Astalon: Tears of the Earth
Astalon: Tears of the Earth
Game
Game2026
Lovish
Developer LABS Works
Lovish is an outrageous 8-bit action-adventure game! Quest with Sir Solomon through a series of bite-sized rooms, as he attempts to free Princess Tsuna, the woman he loves, from the Devil Lord's clutches! From the Steam store page
169 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 16, 2026 · last updated Oct 16, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
87
LovedLoved
82 positive · 12 negative
95% range 79–93%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 82 | 12 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 22 | 2 | 46 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
86 of 98 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 82 yes, 12 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 94 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (127 of 149 positive).
Players praise Lovish as a charming, retro-inspired platformer with tight controls and a great soundtrack. [1][2][3] The crown system and hidden secrets add replay value, though some secrets feel like guesswork. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [14]
This game was... disappointing. I'll start with the positive things though; the 8-bit inspired graphics and music is great and it's a fun concept. It's got some humor in the story and the encounters. Now, let me explain why I was disappointed. LABS' previous game Astalon is one of my favourite metroidvanias so I had perhaps too high expectations going into this game. I feel like this is a watered down version of …
- [1]
Review by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam. A lovestruck knight who must rescue a princess kidnapped by a villain? That’s a role we’re happy to play—and we can do just that in the new platformer that offers a retro look and tricky, hand-drawn single-screen levels. Do you sometimes long for the golden era of …
- [4]
Lovish is definitely a smaller project from the same developer as Astalon, one of my favorite metroidvania releases in recent years, but the game has a lot of charm. It's a series of single screen levels with some simple platforming and combat obstacles, but the joy comes from finding secret crowns hidden throughout the levels (and then eventually obtaining crowns via time trials and pacifist runs). In between are …
- [2]
Astalon meets 1001 Spikes. Short, sweet, to the point. Tight controls w/ fantastic pixel art and music. It's the full package.
- [3]
Awesome, sweet retro platformer with tight controls, fantastic pixel art, and chiptune music. 5/5 Lovish Full Walkthrough ALL Crowns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HohCaC9tWsQ
Summarised from 34 of the 170 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Lovish sits at 87% positive across 94 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 169 · most liked firstA 7/10 is a loaded rating with gamers. Despite being a "good" score, "good" isn't always enough these days. But sometimes, a 7/10 just hits exactly what you need. That was Lovish for me. It was a 7/10 in the right place at the right time. My review. bignerdgaming.com/2026/02/24/l...
positive · AI labelView post →This game was... disappointing. I'll start with the positive things though; the 8-bit inspired graphics and music is great and it's a fun concept. It's got some humor in the story and the encounters. Now, let me explain why I was disappointed. LABS' previous game Astalon is one of my favourite metroidvanias so I had perhaps too high expectations going into this game. I feel like this is a watered down version of Astalon where the platforming and level design is quite repetitive and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Review by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam. A lovestruck knight who must rescue a princess kidnapped by a villain? That’s a role we’re happy to play—and we can do just that in the new platformer that offers a retro look and tricky, hand-drawn single-screen levels. Do you sometimes long for the golden era of the Nintendo Game Boy Advance? Games without much frills—just pure…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loving the new game Lovish.
positive · AI labelView post →Okay so I "beat" it (cleared all levels, which was 2.1 hours), *BUT* I haven't 100% it yet which is going to be doing par times on all levels, doing all levels without killing any enemies, and then... seems most (all?) levels also have a hidden crown? So that will make the game harder, I'm sure. And I get the impression there's an alternate ending if you've 100% the game. But if you are just looking to clear all the levels and move on, well I didn't really find the game Castle in the Darkness…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't sleep on LOVISH! Really, really charming game that constantly pulls you for 'one more screen'. Incredible silly and fun.
