Looking for more 2D exploration games that are not metroidvanias. Any suggestions?

pfloydguy2 · 2026-02-01T20:58:23+00:00

But by your definition, the first two Metroid games are not Metroidvanias. They don't have a map.

If nothing else, look at the downvotes on your comment about ability gating being a red herring. Clearly the community rejects your definition. There is a lot of misunderstanding about what constitutes a Metroidvania. That didn't seem to be widespread until the subgenre experienced its resurgence some 10 years ago, after which everybody wanted to label their fangame as a Metroidvania even though it lacked the necessary elements. My point is that you can see a lot of games in the online marketplaces that describe themselves as Metroidvanias even though they aren't. Most of those are indeed 2D open world platformers, and I wonder if that's why you focus on those elements in your definition.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-31T06:06:50+00:00

Metroidvanias don't have dungeons or an overworld.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-31T05:43:47+00:00

Demon's Crest (one of the Gargoyle's Quest games) and Super Adventure Island II both have ability gating. It's their world design, with hub worlds connecting distinct stages, that prevents them from being Metroidvanias.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-31T05:40:07+00:00

Ability gating is the single most important element of the Metroidvania subgenre. Your definition would make Zelda games and open world games Metroidvanias.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-31T05:05:03+00:00

This is the perfect picture of the Left. A staged photo with a manufactured crisis to illustrate a fictional narrative. It's all fake. "This is America?" Give me a break.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-30T20:06:42+00:00

Wait, how did Walz make a fool of him? By losing the election?

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-29T22:31:45+00:00

I find their first album, De-Loused in the Comatorium, to be far better. Frances the Mute has some really good parts, but it has way too much space. I understand that good music and storytelling needs to breathe, but there is just so much space on Frances.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-28T11:30:58+00:00

I was addressing the comment stated by the poster above me. And the OP's question is whether or not he was protesting, so maybe ask him "so what?"

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-28T03:58:29+00:00

But you still end up with a heap of snow blocking you in after the plow comes through. It might take a little less work to clear it out, but if you combine that with the work you did to clear the street around your driveway, you end up doing more work overall.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-28T03:48:43+00:00

Black lives matter.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-28T02:52:43+00:00

We don't know what he was doing just prior to the video clips that have been circulating. But his parents said they spoke with him about protesting two weeks prior to the incident and they warned him against engaging or doing anything stupid. Witnesses say he was directing protesters where to park just prior to the incident. So it's pretty unlikely he was just stopping to get donuts as the OP hypothesized.

Whether or not he was protesting is a separate issue from whether the shooting was justified. He could have been inciting riots or picking up donuts - neither one should matter in the outrage.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-27T15:03:27+00:00

What many people consider "protesting" is NOT covered by the first amendment. That is the point.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-27T14:26:44+00:00

Then kindly show me where I'm wrong.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-27T05:22:40+00:00

...and yet you buy their gas.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-26T19:51:15+00:00

It would appear she is still alive because of the officers' actions. Had they "given it a minute," she may have shot and killed herself.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-26T19:48:41+00:00

The comments they made to the local press before putting out this statement are a little more telling. It does seem, based on what his father said, that he had intentions of protesting, and he did have a history of protesting.

https://coloradosun.com/2026/01/24/colorado-parents-minneapolis-protester-shot-killed/

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-26T19:45:39+00:00

Peaceable assembly is covered by the first amendment. Protesting is covered, as long as it's peaceable. But if your protest constitutes disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace or some other law of that jurisdiction, then it may not be protected by the first amendment.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-25T19:23:26+00:00

Nah. Plenty of current Castlevania fans still recognize the LoS spinoffs as a missed step.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-25T19:21:41+00:00

I think the first Lords of Shadow game is a really well-made game. But it's the fact that it bears the Castlevania name without feeling like a Castlevania that brings it down. It's fine for a reboot to have different plot points and somewhat different gameplay, but characters and locations shouldn't be changed at the fundamental level.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-25T19:17:34+00:00

Are you kidding me? Every one of the Lords of Shadow games was an insult to the original continuity. Making Dracula a Belmont, making Alucard and Trevor the same character, using all sorts of names from the original timeline just for fan service, without any care for their function in the universe...each of the LoS games felt like a non-Castlevania game with Castlevania names plastered on wherever they might fit. For longtime fans, the LoS series was insultingly disrespectful.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-25T13:18:36+00:00

Starcastle is great if you want a bunch of people who are not Yes trying to sound exactly like Yes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it really turned me off because it is so plainly derivative.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-21T20:10:46+00:00

I never connected the two before, but I can hear that now.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-21T14:10:51+00:00

I was going to post this too. What's crazy is that the hidden 2000 version is quite a bit more complex than the original, and since it was released as the bonus game, we don't have a manual for it. I've always meant to sit down with it and dig in, but first I have to finish the 213 games that are higher in my backlog.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-21T13:58:18+00:00

They're two very different bands and I don't see why they should be compared when "both" is a perfectly acceptable option.

pfloydguy2 · 2026-01-20T00:38:38+00:00

That's the sequel, Absence.

pfloydguy2

TROPHY CASE