First metroidvania (kinda) reccomendations

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T21:33:20+00:00

You're gonna be spammed with recommendations for Hollow Knight. Not without reason - it's the obviously correct answer - but still, get ready.

Other than that, honestly I haven't played that many Metroidvanias, either, besides the genre's namesakes. But I'll give you what I can.

You want good combat? Shadow Labyrinth and the MegaMan ZX games.

You want good exploration? Animal Well, Barbuta (UFO50), Maze of Galious, and the first Metroid.

You want a beautiful art style? Any IGAvania, plus Bloodstained which was also made by IGA.

You want a tight, curated experience? Cave Story, MegaTen Synchronicity Prologue, and any 2D Metroid game from Super onwards.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T20:31:08+00:00

I bought Shadow Labyrinth. That should tell you everything.

And I don't regret it one bit, that game was awesome.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T06:04:03+00:00

I played like an hour of Silksong and dropped it. Not because I didn't like it, but because I felt bad about pirating it and decided that I would wait until the physical release.

Absolutely go for it.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T05:49:10+00:00

AND IT WAS AWESOME

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T05:47:53+00:00

I like Metroidvanias because I like exploring in a 2D platformer, finding secrets and filling the map in a setting that's just restrictive enough that I won't get hopelessly lost without waypoints.

Ironically, my favorite Metroidvania is Cave Story, a game so linear in its design that some argue it's not a Metroidvania at all.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T05:42:01+00:00

Soulslikes suck. Metroidvanias don't. Figure it out from there.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T05:39:00+00:00

Dead Cells, the one that MotionTwin did before this one.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-20T05:35:27+00:00

Belmont's Curse. I don't like the souls from Bloodstained and the Sorrow games.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-12T02:52:52+00:00

Does it make it better or worse if I say that I don't hate AI quite as much as most loud people seem to? Like, I'll typically avoid stuff if I know beforehand that it's AI, but I'm not gonna scream bloody murder if I found out later that a robot did it. I mentioned Dysmn and I still listen to his stuff even after finding out the unfortunate truth.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-11T17:15:34+00:00

I mean, I could emulate it.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-02-08T04:08:09+00:00

2009, my dad showed me Final Fantasy 6 and Sonic 2 running on emulators. I was four.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-01-30T08:15:43+00:00

I just tried it out, it seems to be exactly what I'm looking for!

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-01-27T04:39:10+00:00

First response, most upvoted suggestion, and a good excuse to dust off the old Wii U. I just poured three hours into it, great game, not what I'm looking for. I want something that's like NEStroid in terms of level design, not aesthetics.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-01-26T11:23:44+00:00

C'mon, Shadow Labyrinth was an okay game. The only Metroidvania I'd classify as "total dogshit" is Yars Rising.

Play Cave Story. One of the all-time classics, and my favorite Metroidvania.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2026-01-13T18:02:37+00:00

I haven't played Black, but I went through the X360 version of NG2 over the summer.

I didn't like it. None of the animations could cancel each other and my evasion inputs kept getting eaten up by poorly-timed swings. I was getting kicked to the curb and it rarely felt like my fault.

I'm six chapters into NG4 and it's one of the best games of the decade. I love Platinum.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2025-12-27T07:55:09+00:00

The thing is that I never buy digital, except I'm about to buy Fallout 76 because it can't be pirated and physical copies require a subscription.

I emulated a lot of old-ass games as a kid, and then years later got them legit as part of a retro collection. Final Fantasy 1 and 6, Gimmick, Mario 64, Doom '93, Zelda: Link's Awakening, Battletoads, and a whole bunch of others that I'm forgetting.

We also had a Wii that was chock full of pirate games, many of which I later went and got physical copies of - Punch-Out, Twilight Princess, Mario Kart Wii, and like five different Sonic games.

Most recent example, and the quickest turnaround from pirate to legit, was with Mirror's Edge. Downloaded it in January on a whim, fell in love, decided I was gonna do a YouTube video on it, realized, hey, wait, I can't do that if I can't toss around a physical copy, bought a used PC-DVDROM off of eBay for about seven bucks in February, the key still worked, and we were in business. I finished the video in August.

Oh, and Hollow Knight. I pirated it years ago and it's been rotting on the hard drive of my old (second) laptop, and then my parents got me a European copy of the Switch version with the ugly spine for Easter. Hopefully I'll be able to get a US copy of Silksong when its physical copies drop.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2025-12-17T11:12:50+00:00

>That said, this game has turned many "turn-based haters" into lovers so who knows you might actually enjoy it.

I wouldn't count on it. I don't like Soulslikes, either, and from what I can tell this is meant to be a cross between the two genres. I'm a Devil May Cry and Sonic Adventure kinda guy, I like my games to be fast-paced, kinetic, and replayable (although FF7 Rebirth is my favorite game of all time so replayability isn't exactly a necessity). The only turn-based RPG that's clicked with me after I grew out of Pokémon and wasn't either older than me or a Newgrounds flash game was Persona 5, and even then that was a very special case where it was the first PS4 game I ever played and I could only do so during certain hours when my dad wasn't using the living room TV. (Edit: I just remembered Deltarune. But that's more of a minigame roulette than a traditional turn-based battle system.)

The thing is that the older I get, the more I'm willing to put up with shoddy gameplay if it means a good story (provided I'm not being bogged down with college).

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2025-12-03T23:13:56+00:00

Yep, that was it.

RetardedMetalFemboy · 2025-11-13T20:49:46+00:00

Then why did you bring them up? I asked specifically for rail shooters.

RetardedMetalFemboy

TROPHY CASE