positive · AI labelView post →Very disappointing. I was hyped up by their previous game being very good, but this one is just boring and repetitive. Most secrets are just guesswork as to which plain wall hides a crown. Some of the secret dark moon levels are very easy, while others require some movement gimmicks that I couldn't figure out. One in particular expects you to pogo-jump on shrooms, but the hitbox of that attack is wonky and it sometimes double-hits killing the shroom (and you need to keep them alive). Random…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No microtransactions in Lovish! In-game pennies only! #gamedev #indiegame #retro 🪙🪙🪙
neutral · AI labelView post →Seems like a simple single-screen platformer at first but then the real meat of the game becomes obvious and you realize you have to keep playing the same stages over and over and over again to unlock more of the game. But speed-running is boring to me and banging my head against walls to find secrets ain't exactly fun either. Got about 100 of the crowns (out of over 260) but after a while it's either boring or frustrating. Maybe the endgame is really something else, but I'll never know because…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Watch out, it's @cjisbadatlife.bsky.social back after his move with a review of a game that managed to keep his attention. It's Lovish! A throwback to single-screen quarter-munchers. maxutmost.com/review-lovish/
neutral · AI labelView post →I tried very hard to love this game. I mean, just look at it. Artstyle is amazing! Music is gorgeous! Humor is good too! But gameplay... There's no fair difficulty in Lovish. Don't get me wrong, the game is really easy. But you'll die over and over again because you moved 1 pixel left while trying to squeeze between two small blocks. Or because you miscalculated timing of spikes, platform movement, and enemy direction all at the same time. Or because fire enemies or bubbles suddenly started to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovish is a special game. This title harkens back to the 8-bit era -- deliberately designed and perfectly executed. Each level is a little platforming puzzle box which takes timing, skill, and determination to get through. Any easy recommendation, I #justbeatit. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social
positive · AI labelView post →Game #4 of 2026 completed: Lovish. A fun little 8-bit platformer with a fair bit more personality than I expected. Incredible soundtrack that really makes it stand out. The floaty physics don't always work well imo, but this was a nice change of pace.
neutral · AI labelView post →I cant emphasize enough how amazing game music has been to start 2026. -MIO -Nioh 3 -Mewgenics -Lovish I think they all make my top 10 soundtracks last year. Nioh 3s soundtrack is so fucking epic man. The music in the last area of world 1 is insane.
neutral · AI labelView post →Folks, Lovish is out tomorrow 🙌 store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/...
neutral · AI labelView post →I won a copy of #Lovish (by @labsworks.bsky.social) and about a week ago, I thought I'd give it a shot, seems like a cute game. Turns out it's AWESOME, the single-screen platforming challenges are well-made. Somehow I got 263 out of 264 Crowns, just need the Secret Crown here... I think I can do it!
positive · AI labelView post →A review copy was provided by the developer. Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews, so you can be updated whenever I post a new review. Overall Rating - Average ★★★☆☆ First Impressions When I saw Lovish (LV) gave the player 200 lives, I thought it'd be the kind of game where you'd lose all of them during your first attempt. Using everything you'd learned, you would make significantly more progress, avoiding…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Welp! I didn't have Dragon Half's MINK making a cameo on a new game in my 2026 bingo card, but here we are. The game is Lovish which is an awesome retro precision platformer. Definitely worth checking out.
neutral · AI labelView post →🎮 2026 Game #53: Lovish Cute little 8-bit, room-by-room indie game. Short levels, but connected by fun random events, plenty of upgrades to unlock, and some genuine charm to it all. Also like the art and music! I do wish the quality of each room was more consistent though. 7/10 #IndieGames
positive · AI labelView post →Better late than never I guess. Indies I talked about coming out this month! 💫 - Kissed By A Star 💧 - Tearscape 💗 - Lovish 🌻 - Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass: Console Enhanced Version (o) - Battle for Asciion 🎸 - Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice of Life Sim 🧴- Perfume Atelier 💰 - Relooted
neutral · AI labelView post →"Lovish" Is an upcoming new #arcade, #roguelike release from @dangen-ent.bsky.social A game that is unmistakably a huge love letter to 8-bit #retrogaming classics from the #NES era, like Bubble Bobble, but with many new twists Demo available store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/... #Pixelart #retro
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovish is a brand new game that brings back the gameplay of 8bit gameplay of Solomon's Keys but mixes the randomness and wackiness of the modern era. store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/... The proluge is only a slice of the experience (1/2)
neutral · AI labelView post →Oh, I see! Lovish is the retro-inspired mouse game that everyone's been talking about! Come be cheesed to meet us over at twitch.tv/powerupwithp...
neutral · AI labelView post →There's a game that recently came out on Steam called Lovish, that features a Dragon Half cameo youtube.com/shorts/SMtUy...
