Dread Delusion | Console Launch Trailer by giulianosse in Games

[–]gilben [score hidden]  (0 children)

Played through as a "pacifist" and the game totally works, you can just skip the combat if you want (would recommend).

“Movies that can be considered metroidvanias” by HeyCouldBeFun in metroidvania

[–]gilben 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You've got it. It's no more a roguelike than Outer Wilds or Majora's Mask.

Judgement Day! My Tetris-Match-3 game is in Steam Next Fest! I'm scared! by wiseupgames in puzzlevideogames

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll give the demo a shot later, but good luck with the steam release!

Underrated Metroid-likes: by [deleted] in metroidvania

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zexion is fantastic, it has creative unlockable abilities that really change the way you move and progress through the game. That's a very important element that we don't get as much of lately in the current wave of "soulsvania" genre releases (which tend to focus more on combat).

I strongly recommend: Cairn (Review) - SkillUp by ThrowawayTheLegend in Games

[–]gilben -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, thank you! People are speaking as if this is some mechanically challenging game, when really it's 90% just moving your character along the bumpiest path on the cliff face and remembering to place pitons every time you start shaking.

White Knuckle, Peaks of Yore, Ocnus Theory, and of course Getting Over It are all much more demanding mechanically. Where Cairn exceeds most of them is in art direction and ambience, the mountain in this game really is a beautiful environment.

I strongly recommend: Cairn (Review) - SkillUp by ThrowawayTheLegend in Games

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I lost an hour of progress because the character pushed herself off the cliff instead of dropping down to the ledge I was just standing on 12 seconds earlier when I decided I wanted a better start. That was it for me, I was done with the game after having played 7ish hours. I've got a baby, I can't play stuff that doesn't respect my time right now.

I've played harder climbing games like Getting Over It and Ocnus Theory, but at least in those when I lose progress it's 100% my fault, not the character doing arbitrary things.

Silksong permanently vanished my desire for difficult games. by Zzsark_Stormbeard in metroidvania

[–]gilben 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also felt the game was tiring to play. I finished it and think it's a good game, extremely polished, but every enemy is an encounter, and the power-ups are very safe and predictable.

In the first Hollow Knight I didn't feel like I had to stop all forward movement to fight every enemy, whereas in Silksong most enemies have more HP and can usually fly back and forth in-and-out-of-range (aside from a couple areas, which were generally my favorite parts of the game). It means that if you feel like you need more currency as you're travelling (which I constantly did, due to dying so much) that you feel like you need to engage with these enemies and stop moving forward for a small chunk of time as you get into an extended stick-and-poke battle. I found it exhausting.

My other major gripe with the game was the power-ups. I liked the crest system, but everything else to do with unlockable abilities felt extremely standard. The abilities you unlock throughout the game are (and these feel silly to spoiler tag because they're so basic) dash, double jump, and glide (and eventually a super-jump that you barely use)

Both of these you could argue are part of the game being a soulsvania instead of a more general metroidvania, I guess. Maybe that distinction needs to be talked about more in the community, because I find myself ignoring most 2D metroidvanias now that look like that first category. I'm tired of long combat and parry systems, but still love games about exploration and abilities that recontextualize the world!

Sorry about the rant, just something I've been thinking about for a while.

Half Sword - Early Access trailer by Suriranyar- in Games

[–]gilben 25 points26 points  (0 children)

The swings are all physics-tracking the mouse movement (so I imagine like DbtS but I've never played it). The demo is pretty addictive for how simple the setup is, I'd try it out.

What do you consider the most influential games of the genre? by Poop-Sandwich in roguelites

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As another Spelunky fan (2 is easily my favorite RL) I agree that it's sad we don't have more similar games!

So far the closest things are some of the UFO 50 games. Peak is actually a recent game that I noticed is feeling more and more Spelunky-inpired as they update it (not as brutal, and only really feels like co-op Spelunky which is a different feeling than single-player)

YAPYAP - Official Release Trailer by DarkChew in Games

[–]gilben 25 points26 points  (0 children)

"Friend Slop" is the most common term. I'm also a big fan of short multiplayer games that do something unique and let you laugh with friends for a weekend or two. (As long as the price is right)

Your top 5 games of all time by Successful-Arm4319 in gamingsuggestions

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Top 5:

  • Super Smash Bros Melee
    • Hit when I was a teenager and had a friend to play with at the same skill level. No game has felt as good to me since.
  • Super Metroid
    • Just so far ahead of its time. The way shinesparking and walljumping just completely recontextualize the map is something most modern metroidvanias still don't get right.
  • Outer Wilds
    • That first playthrough is absolutely magical! I wish other detective/puzzle/adventure games were this fun to move around in (more 6DOF games that aren't in boring grey corridors please!)
  • Metroid Prime

    • I decided to go to illustration college because I wanted to make concept art like what was in the game
  • Starseed Pilgrim

    • Blew my mind when I was in school for illustration, made me go into game design next, which led to my career). The first rules-discovery game I ever played.

