When I reviewed the original HunterX a few years ago I walked away with an impression of a game that got some elements like its combat, general look, and skill progression right but fell short in a few areas as well. This successor, while still not able to keep up with the top-tier action-oriented Metroidvanias on the system, does feel like it has made strides to make improvements, helping to advance its overall place in the Switch eShop food chain.

There’s absolutely a sense of deja vu loading this up if you’re familiar with the original. The quasi-Metroidvania style of level design is still present, forcing you to do some exploring and then try to keep mental track of which paths you’ve taken and which you may have skipped. Character progression feels like it is at least similar, and while your options aren’t as extensive as in some other titles you will at least feel like you have some control over how you operate, especially as you get further into the game. You’ll need those skills, and to also find some improved gear laying around in spots, because there’s no question that some of the bosses you’ll run into will make you work to get through them.

To some degree I think that’s where one of my issues with the game’s challenge level is exposed. While I wouldn’t say that taking on the average enemies you’ll run into while making your way through the map is easy, compared to the challenges you’ll face with bosses there’s quite a gap. In that way it feels like they’ve done a poor job of helping you bring up your skill floor in advance, sort of getting used to being able to blow through the majority of enemies without too much effort. Then, when you hit a boss that is set up to dismantle you completely you end up feeling very unprepared, lulled into thinking you’d been doing well up to that point. This happens in some other challenging games as well, but moreso than normal I really felt the skill gap here, and it made some of the brutal bosses much harder to take in and deal with.

There are some other areas that are somewhere in the middle, whether the somewhat nondescript areas you’ll go through, making it a challenge at times to keep track of where you are and where you’ve been, or perhaps the combat feeling a bit stiff… but depending on your tastes and skills you could also choose to take them in stride. In the end there are absolutely better games of this type out there, but if you’re a fan of Metroidvania action that’s a little tougher than the average it may be worth giving a spin.