers with an absolute bevy of choices over the coming months. Many gamers, however, were still awaiting the fabled Hollow Knight: Silksong (check out of our full review of Silksong here). In the mix of all of the release trailers, we were presented with another comparable game – Constance.

Developed by btf and published in conjunction with Byterockers’ Games and PARCO GAMES, Constance is a 2D Metroidvania platformer situated in a dream-like world. In the game, you assume the role of Constance, a girl who has been transported to this strange land. A land, which according to the developers, is a reflection of the declining mental health of Constance in the real world. Constance launched to Steam just a few days ago, November 24th, 2025. Already to date (as of November 28th), Constance has already received a solid rating of 82 on Metacritic.

Gamer Social Club was able to step into the world of Constance prior to its release. I had loved the story that seemed to be presented just a few months prior, despite my novice-level experience in the world of Metroidvanias. Disclaimer: Constance, in a move that I do appreciate, provides general warnings around the kind of content that the game will cover. Content that surprised me, in terms of how deep these experiences are, to be couched in a Metroidvania. I will emphasize what they provide – self-care is best care. If you do opt to play, take the breaks that you need (I know I did).

The World & The Story

The World

A pre-dominant portion of Constance takes place in a dream-like world of Constance’s creation, separated into several zones:

• Painterly Peak – Where we start our journey through this world.
• Vanishing Vaults – A subterranean region, chock full of poisonous slime pools and less than friendly denizens.
• Janky Junction – The central “hub” of our world, and a nice reprieve from the dangers around you.
• Floral Foundry – A mechanical realm inhabited by robots that don’t care for your presence.
• Astral Academy – A spectral library of sorts, where the books fly and paper will be used as a weapon against you.
• Chaotic Carnival – Not nearly as fun as it sounds.

Interspersed through these moments of journey are moments where Constance is brought back into the real world. And these are the moments, my friends, where we see why the dream world is the way that it is.

The world of our protagonist is…bleak, and full of memories and traumas that many of us have walked through in our lives (myself included).

The Story

As Constance begins her journey through the world, she meets several peaceful residents along the way. The first being Frida, who grants us with powers to survive in this land…and a big paintbrush to boot.

Frida notes that Constance has been brought there for a reason and that she must help not only the people of this land, but herself as well. Thus, we embark across this realm, brush in hand, to fight and return things to normal. I won’t stray too far into the story more, because the groundwork for the end game starts getting laid out pretty early on.

The Gameplay

If you have ever played a Metroidvania, you know the drill. You’ll tread back to previous areas as you unlock new abilities that will allow for further progression and opening of the world. At the start, Constance only has her paintbrush that she can use to strike enemies with…but not much more than that. If you’re wondering where this is going, you’d be correct. Constance will slowly yet surely build her arsenal by discovering blank canvases which provide new Brush Techniques.

Brush Techniques

Overall, Constance can learn eight Brush Techniques:

• Paint Dive – Allows Constance to transform into paint for a rapid horizontal movement, during which time she is also invulnerable.
• Paint Stab – Think of it as a stronger attack that also removes “corruption” that exists throughout the world.
• Wall Dive – In paint form, Constance can move upwards on a vertical wall, as well as descend. She’ll also be invulnerable in this state. Think of it like a fancier Wall Kick.
• Paint Stroke – Constance can move rapidly through hook points that exist in the world, while damaging enemies when passing through them.
• Paint Clone – Clone yourself into a paint bomb that will explode when activated or damaged.
• Plunge – Dive down onto enemies with your brush, as well as hazards, and bounce off of them.
• Somersault – A standard double-jump for Constance.
• Visage of Hope – OK, so not really a technique, but helps you combat great darkness (regions where you’ll constantly take damage if not wearing this mask).

Resting Points

Think of them as your bonfires in Dark Souls III. These are where you can rest up and manage things in your inventory. It will also be where you spawn should you die – and you probably will…quite a few times. I know I did.

Tears

This is what you’ll be pursuing in Constance. There is a Tear located in four of the regions in the world, all of which you’ll need to make it to the end of the game. Coupled with each Tear is a memory/moment of Constance’s real life. Remember what I said earlier about self-care – yeah, these are those moments. Some hit a little too close to home for me.

Heart Pieces & Paint Flasks

They’re exactly what you think they are. Heart Pieces, when three are collected, will boost Constance’s Total Health. Paint Flasks, when four are collected, will boost Constance’s Paint, which is used in conjunction with her Brush Techniques (after all, can’t use a brush without paint).

You might notice that Constance has a limited amount of Paint. Can you go beyond that level to use your Brush Techniques? Yes – but at a cost. When surpassing Constance’s Max Paint level, she becomes “corrupted” and her hair will shift to black and all further Brush Techniques will come at the cost of our protagonist’s health. Great in a bind…but also deadly if mistimed.

Photographs, Quip the Merchant, and Clara

You’ll encounter three specific NPC’s in Constance that  will be of huge assistance: Robert, Quip, and Clara.

Robert…the Camera (?)