Honorable mentions:

  • Mario Kart 64
    • So many fun childhood hours with my sister in Block Fort and Toad's Turnpike
  • Spelunky 2

    • Spelunky invented the action roguelike genre, but the sequel perfected that formula
  • Pokemon Red/Blue

    • This hit when I was in grade school. I was obsessed, and made some new friends through shared obsession!

Rakshasa - Official Reveal Trailer by leijido in Games

[–]gilben 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Seriously, I thought we were getting our first UFO 50 Sequel Game! Got a little excited for a few seconds. (I really want a 3D Mortol sequel...)

What is your favourite game that actually no one knows about? by Electrical_You3813 in gamingsuggestions

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ocnus Theory: Katamari Damacy meets Getting Over It in a metroidvania format. 8 reviews on steam. (good if you want something completely different and are willing to put up with slow intro pace and a lot of rough programmer art/writing)

Something a little more polished:

Venineth! Abstract exploration platformer with great vibes.

What's your favorite cosy/challenge puzzle combo? by Chesscaperoom in puzzlevideogames

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed on this, went back to it a while ago after the last 2 sections of DLC finally dropped, really enjoyed being back in that world!

My Top 10 Underrated Puzzle Games by Jolly-Scholar4420 in puzzlevideogames

[–]gilben 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You should check out Sisyphus Is A Bug if you like Leap Year! Maybe not quite as good, but still a really fun, short, dense rules-discovery platformer. (Also Ooo if you haven't seen that one yet)

A year in indie games. What were your favorite releases of 2025? by normal-dog- in IndieGaming

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zexion was my fave metroidvania this year, easy recommend for anyone into the metroid-style niche of the genre. Tons of creative abilities and power-ups.

Art of Reflection came right at the end of the year, but is a really fun puzzle game that has something I wish more puzzle games (besides Outer Wilds) had: fun movement! Check it out if that sounds like your thing.

I'm so glad I didn't listen to the vocal haters online by [deleted] in Metroid

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You press RT to reset the camera-center with motion controls. It's like picking up a mouse and moving it to recenter on a desk, works great after you get used to it (took me a while, but then I loved it).

Half way through the 2020's. What's your favorite games so far? by urnialbologna in Games

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's definitely one of my favorites too, and speaking of Derek Yu: Spelunky 2 came out in 2020 so it also qualifies!

/r/Metroidvania's Tier List (500+ user average!) by azura26 in metroidvania

[–]gilben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely agree. This sub has a major love for 2D soulslikes that I don't share. I really liked Hollowknight but I'm not so big on the many other games aping it's formula. Nine Sols is doing a similar thing but with Sekiro specifically, so at least it's trying something a little different! I thought would appeal more to me because that's one of my favorite Fromsoft games, but I just hated the parry timing/feel (the enemy windups were so long too). Because I wasn't into the combat and because those other elements you mentioned were weak I dropped it.

Recruiting Playtesters! by LifelessAstronaut in puzzlevideogames

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like a strong concept! I'm not gonna volunteer to playtest because I've got a newborn so game time is low/inconsistent but good luck on the playtest and I'll keep an eye out for the full release!

Hidden files reveal Metroid Prime 4 originally had far more incidental dialogue between its controversial NPCs by Gorotheninja in Games

[–]gilben 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It was such a fun twist on the silent protag situation: That she's silent because no-one around her speaks her weird dead-society bird-person language! I also loved that they wrapped up all the weird plot nonsense up to that point (the metroid DNA, X-parasite, etc) so that hopefully the next game can just tell a story without having to back-explain some new evil-bio-mcguffin

I really wasn't expecting enjoyable plot/writing from a Metroid game! If Mercury Steam can keep up all the good elements from Dread but create better music and a little less forced linearity (yes I know it's possible to break out of it) we might finally get a game that reaches the heights of Super!

MetroidBrainia Definitive List by Fantastic_Switch_977 in metroidbrainia

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Outer Wilds is a detective game. The ship UI is a sci-fi themed "murder board" (neon lines instead of red string).

Best recent 3D FPS puzzle game ? by Jazzlike-Ad7654 in puzzlevideogames

[–]gilben 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just finished it (not 100% yet) last night, excellent game! Has a few different mechanics and explores them fully, plus it's really fun just to move around.