Neanderthallica Review: Weather-Bending Metroidvania Fun

This isn’t the first time a game has promised “prehistoric with a twist,” but Neanderthallica grabbed my attention by actually leaning into its oddball Metroidvania roots rather than just draping a mammoth pelt over familiar mechanics. With its Steam launch (and a 10% discount to kick things off), I was eager to see whether this weather-warping puzzle-platformer could carve out its own niche in a sea of pixel-art clones.

Prehistoric Premise, Modern Metroidvania

Neanderthallica sets up a deceptively simple hook: you play as a resourceful caveman who stumbles on a mysterious device capable of altering weather patterns. From there, it unfolds into a sprawling, interconnected world—complete with secret chambers, backtracking routes and key-gated areas—that feels instantly recognizable to anyone who’s spent time with the genre’s defining classics. But the real question isn’t whether it nails the map design or upgrade loop (it does), but whether that weather trick really changes the game beyond a gimmick.

Weather Mechanics: Storms, Sunshine and Stone-Age Sorcery

The core novelty in Neanderthallica lies in its elemental manipulation. Instead of picking up a double-jump or dash upgrade, you unlock four distinct weather commands: rain, snow, wind and lightning. Each power can be invoked via a quick radial menu (keyboard or controller), and they integrate into platforming, puzzle-solving and combat.

• Rain: Flood shallow caverns to access new ledges, wash away fire barriers or create slippery surfaces that alter enemy footing.
• Snow: Freeze water sources into makeshift bridges or encase hostile beasts in ice to turn them into mobile obstacles.
• Wind: Gust powerful currents to carry you across wide gaps or redirect rolling boulders in fortress puzzles.
• Lightning: Supercharge metal structures, power ancient machinery and deal area-of-effect damage to clusters of foes.

What sets this apart from a simple screen-shake particle effect is how each weather power can be layered. I found myself summoning a rainstorm to flood a corridor, then immediately triggering a lightning bolt to activate submerged machinery. Later, I froze the outflow and used the wind to clear nearby debris—turning one “puzzle room” into an improvised weather experiment. Controls remain responsive, and a brief cooldown prevents spamming, forcing you to plan ahead rather than hack-and-slash your way through.

Metroidvania Structure and Progression

Cheers, the Ukrainian indie studio behind Neanderthallica, clearly studied the blueprint: a world map split into thematic regions (forest grottos, volcanic caverns, crystal ruins), each hiding its own weather terminal and associated abilities. You’ll find optional side routes sealed by elemental locks—waterfalls that need freezing, wind vents that require a gust upgrade—before you even hit the mandatory path to the next boss. This organic gating ensures you discover hidden nooks naturally, and it encourages multiple return visits once you acquire advanced powers.

Fast travel appears early via stone monoliths, so revisiting areas doesn’t feel like padding. A minimalistic map tracks primary objectives and side tasks, but you’re often left to your own devices when hunting for the last meteorite shard or hidden artwork. That sense of “hunt and discovery” underpins the Metroidvania appeal, and Neanderthallica strikes a good balance between hand-holding and old-school exploration frustration.

Crafting, Gear and Combat Customization

Many Metroid-style games shoehorn crafting systems as busywork, but Neanderthallica leans into its promise of over 150 gear and weapon combinations. In practice, the workshop lets you swap handles, blade types and elemental cores on clubs, spears, slingshots and early firearms, each component influencing stats like range, knockback or status effects.

• Melee vs. Ranged: Clubs and spears gain bonus damage on stunned foes, while slingshots and spears with elemental cores let you trigger weather reactions at a distance.
• Elemental Augments: Attach a frost crystal to slow down quick enemies, or fit a lightning shard to electrify waterlogged areas on contact.
• Stat Trade-offs: Heavier weapons hit harder but slow your weather cooldown; lighter guns fire quickly but require precise timing to chain elemental combos.

In early skirmishes I experimented with a fire-tipped spear that set brush ablaze, then combined rain and lightning to clear out swarms of smaller crawlers before tackling larger brutes. The depth here feels genuine rather than tacked on, and once you acquire master blueprints from hidden treasure rooms, you can experiment with truly peculiar builds: wind-enhanced boomerangs or frost-charged clubs that leave slippery puddles in boss arenas.

Environment Design and Puzzle Variety

Puzzle rooms range from those lightbulb “aha” moments to multi-stage challenges that demand careful weather layering. One standout cavern had three sequential chambers: the first required a gale to lift a pillar, the second a rainstorm to raise water levels and the third a thunderclap to power a door motor. It felt like a miniature weather gauntlet, and clearing it unlocked both a map upgrade and a cosmetic icon for your character.

