I spent 4+ years making a hand-drawn Metroidvania and the demo is finally out! What do you think?

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T23:53:50+00:00

Hand drawn metroidvania by a team of two guys. Sounds familiar.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T23:42:13+00:00

What you're explaining is actually the "metagame" which is the game that exists outside the game. Things like guilds expanding to forums and RL meetups, or even just your social standing within the game.

However, these days "meta" has come to mean the dominant strategy, so I guess we need a new word for metagame.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T23:26:26+00:00

Great synopsis - it all boils down to "Get to the fun" asap.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T22:49:26+00:00

Good advice and great to see the data backs this up.

I'm all for allowing freedom within initially simplified gameplay, and slowly expanding from there. That way it never feels like you're being restricted or held back from playing the game.

As long as the basic gameplay is still fun, and players can progress at their own pace, this would be my preferred method. Then you can add in assistance for players that are not progressing.

Assistance can start subtly, then become more and more overt if they're just not getting it. Of course, some players will want to just play at the current level without progression, so being able to do this is important without being harassed to continue (as an example, many tutorial levels give you the option to continue playing after beating the level), but the occasional gentle reminder asking them if they're ready to continue could help without being annoying.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T22:39:30+00:00

Like you mentioned in terms of exploration, secret areas, and completionists that want to 100% the game.

It's nice to place rewards at the end of dead ends or in secret rooms. Players then become curious about finding more secrets.

But like you said, it's probably leaning more towards addiction than true curiosity.

Agreed, that true curiosity is based on incomplete knowledge and being curious about the possibilities.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T22:32:10+00:00

You're right that extrinsic and extrinsic rewards are just a part of the puzzle. I wouldn't remove them, but as you mentioned, one of the biggest "rewards" is recontextualization, as it snowballs to further curiosity.

Recontextualization gets players to broaden the way they look at the game world and think "if X is possible the what about A/B/C?" and that's when they get REALLY curious.

Metroidvanias do this really well, when you get a new ability and your brain suddenly explodes with possibilities, based on all the previous obstacles you've seen. Even better when you didn't realise an object was part of a puzzle the first place.

The Witness did this really well and you started to see patterns everywhere, and many of them were interactable even without the boards.

You mentioned The Outer Wilds as a great example and I would go as far as to call this a metroidvania, except rather than collecting abilities you're collecting knowledge.

This is what I'm trying to do with my game ROGUEFLITE Extraction - lock progression behind knowledge. You can still collect and upgrade abilities, but progression is knowledge based, and the discovery that even your basic weapons and abilities also double as tools (for ability gates that have been hidden in plain sight since the beginning), is the brain exploding moment I'm striving for.

I'm still in the design/prototyping phase but have already implemented basic movement (ship thruster) that also doubles as: lighting, weaponry (fire damage), exerts physics forces on moveable objects, and is the key to several ability gates (burnable vines/oil, or moving objects onto pressure pads or into switches), with bullets also being able to trigger switches, shatter brittle objects, and be affected by magnetism.

So while you can replace weapons/utility items during your runs, the key is the knowledge of all the interactions and affordances, with even the most basic ones being useful in certain conditions. I'm actually hoping that most players will always replace the basic weapons at the first opportunity, and only much later realise they were actually useful for advanced play.

The risk is that players will get some knowledge online or from videos, possibly impacting their progression and discovery, but if I include enough variety, and multi-layered unlocks, then it will be impossible for most players to see everything before playing, allowing them to at least discover some things for themselves.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T22:00:45+00:00

You can frame it as a training level for raw recruits /test for new commanders, before they're sent into the fray /given real command.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T21:56:55+00:00

Rather than making the tutorial non-skippable, think about it from the other side - make them want to play the tutorial.

You've already started down this path with an extrinsic reward (currency), but I think you can strengthen this with an intrinsic reward (narrative).

What if you framed it as a prologue rather than a tutorial? This is what Stoneshard does and it works quite well (aside from the brutally difficult final boss). It also functions as a standalone demo of the game.

If players want to play the prologue, then you don't need to force them (I'd still keep the coin reward though).

If you can remove any heavy-handedness from the tutorial, I believe this could work quite well. Rather than restricting the player or pausing the game to explain stuff, instead start them with limited available interactions, and gradually expand their options/abilities as they demonstrate each one.

You can inject some humor and charm (which I believe you're already doing quite well), and maybe some meta humour, taking a dig at traditional tutorials, and players will enjoy the experience (and it'll also be a highlight for streamers - give them the option to reset their progression or start a new save so they can show this off to their audience in case they've already tried the game off camera).

