When it arrived on the Switch, Ender Magnolia’s predecessor, Ender Lillies, simply looked and felt like something different. There was no question that aesthetically it had a style all its own, and your character’s ability to leverage a pretty wide variety of attacks and skills by tapping into spirit allies provided real choice as you went along for how to contend with enemies. Of course, it’s intimidating and often quite challenging periodic bosses were more than happy to take you down a peg, but that all added to the game’s charm.

Now, with this follow-up, the developers have basically taken all of those elements, refined them, and run with them. The result is similarly pleasing, challenging, and yet for those familiar with the original it’s nice to be able to see some measurable progress made. The game’s look is cleaner and more detailed than before, and you’ll be given the opportunity to make use of an even wider variety of homonculi that will power your attacks. Beware that the bosses waiting for you will also tend to throw you a greater challenge as well, so much like the original this isn’t for people looking to have an easy time of things.

What’s nice is that there are some other more subtle perks to enjoy as well. This time around there’s a little more emphasis on storytelling, helping the world feel a little more complete. The stage design is also a step up, with what feels like more puzzles baked into the adventure, and a bit more variety in enemies and how they’re placed to make you work a little harder as you try to get around. All of these factors come together to make Ender Magnolia feel comfortingly familiar without being a carbon copy of its predecessor, so if you don’t mind needing to grit your teeth at times to get through some tough boss challenges, it’s more than worth a look.