I love the storytelling of this one, and not just that. The design of the map, the powerups, the puzzles, the music, everything is so good here. I kept playing until I finished it, and thought to myself: "Yes, this is a metroidvania!". The way the tunnels at the end of the game connect each section to one another, the different biomes, the bosses, hours of content, lots of powerups, phew!
If I could have one critique, and it's a very small one, is that after some time all the wall jumping left my hands pretty tired, but that's all. Of course the art can be improved on, but the game has a LOT of style as it is.
I'm really impressed that this game was made by just one person. In a way, it's endearingly inspiring, because I've been flying solo for some time and I feel like I've been improving a lot, and seeing other people create amazing things like this gets me excited to continue my journey. Great job here, this is a winner in my eyes.