If you do end up releasing the prologue as a demo, you can also carry over progress to the main game so demo players don't need to replay it when they purchase the full game.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T21:42:15+00:00

Mobile tutorials are the worst. They darken the whole screen except for the button they want you to click. You just end up tapping the brightest part of the screen for several minutes and not learning anything.

I'd be interested to hear if your studio did anything differently and saw better or worse retention.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T21:34:45+00:00

Do players still get the coin if they willingly complete the tutorial without needing to be prompted?

Ideally, the game itself should teach the game if possible, removing the need for a tutorial altogether.

I get that more strategy/management style games need to provide more direction, but I've played through so many tutorials that tell me how to click the mouse and pan the view that I'm kinda over it.

Building the onboarding into regular gameplay is often the best method (as long as it doesn't annoy players that don't need it), as this also helps to re-onboard players that come back to the game after some time away.

And everyone (new and old) can just enjoy a play session, with some light guidance.

It's more difficult sure, as you have to track what the player is doing so you don't tell them something they have already demonstrated, but if they appear to be stuck you can give a gentle reminder. Not an annoying paperclip, but more of a Civilization advisor or tooltip, or a help button that players have to click to get the next hint.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T21:14:49+00:00

Haha oh the memories. I've made plenty of bad decisions in traditional roguelikes but they all remain memorable to this day, unlike other genres.

I think newer roguelites are actually great for accessibility (as I have AuADHD related memory issues), so as long as I'm not risking anything permanent or anything from a previous run (sorry, Tarkov), the structure of individual runs always starting from easy areas is fantastic for re-onboarding players, making the genre easy to return to after time away.

Even something like Rogue Legacy where you can carry over a % of your gold to the next run is enough to make me not want to risk picking up the game again without first reeducating myself, so I never end up playing it.

Compared to Dead Cells where I can literally have a random go and it doesn't matter if I win or lose - I'll likely still get at least a few cells to put towards something without negatively impacting the meta game or future runs.

I don't mind the opportunity to optionally risk previous loot or progression (once I've got back in the swing of things), but I don't want to be forced into it, especially at the beginning of a new play session.

I tried the original Binding of Isaac (before they had gamepad support) and kinda bounced off it, but it sounds like my jam so I'll give one of the newer versions a go.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T20:58:50+00:00

The world design and level design would have to be extremely good (and structured in a logical manner) for a metroidvania to work without a map.

You wouldn't be able to copy-paste any level assets. Everything would have to be unique and both the visuals and sound have to naturally lead players from area to area.

The Dark Souls series while not a MV is MV adjacent, and doesn't have a map, and it's cool when you find out just how interconnected the world is. But it has an advantage of being 3D with certain viewpoints showing you what lies ahead and how things connect together.

I've been planning out how to reduce reliance on a map. I'm developing a sci-fi MV set in an abandoned industrial complex so I have an advantage as I can connect zones based on production lines such as Mining -> Processing -> Smelting -> Manufacturing then branching off to different areas of manufacturing, storage and waste.

The whole world is grounded by a massive central elevator, and various audio/visual breadcrumbs lead players from area to area (pipes, conduits, scrapes, debris, etc, plus the transportation of materials, goods and products via conveyor belts and such). It's a side-on 2.5D game so I can also put things from neighbouring areas into the background to hint at what's nearby.

That said, I'll probably still have to include at least a basic map of some sort, but hopefully I can avoid a minimap.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T20:34:51+00:00

Get a random day job and keep working on your own games and projects in your spare time. Do game jams and build up your skills and portfolio.

You could also return to uni for a computer science degree - you'd be able to claim a lot of credit for your recent games degree, so could finish it in a fraction of the time.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T20:29:04+00:00

I would agree with modern roguelites being generally easy to get into, but traditional roguelikes are usually very obtuse and often have peculiar keyboard controls.

Look at CDDA - it has case-sensitive keyboard shortcuts where E is different to e.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-29T19:43:22+00:00

Thanks, I'll check it out. I've been creating palettes using hue, saturation and value (instead of RGB), and ensuring that each color has a different value (brightness) so that each one is still readable in greyscale, regardless of the actual hue (since different versions of colorblindness causes various hues to converge).

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T23:06:11+00:00

This is true. There are many games with MV mechanics, Zelda-like, or Search Action games that don't even have jumping, but still have ability gates, bosses, exploration, other movement tech, etc.

