Kotama and Academy Citadel

Introduction

Kotama and Academy Citadel, released 14 January 2026 by Atomstring Games and 2P Games, is a 2.5D side-scrolling Metroidvania set in a high-tech academy where only the strongest survive, following a student's fight through its ranks to uncover secrets that could save it from crisis. It sits Very Positive with a sample of around 458 reviews, and reading widely through them reveals a recurring and notable pattern worth naming directly before anything else.

"I expected a goon trap, I got a real Metroidvania" — a pattern, not a fluke

The single most striking thing about this review sample is how many reviewers independently describe the same journey: going in expecting shallow anime fanservice given the game's character-focused art style and marketing, then being genuinely surprised by real mechanical depth underneath it. One reviewer titles their review directly around this expectation reversal, and several others separately describe similar scepticism, about the art style, about Chinese- developed games generally, about "goon trap" marketing, followed by genuine, specific praise once they actually played. This review reads that repeated, independently-arrived-at pattern as meaningfully more credible than a single reviewer's opinion: whatever the marketing implies, the game underneath it is landing as a genuine, well-built Metroidvania for a meaningful share of players who went in doubting it.

Movement and combat systems reviewers specifically rank among the genre's best

Beyond that expectation reversal, this review found consistent, specific praise for the core movement and parry systems, with multiple reviewers describing the fluidity of traversal as among the best they've encountered in an indie Metroidvania. Several reviewers specifically credit the game with avoiding common genre pitfalls: floaty controls, fake difficulty disguised as challenge, and an identity built entirely around imitating Hollow Knight rather than offering something distinct. This review reads that specific, comparative praise, reviewers evidently familiar with the genre's common failure modes naming them by name and then saying this game avoids them, as a real signal of design quality.

A specific, well-corroborated camera stutter complaint

Set against that praise, this review found a specific and independently corroborated technical complaint: stuttery camera scrolling during lateral movement, with multiple reviewers reporting the issue persists regardless of frame rate settings. Given how central fluid horizontal movement is to this specific game's praised strengths, this review reads a stuttering camera as a particularly consequential technical problem rather than a minor polish issue, since it directly undercuts the exact quality reviewers most consistently praise.

A serious cross-device save bug

This review also found a specific, serious bug report worth flagging directly: one detailed reviewer describes losing all equipped gear and character upgrades after alternating between desktop and Steam Deck play, with the game crashing on Deck and then loading a save that retained positional progress but stripped all acquired equipment, forcing a full restart after two hours of play. This review treats a save-corrupting bug of this specificity as a serious concern for anyone planning to play across both platforms, distinct from the more general technical complaints elsewhere in this sample.

Platforming design criticism serious enough to prompt a skip option

This review found real, repeated criticism specifically targeting the game's platforming and jump puzzle sections, with multiple reviewers describing janky jump timing and unfairly placed spike-pit hazards. Notably, this review found reviewers specifically reporting that the developers added an option to skip jump puzzles entirely in response, a concrete, checkable sign the complaint was significant enough to prompt a real design concession rather than simply being one frustrated player's opinion. At least one detailed reviewer frames the skip option itself as "a bandaid" rather than a fix, suggesting the underlying complaint remains only partially addressed.

Combat reception genuinely divided, not just difficulty grumbling

This review found reviewers specifically and genuinely divided on combat quality itself, distinct from the platforming complaints above. Some reviewers describe real depth and satisfaction in learning enemy patterns, while others specifically describe dropped dash inputs, unresponsive dodge timing, and a currency-gated healing system that several reviewers argue actively punishes players who are already struggling rather than helping them recover. This review reads that specific split, not simply "some found it too hard" but concrete, differing accounts of input responsiveness and system design, as reflecting a genuine inconsistency in combat feel across different builds or playstyles rather than one side simply being wrong.

Why this review still scores the game positively despite real, specific problems

It's worth being direct about how this review weighs the pattern of pleasantly-surprised reviewers against the specific technical and design complaints documented here. The core movement and parry systems draw unusually confident, comparative praise from reviewers evidently familiar with the genre's common failures, and the recurring "expected less, got more" pattern is a genuinely strong signal the underlying game succeeds independent of its presentation. But the camera stutter complaint is specific and well corroborated, the cross-device save bug is a serious and concrete risk, and the platforming criticism was significant enough to prompt an actual developer response. This review scores Kotama and Academy Citadel as a genuinely strong Metroidvania let down by real, fixable technical rough edges, not a shallow game dressed up well.

Final Verdict

Kotama and Academy Citadel delivers movement and combat systems that reviewers repeatedly and specifically rank among the best in the indie Metroidvania space, backed by a striking pattern of players going in sceptical of its anime presentation and coming away genuinely impressed. What holds this score down is a specific, well-corroborated camera stutter complaint, a serious cross-device save bug, and platforming design criticism significant enough to prompt a skip option the developers added themselves. Recommended for genre fans willing to look past the marketing.