neutral · AI labelView post →#justbeatit Lovish. I think this game harkens back to a genre in which I am unfamiliar. Many of the jokes slipped right past me and I found the gameplay to be either too easy and uninteresting or frustrating and uninteresting. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social
negative · AI labelView post →I really wanted to love this game, but I completed it in under 3 hours and felt disappointed in the overall experience. The Good: Nice pixel art. Adorable character designs. Cute random events. The Bad: Lackluster gameplay. Boring bosses and enemies. Limited replayability. The Ugly: This game is overpriced and painfully forgettable. Despite a cast of adorable characters, they largely lack any measure of depth or personality. The game also punishes skilled players by not increasing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good or bad interview tomorrow, I'll be playing Lovish afterwards! Been on my wishlist since 2024! store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovish is a charming indie 2D platformer with some really fun callbacks to other games. Full review here: youtu.be/irckJw_A_CE?... #gamereview #gaming #videogames #indiegame @labsworks.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovish is definitely a smaller project from the same developer as Astalon, one of my favorite metroidvania releases in recent years, but the game has a lot of charm. It's a series of single screen levels with some simple platforming and combat obstacles, but the joy comes from finding secret crowns hidden throughout the levels (and then eventually obtaining crowns via time trials and pacifist runs). In between are random humorous events and cutscenes, some of which give punish or reward you.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovish (PS5, 2.5 hrs): A cutesy (and lusty?) satire of heroes and damsels. Repetitive music. Simple but tricky room by room action platforming with unforgiving, and sometimes unforgivable, hitboxes. Smart design that invites perseverance and completionism. Silly.
neutral · AI labelView post →A very focused and funny precision platformer. While it's no Astalon, I appreciate that it's relatively easy for someone who just wants to get to an ending, while for players like me who want a more difficult and intrinsically rewarding experience there is the crown system which REALLY forces you to understand the later maps and varies the gameplay. Not to mention that you need 150 crowns to open up the lost levels which in my opinion is the most fun and creative part of the game. My only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#HIVESWAP ACT 2 summary: OK this game is turning out longer than I expected. There may still be more to go for a couple more streams at this rate. Especially now that the gameplay's swapped (heh) to that of Phoenix Wright. We raided off to @nanoda.ch's Lovish stream after!
neutral · AI labelView post →Finished several interviews with Mita Ryuusuke (見田竜介), the creator of 'Dragon Half', who tragically retired from commercial and doujinshi manga due to an eye condition. These interviews are in celebration of the release of 'Lovish', a game with character designs by Mita Ryuusuke.
neutral · AI labelView post →You will like our indie game if you enjoyed: - NES Megaman 👨🏭 - NES Kirby 🍑 - 1001 Spikes 👒 Or have a short attention span (short levels, short cutscenes). LOVISH- out on Feb 5th!
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovish is a game that does not contain loot boxes, but it does remind me that loot boxes should be outlawed. Also: special guest star from anime that is older than some readers!
neutral · AI labelView post →An energetic love-quest, built out of pocket dungeons and wry humor I love these Matt Kap games! Like Castle in the Darkness and Astalon, this one involves a little blue guy with a flickering sword (just hold down B!) who tears through mildly puzzle-ish rooms at respectable speed -- but this hero is kind of a jerk. He uses the video helmet to make everyone -- even the game's bosses -- fall in love with him . . . and he eventually wants to rescue Princess Tsuna from the handsome Devil Lord…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Always buy Matt Kap games. They are all "buy on sight" games for me. This one's goofy straightforward fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna start by saying it's kind of unfair to give this game a negative review just because it isn't like Astalon, which I agree is the superior game, but Lovish is practically it's own separate genre. Now for my brief, humble opinion about this game. Pros: -Nice format, it's a "tower" of one-room platforming challenges, haven't played many games like this before, but I did see this concept in a roomhacks of SMW. -The playable character controls pretty smooth, this is made more clear when you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovish (store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/...) is an absolutely demented game. Thirty minutes in I thought it was the stupidest idea for a game ever, but by the two hour mark I loved it.