Robert is a friendly robotic camera…man (?) who you’ll encounter early in the game. He provides Constance with a camera that she can utilize. Why? To mark areas on the map. Metroidvania fans know that it is very easy to get lost and disoriented in these maze-like games. Helpful photographs can serve as reminders to where things are in the world – especially if you need to come back later.

Quip the Merchant

Quip is adorable and has several family members lost in the world. Reunite them with Quip and Quip will have more items, like Photographs and other sundry goods for your journey. Purchases are made with Glimmer. Glimmer are shining orbs that can be gathered from plants in the world, as well as from fallen enemies.

Clara

Clara is a faceless woman (well, faceless due to her umbrella angle) who provides assistance in improving Constance’s Inspirations (we’ll get there, don’t worry). Inspirations are upgraded via Lightstones. Lightstones are beautiful crystal shards that are scattered across the world, and somewhat hard to come by – I definitely did not locate all of them.

But you mentioned Inspirations, Sean – what are those?

Inspirations

In Constance, think of Inspirations as those passive equipment pieces that boost your abilities. Each of them take up a unique amount of space in your inventory, so you’ll have to manage arranging them (flashbacks to those who have played some of the Resident Evil games).

Two examples of Inspirations are Lifeline and Dark Embrace. Lifeline will generate Health back when using Paint Stab against enemies. Dark Embrace, on the other hand, will prevent damage using Paint Dive while corrupted (out of Paint) and will inflict damage to enemies when dodging.

As noted above, speaking with Clara will allow Constance to upgrade her Inspirations, making them even stronger/more effective/less detrimental (as it varies from Inspiration to Inspiration).

The Good

Audio Design & Visuals

While it’s not hard to be pretty in the year 2025, it still always blows me away from inventive developers when it comes to the visual aesthetics of their games. Constance is no exception. The colors are vibrant and pop, especially with the inclusion of some amazing lighting effects, which I feel like you don’t always see in 2D platformers.

Coupled with the visuals is a beautifully designed score of music that always fits the scene in which Constance finds herself. More serene songs when Constance is on a more peaceful part of the journey, and bombastic songs as Constance battles her way through the guardians of the Tears.

Flow of Combat

While hard to capture via screenshots, given the nature of the game, Constance just…flowed…like paint if you will! Rarely, if ever, did I encounter any technical hiccups with the flow of combat, save for one instance that I’ll talk about later.

That being said, when you’re treading the same ground over and over again, you eventually reach that state of being able to move through at the speed of sound and it does feel satisfying in those moments. Even if it’s the 19th time you’ve passed over that one enemy.

Story

While it doesn’t dive head-first into the topics that I have mentioned earlier, Constance does present a much deeper story than “find all the things and defeat great evil”. We start to see how the dreamlike nature of the world reflects the actual person that is Constance and her fears, worries…and strengths.

The Bad

Difficulty Ranges

I’m a stranger to the world of Metroidvanias. That being said, one of the first things that I noticed that the harder part of the game were not the “bosses” themselves, but the paths to simply get to those bosses. Maybe this is the normal routine for a Metroidvania, but there were many instances where I died dozens of times unlocking the access to a boss…to beat the boss within two to three attempts. And not through sheer gamer skill. Trust me, this game kicked my behind up and down the screen and there were definitely a few ragequit moments on my end.

That being said though – shouldn’t the boss warrant higher concern than the middling enemies and environment on the way to the boss? I’m not sure, but it did give me pause while playing.

Glitched Boss Fight (?)

There was one specific boss encounter early on in Constance that, thankfully, did not set the precedent for the rest of my gameplay. A fearsome boss named…Brian.

Do you notice those black balls of corruption blasting above Constance in the fight? Normally when hit with corruption in the world, you take damage. Not in this fight though. I actually started noticing in the fight “Why haven’t I taken any damage? I’m not this good…”. So I tested it – I let those waves of corruption blast over Constance. I took no damage.

I will, however, note that there has been at least one patch since the game launched. Additionally, I was curious to see if other reviewers had this hiccup. No? Just me? Neat. I understand, though, that these technical gremlins occur at times and cannot be replicated elsewhere. While I won’t fully hold the game accountable, I do have to note it for the purposes of my review.

The Overall

Several times, I have noted that I have never touched a Metroidvania. And I now understand why. Younger Sean would have been all over these in his youth, with his good eyesight and fast gaming reflexes. Nearly 40 Sean, however, can’t keep up at that speed as easily. I don’t hold that against Constance – I hold it against the inevitability of being an older gamer (totally not dry heaving while saying that).

But did I enjoy my time with Constance? I did, despite my rageful moments. Constance presents a deeper than surface-level approach to the Metroidvania genre and poses the question “What would our inner world look like in cases of significant anxiety and depression in our external world?” In recent years, I have been someone who struggles more with anxiety. It’s not easy at times, but Constance allowed myself, and hopefully others, to understand this one thing: it’s OK to ask for help.

Constance is currently available for purchase on PC.

Gamer Social Club was provided an early-access code for the purposes of this review. This review was played on PC (Steam).