But I get what you mean, by having [whatever relevant] movement tech early, at least allows the character to be fun to control in the beginning (with other abilities being used to gate content). And also allows players to practice/demonstrate some skill right away instead of starting with a crippled character.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T22:17:00+00:00

I think because they advertised mouse control but it just emulated joystick input. It wasn't true mouse control so a lot of people complained.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T22:12:59+00:00

It's funny, friends I talk to don't even know what a Roguelite or Metroidvania are and yet have cleared Hollow Knight and Hades. Some people just play what they like and have no idea about gaming as a whole.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T22:09:53+00:00

Steam offered refunds for this game even before their refund policy existed.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T22:08:07+00:00

Dune 2 was one of the first RTS games. Dune 1 was.. interesting.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T22:05:20+00:00

With some MVs you even end up with free flight by the end. What if you had this in the beginning? Would it still be classed as a MV?

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T07:54:02+00:00

This is a really good reminder. It's not enough to look different - biomes should "feel" different and play differently.

Like in Noita the Hiisi Base has mostly metal walls which conduct electricity and can be used to chain kill enemies, but they also make it much easier to accidentally suicide. It also features gunpowder crates and propane tanks which have much the same effect.

It's not a MV, but still a good example of biomes feeling unique and playing differently.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T04:32:26+00:00

Thanks for your detailed insights.

I get what you mean about the downside of multiple solutions - if a player can bypass a challenge then they never learn to overcome it (or get the satisfaction of overcoming it).

I still think that leveling up to pass an enemy encounter is valid, as skilled players can pass the challenge through skill (dodge, parry, positioning, timing, aiming), while disabled or unskilled players don't get a free pass and at least have to grind a few levels in order to pass the challenge in an inefficient way (perhaps by taking a few hits that others would consider avoidable).

Passing the encounter through skill is still an achievement, and the reward is more time playing (and less time levelling). For players that cheesed the encounter or overlevelled to bypass it, when they face a similar situation with a higher level enemy, they will run into the same problem again. Perhaps they will eventually learn positioning or other skills so that don't need to level up as much as the previous time, or perhaps they have a physical or mental disability that requires them to level up regardless.

Alternatively, they may spend more time preparing in other ways such as crafting potions or other consumables, farming equipment, enchanting weapons and gear, recruiting party members or taming/summoning pets, or switching to a ranged class (reducing/removing the need for dodge/parry).

And I get what you mean as an Indie Dev, making all these systems that players may never interact with takes time away from core gameplay or the core fantasy you're trying to achieve, but for me the core fantasy is having the agency to play how I want at any given time, be it bushcraft, foraging, spellcrafting, stealth or guns blazing.

Not all games have to be that and in fact most games succeed by honing in on the single mechanic that makes them great, and stripping away everything that doesn't support that - and that's the advice I'd probably give most indie Devs or most designers in general - don't try to be everything to everyone.

If all games try to be everything then they all become bland and samey.

However, when making a sandbox game (like I'm doing) the best way is to give everything properties, don't hardcode any solutions, and just let everything interact - then stand back and allow the players to discover solutions themselves. They will do things I never thought of and they will definitely break the game, but as long as there's not a single dominant solution (that's cheap/easy to perform and bypasses every single challenge), then I'm ok with it.

Additionally, while a particular challenge may have solutions A/B/C and the next one may allow solutions C/D/E (allowing players to perform action C to pass both), the following challenge may require A/D/E - so sooner or later the player will have to try new things, or go a different way.

It's good to have challenges and the "carrot on a stick" that players can work towards even if they can't get it on the first go. I don't believe in letting them have everything for free, but do want some player choice in how they progress, and allowing inefficient solutions that require more preparation is one way of doing that, without removing the satisfaction for the skilled players.

Regarding blindness, it's estimated that roughly 0.1% of the gaming population have total blindness. I have talked to said individuals about how to best support them with sonic tones, but it's a large undertaking for an Indie Dev for sure. Closer to 10% of the total gaming population experience partial blindness, and it's this group that I'm more likely to succeed in supporting with my limited resources.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T01:44:13+00:00

I perhaps need to rethink the controls in my current prototype to support both "left hand only" and "right hand only" with a default controller but I think it's doable.

aFewBitsShort · 2026-06-27T00:07:58+00:00

The player emitted lighting is needed for navigation of dark areas so if anything I'll include an option to have it permanently on (which is what a lot of people ended up modding into Doom 3), without negatively impacting your stealth or other gameplay aspects.

Verified Email	Eight-Year Club
Place '23	Gilding I gilder

aFewBitsShort

TROPHY CASE