positive · AI labelView post →PLAY LOVISH NOW! ►Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/... ►Nintendo: www.nintendo.com/en-ca/store/... ►Playstation: store.playstation.com/en-gb/concep... ►Xbox: www.xbox.com/en-ca/games/... ►GOG: www.gog.com/en/game/lovish
neutral · AI labelView post →It's as if Hydra Castle Labyrinth and Proto-Astalon had a silly roguelite love child. Matt Kap never disappoints. +1 for the In Flames reference \m/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Astalon meets 1001 Spikes. Short, sweet, to the point. Tight controls w/ fantastic pixel art and music. It's the full package.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today, we'll be starting up a stream with the game #Lovish! That's right, the game we took a look at this morning on YouTube! See you all there, for fun, games, and some good laughs! Stream Start: 3pm CST / 9pm GMT | #VTuber #PunBrigade | www.twitch.tv/AdventurerAlm
neutral · AI labelView post →WISHLIST/PREORDER LOVISH NOW! ►Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/... ►Nintendo: www.nintendo.com/en-ca/store/... ►Playstation: store.playstation.com/en-gb/concep... ►Xbox: www.xbox.com/en-ca/games/... ►GOG: www.gog.com/en/game/lovish
neutral · AI labelView post →Release Date Trailer - Lovish youtu.be/M5eEGl3m_9w #Lovish #Trailer #IndieGame
neutral · AI labelView post →8-bit adventure game, Lovish is coming to consoles and PC on February 5th. Game features, new trailer, and screenshots: catwithmonocle.com/news/2026/01... #Lovish #indiegame @labsworks.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →The demo for Lovish is really cool, can’t wait to play the whole thing store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/...
positive · AI labelView post →🎬 @labsworks.bsky.social 📦 DANGEN Ent. 🗒️ "Lovish is an outrageous 8-bit action-adventure game! Quest with Sir Solomon through a series of bite-sized rooms, as he attempts to free Princess Tsuna, the woman he loves, from the Devil Lord's clutches!" 🔗 store.steampowered.com/app/2959010/...
neutral · AI labelView post →She also makes a cameo in the game LOVISH. Not a parody or "legally distinct" version, it's just her.
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a time when just a flat reccomend or not feels unfair, I don’t dislike the game but I also feel like I don’t really get what it’s going for. What you have here is single screen rooms that rely on finding a key and opening a door. You can only be hit once before you need to repeat the screen or quit. This isn’t bad if the game were like a puzzle platformer but for the most part “solving” the screens relies on your dexterity if not RNG. So it ultimately feels strange that the game is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pretty well made platformer that while it feels like a mobile game (Cat Bird immediately came to mind), it plays smoothly and is much more fleshed out. Gameplay felt fair, with "most" deaths being more because I made a mistake than the game being "unfair". The between stage little cutscenes were cute, though some of them played a bit too often (the one with Goreman or whatever I swear I got at least a dozen times), and some of them even kind of punish you for not paying attention by…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is my pick of the month!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →hahaha I remember you said it was one of your faves. I really liked what they did with the graphics and art style in this one. I think this is the last one in the series for a long time. Hey,give the demo of Lovish a go. Its a simple 2D game with lots of charm. Easy to play and get into.
positive · AI labelView post →This game has a difficulty level that is sadistic, and unreasonable. It far surpasses any other platformer I've ever played, to the point that it's in I Wanna Be The Guy territory. (For a reference point, I've 100%-except-for-goldened all Celeste levels and thought they were great) It does not advertise itself as as such, so if you're not into this kind of nightmare do yourself the favor and do not waste your money. It's carefully crafted to make sure you're past refund time on the clock…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a mixed bag. I'm recommending it just because its exactly what it promises and I didn't have an actively bad time while playing it: The Good: - Having a 1-screen bite-sized metroidvania was a novel concept as was the event screens after every map. - The Warioware style of spontaneous minigames was a great choice. - The visual style did capture the 8-bit feel consistent with other games Labs Works made, the tone did not feel inconsistent at all. - The maps had a diversity of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Astalon it is not but how do you follow up one of 2021's best games, if not one of the greatest metroidvanias of all time? Do you have to? LABS is a very small team so anything they put out is an instant purchase from me. Lovish is a completely different type of game but it holds its own surprisingly well. Both the pixel art and character design were timewarped directly from the late 1980s, and Mat Kapp has a stranglehold on what makes a chiptune song proper, I haven't been able to stop humming…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →charming, funny, challenging, puzzling, engaging. buy buy buy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🔥🕹️ #Lovish by @labsworks.bsky.social | @dangen-ent.bsky.social #indiegame #indiegames #videogames #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →This developer doesn't miss a shot, great retro game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried the demo for Lovish by @labsworks.bsky.social and @dangen-ent.bsky.social! This game was tough in parts, but really fun all the way through, plus I loved the spritework and the humor! Looking forward to its February 5th release, but for now, enjoy the video! youtu.be/8l-ji-qYk3o
positive · AI labelView post →
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