Before 2021 I quite actively ignored the "Metroidvania" genre. The idea of constantly backtracking sounded like the complete opposite of what I liked about video games. I guess I really didn't like all that backtracking in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door! In retrospect, I was a complete fool and I realized this after playing Metroid Dread. Going back to previously explored areas but now with a newly acquired power up and filling out your map activates all the neurons in my simple ape brain. Playing Symphony of the Night further cemented that I've been a total idiot for sleeping on this genre for so long. When I got Soul of Bat (ability to fly), I just had a big dumb smile on my face. Everyone knows about the second half of the game where you have to go through the castle again, but this time upside down, right? I thought this would make the game feel stale, but it being upside down really did make it feel fresh again and I was eager to explore it yet again. This game rocks and that's really all I have to say.
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Got any plans for other Metroidvanias? There's some real gems out there if you're interested.
Yeah backtracking is all about how good they're able to make that loop feel, and I think it's really tricky for games like this to pin that down. But Symphony just nails it.
@BlazingWaters It's honestly one of the most satisfying feelings.
@NegFactor I do have plans to play more throughout next year. If you have any suggestions please let me know!
@Weatherby Going through the inverted castle with all your abilities and being able to tackle it however you please is so satisfying.
@NegFactor I do have plans to play more throughout next year. If you have any suggestions please let me know!
@Weatherby Going through the inverted castle with all your abilities and being able to tackle it however you please is so satisfying.
I imagine most people are going to recommend Hollow Knight, and with fair reason. Some of my personal favorites (I prefer Metroidvanias with an emphasis on exploration and rewarding the player for backtracking later on with extra secrets) include:
--- Alwa's Legacy -- It's the sequel to Alwa's Awakening, but they're leagues apart in quality, in my opinion. One of the best checkpoint systems ever designed.
--- A Robot Named Fight -- Roguelike Metroidvania that has a lot of deeper exploration going on in it than appears on the surface (I can't elaborate further without massive spoilers).
--- Astalon: Tears of the Earth -- Characters that can be swapped at checkpoints and carry very unique feels to them for gameplay, but handled in an intuitive way that the world layout doesn't feel haphazardly designed while trying to account for all three characters as separate entities traveling through it.
--- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- Very pure SOTN feel, so it will likely fall in line with your feelings on SOTN overall.
--- Cathedral -- Difficult, with a massive emphasis on secrets (including extra areas and bosses). A very rewarding challenge.
--- Environmental Station Alpha -- Extremely deep exploration and challenge, if you don't mind simple graphics. Some of the most insane postgame ever.
--- Monster Sanctuary -- Metroidvania-meets-Pokemon with captured monsters used in progression.
--- Rabi-Ribi -- If you can get past the fan service, it's an extremely well-crafted Metroidvania with focus on exploration and sequence breaking.
--- Vision Soft Reset -- Metroidvania with a timeloop mechanic built in that makes for a very wild experience.
--- Yoku's Island Express -- Metroidvania-meets-Pinball, with a focus on relaxation and chill vibes while exploring. Very little challenge, yet the game oozes with personality.
Hope that's helpful for a start. If you like torturing yourself with puzzles that you'll beat your head against to try and solve, I'd also recommend La-Mulana and La-Mulana 2, but I can't suggest them in good conscience if you're getting your feet wet because the controls will feel awkward at first and the puzzles really are the meat of those games.
--- Alwa's Legacy -- It's the sequel to Alwa's Awakening, but they're leagues apart in quality, in my opinion. One of the best checkpoint systems ever designed.
--- A Robot Named Fight -- Roguelike Metroidvania that has a lot of deeper exploration going on in it than appears on the surface (I can't elaborate further without massive spoilers).
--- Astalon: Tears of the Earth -- Characters that can be swapped at checkpoints and carry very unique feels to them for gameplay, but handled in an intuitive way that the world layout doesn't feel haphazardly designed while trying to account for all three characters as separate entities traveling through it.
--- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- Very pure SOTN feel, so it will likely fall in line with your feelings on SOTN overall.
--- Cathedral -- Difficult, with a massive emphasis on secrets (including extra areas and bosses). A very rewarding challenge.
--- Environmental Station Alpha -- Extremely deep exploration and challenge, if you don't mind simple graphics. Some of the most insane postgame ever.
--- Monster Sanctuary -- Metroidvania-meets-Pokemon with captured monsters used in progression.
--- Rabi-Ribi -- If you can get past the fan service, it's an extremely well-crafted Metroidvania with focus on exploration and sequence breaking.
--- Vision Soft Reset -- Metroidvania with a timeloop mechanic built in that makes for a very wild experience.
--- Yoku's Island Express -- Metroidvania-meets-Pinball, with a focus on relaxation and chill vibes while exploring. Very little challenge, yet the game oozes with personality.
Hope that's helpful for a start. If you like torturing yourself with puzzles that you'll beat your head against to try and solve, I'd also recommend La-Mulana and La-Mulana 2, but I can't suggest them in good conscience if you're getting your feet wet because the controls will feel awkward at first and the puzzles really are the meat of those games.
Thanks for the recommendations! A few of these I had my eyes on and about half I hadn't even heard of. Will look into these for sure!
you should definitely try Aria of Sorrow if you haven't already. It's pretty much just a SotN 2 (in both gameplay and narrative- kinda) and has some of the best map progression in the series as well as being something you can beat super quickly (clocked in around 5 or so hours). I've been on a bit of an Igavania marathon recently, and if it wasn't for SotN being so freaking good I would say Aria was my favorite so far.
@Reddish I haven't played any of the other "Igavania" games yet, but I do plan on going through the GBA trilogy this year.
BlazingWaters
1 year ago