There were multiple times in each run where I just decided to push as fast and as hard as I could into unknown territory just to see how far I could get. Sometimes there were big payoffs, sometimes I just died fast, but because death is really just another gateway to progression, Sundered gave me the freedom to take risks I might not have otherwise.

Burn your damn finishers instead of waiting for “just the right moment”

At first, I would hold onto my finisher “until I really needed it.” I then realized it’s a total waste and that I was missing out on a lot of extra damage. Finishers charge fast, so use it quickly as soon as it’s up. You’ll hear a little chime letting you know it’s ready, at which time you should spend that sucker as fast as you can. Try to see how many finishers you can unleash in a single horde wave.

Burning through finishers at a horde treasure

It’s also worth noting that you have a few different finishers that you can perform. Play around with the various forms—hold up while on the ground, or down while in the air, etc.

Not all finishers do the same thing either. Some finishers do a smaller amount of damage all around you while others do more damage to just one area. Performing an up finisher while in the air can also help you gain additional height after your jump and up-slashes have been burned. My personal favorite finisher is unleashed by holding up while standing to release a massive spectral hand that reaches skyward and then slams downward. Bad ass.

Temporary Bonus Shrines

The world randomly generates a number of shrines per area that grant temporary bonuses. You can have as many bonuses active as you find, but most of them wear off after a short amount of time.

For instance, one bonus significantly increases your armor and lasts for about a minute before wearing off. You’ll notice an icon next to your finisher energy gauge that slowly empties like an hour-glass telling you how much time is left on that bonus.

Some bonuses don’t have a time limit but last until you die, like the bonus that shows where treasure is hidden on your map. If you get this particular bonus, drop whatever you’re doing and go treasure hunting. U gon need dat coin.

Don’t waste much time with locked doors. They’re locked.

This is a shortcut door that can only be opened from the other side

Many locked doors in Sundered are opened from the other side just by slashing an orb beyond your reach. You’ll usually unlock the door by exploring other areas and circling back from the other side. These are referred to as “shortcut doors,” meaning they are meant to let you reach an area more quickly after you’ve beaten it.

This is slightly different from other Metroidvanias that constantly ask you to find a new ability in order to unlock something you currently can’t access. And while there is a lot of that in Sundered as well, at least half the locked doors in the game have nothing to do with abilities or progression and are shortcut doors that you can just ignore until you easily unlock them from the other side.

Skill perks are way better than you think

You will unlock skill perks that strengthen certain abilities and nerf others. For instance, one of my favorite perks greatly increases your crit damage but nerfs your other damage by THIRTY percent. However, as the tutorial screen will tell you, “a perk’s upsides ALWAYS outweigh its downsides.”

A few of the skills that usually drop early game

Skills become extremely vital when you determine what sort of play-style you enjoy, and these perks are absolutely invaluable in harder modes.

You acquire new skill perks through a number of venues — by making it to the other side of an endless horde area, by defeating bosses, on rare occasions when you open a treasure, or by defeating Lith enemies. I’ll explain these all below—

Endless horde areas are scattered throughout the map. You know you’ve entered an Endless horde area because the game will give you a title in blood red, and the top of the title will say in tiny letters “Endless horde.” You’ll also notice an incessant gong in the background constantly assaulting your anxieties while you’re in the area.

Endless horde areas will throw endless enemies at you until you either

leave the area or die.

The end of each Endless area houses a specific skill perk that is tied to that area. My advice is to book it to the end of the Endless horde area as fast as you can. The name of the game is “pull anchor and haul ass.” Keep one eye on the mini-map to find the next room, and keep moving until you get to the shrine at the end of the area. Then you’re free to turn back to your foes to see who’s the bigger woman.

It’s also worth noting that Endless horde areas are chocked with hidden treasure. If you’re brave/strong enough to explore these areas, the payoff is massive.

Perks can also drop from bosses. Main bosses can be re-played after they’ve been beaten for additional (albeit lessened) rewards. Skill perks often drop from replaying bosses as well.

Next, there are two kinds of treasure: normal treasure that is found commonly throughout the maps, and purple horde treasures. Horde treasures are much less common than normal treasures and can only be opened after clearing the horde that spawns after you disturb the pile. Normal treasures have a very low chance to spawn a skill perk (depending on your current Luck score), but Horde treasures almost always drop skill perks when you clear them.

Lith enemies are larger, angrier, better-looking, golden-ier versions of their normal, non-Lith selves. These are the eldritch horrors all the eldritch moms wish their eldritch children would grow up to be.

Lith enemies usually move faster, do more damage, have extra abilities and attacks, and have beefy shields. They are very dangerous and almost always pose the greatest threat on the screen when they are around. They also have a very, very high chance of dropping skill perks. If you see one, don’t leave the area until you’ve taken it down.

Don’t overthink your decision to Embrace or Resist, both rule

I’ve played through both ways (I did Embrace first since I run a Warlock in DnD), and I can safely say that both options are awesome. The story and endings are drastically different and the abilities are night and day from each other depending on which route you chose. You can even mix your choices to Embrace or Resist, although a choice to do either for a specific ability can’t be undone later.

Embracing or Resisting both require whole eldritch shards. You can get a whole shard from one of the main bosses, or you can combine three smaller pieces that you collect from smaller bosses to create a whole shard. There are also three shard pieces hidden throughout the game, but I’m not telling where they are. And don’t Google it. Googling is for pansies.

To Embrace, take a whole eldritch shard to the skill shrine you want to “corrupt” (ie. upgrade significantly). To Resist, go the the furnace (located just below the sanctuary and to the left), and torch that sonuvabitch. Embracing will upgrade your skill immediately while Resisting will unlock a new branch on your skill-tree that you can purchase.