Cheesy environmental jokes pop up in the architecture—think a giant stone dial shaped like a sundial you force-rain to turn, or a frozen waterfall whose icicles spell out a clue. The world teases pop-culture winks (caveman graffiti of “rock concerts” and time-traveler tourists) without derailing immersion, and the level layouts cleverly incorporate vertical shafts, sliding platforms and classic “ledge-and-hookshot” sequences.

Art Direction, Audio and Comic Tone

Neanderthallica’s pixel art is bright, punchy and packed with detail. Characters animate with cartoonish exaggeration—wide grins, flailing arms when stunned—and terrain layers use parallax scrolling to evoke depth. Weather effects, from crackling lightning arcs to snowflakes drifting across the screen, look polished and serve both gameplay and aesthetic functions.

Composer Pixel Nomad delivers a chiptune-infused soundtrack that balances playful flutes and drumbeats with occasional synth blasts during storms. Ambient cave echoes, distant dinosaur roars and soft wind howls add atmosphere without overwhelming the tunes. Sound cues also underline gameplay—lightning arcs hum before striking, rain intensifies in rhythm with on-screen droplets—making the weather powers feel tangible.

Humor remains a consistent through-line. NPCs communicate via pictogram bubbles that riff on modern memes, and one side character insists on selling “fire-proof fur coats” even though you haven’t unlocked the volcanic region yet. It’s the sort of tongue-in-cheek writing that could wear thin over dozens of hours, but early dialogue and campaign interludes show enough wit to keep it fresh.

Narrative Hooks and World-Building

At its heart, Neanderthallica tells a straightforward story: your curious caveman uncovers an alien artifact that distorts weather patterns, prompting escalating environmental chaos across the land. Short animated cutscenes fill in the lore—ancient tribes experimenting with crystal technology, mysterious meteorite showers—and occasional NPC journals reveal secondary plot threads (a rival explorer, a lost civilization of ice-dwellers).

The narrative never tries to outdo epic blockbusters; instead it embraces its B-movie roots. You’ll chase down the source of each weather anomaly, facing a pair of quirky minibosses (a volcanic woolly mammoth, a storm-giant shaman) before gearing up for a final face-off in a swirling cyclone arena. Each boss arena encourages creative use of your latest weather powerset, so story progression and gameplay evolution remain tightly woven.

Difficulty Curve, Pacing and Replayability

Balancing challenge in a Metroidvania is always delicate: newcomers want enough direction to avoid confusion, while veterans crave head-scratching puzzles. Neanderthallica handles this by introducing one new weather tool every two to three major zones, staggering enemy difficulty and layering puzzles from simple to complex. I encountered only a few true “roadblock” moments—primarily late-game arenas requiring near-perfect timing on elemental combos—but optional areas often provided gear upgrades to smooth out rough spots.

Replay value comes from multiple angles: the crafting system encourages alternate builds, hidden secret maps promise tougher challenges, and a New Game+ mode is teased in the menu (though I haven’t unlocked it yet). Collectible cave paintings unlock concept art and developer notes, giving lore hounds incentive to scour every crevice. Even after the credits roll, it feels worthwhile to revisit boss arenas with a fresh weather loadout.

Why Neanderthallica Matters (Even if It’s Not Perfect)

If you’re weary of generic pixel Metroidvanias or the endless parade of medieval fantasy settings, Neanderthallica offers a welcome change of pace. Its weather-based puzzles genuinely shift how you approach platforming and combat, and the 150+ gear combos invite experimentation that goes beyond cosmetic swapping. The comic tone and sci-fi anachronisms keep things light, while the core exploration loop remains satisfying.

There are rough edges—some optional puzzles feel like busywork, and a few late-game corridors can blur together—but for an indie team operating under challenging circumstances, Cheers has crafted a game that punches above its weight. The 10% launch discount on Steam sweetens the deal for players willing to take a risk on an offbeat title.

TL;DR: Caveman Meets Cyclone

Neanderthallica blends classic Metroidvania design with a weather-control twist, 150+ gear combos and unapologetic humor. Its polished pixel art, dynamic puzzles and lighthearted tone set it apart from formulaic indie offerings. While not without minor flaws, it’s a refreshing, original spin on the genre that’s well worth checking out—especially at its launch discount.