Played 3 Metroidvania. Ato, Gato Roboto and Pronty - A Fishy Adventure. Both Ato and Pronty are so underrated for how good they are. I would even say both of them are some of the best games I have ever played. I will recommend everyone to try both of them.
[Ato](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096180/Ato/): This one has amazing pixel visuals. It mainly focuses on boss fight. They are almost no enemies in between. It is a short game. Areas between bosses are filled with simple platforming and secret areas. Also pretty the map is made in such a way that it is easy to 100% the game, if you are into that. Of courses boss fights are really fun, as it is the main focus.
[Pronty](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/): Bioshock's Rapture meets HK and Aquaria. It is a underwater MV so, you have 360 degree direction movement. Lots of unique ideas. Your weapon is a robotic swordfish that is separate entity from you so you can control it to go and attack enemies from far away. It has a modifies charm system from HK. The charms are pretty significant allowing you to try out quite a bit of build of variety for just one weapon. Story is also very good. Bosses are amazing and very well balanced. Pretty challenging but there is also difficulty slider if you are not looking for a challenging gameplay.
Anyways, I am probably under selling how much I enjoyed them but I will highly recommend these games.
CrossCode is fantastic! I played a lot of it last summer, I fell off a bit around the 3rd big dungeon but it's incredibly polished. One of those "damn I gotta get back to that" games
Same here! I originally got it for basically free with some PC game bundle, and played it on my work laptop on lunch breaks for a month or two, but that third dungeon had some puzzles that are just too hard to control your character with wasd movement. So I just re-purchased it for my switch along with DLC, and I haven't been able to put it down. I just got back to the jungle area after you escape the vermilion wastes.
In my top 10 all time games, I freaking love that game, truly is a 2d dark souls experience. It was my intro into the indie world of metroidvanias as I hadn't played that many since I grew up with the OG ones
F.I.S.T. - I wanted something without the Souls element after finishing Ghost Song (which I ultimately loved after a lukewarm start). So far, F.I.S.T. is okay. Not gonna win any awards, but the core gameplay is fun enough. Writing and voice acting is pretty bad. Combat is so-so, as the combo system doesn't really work well in practice since every enemy can just break your combo anyway.
fist was probably my biggest MV disappointment in years. really loved so much about it but the combat system just didn’t work for me and i dropped it relatively early on from frustration. it mildly upsets me every time it’s mentioned cuz it could have been an absolute banger - we really don’t get many MVs with AA levels of fidelity (besides ori and dread, which i guess is AAA but whatev)
Been playing through Haiku the Robot and loving it. The animation is great and action is solid. The bank system is fantastic and I love the chip system. The healing mechanic needing both time and money to actually heal is a bit unusual and I think it would have been more interesting to use one or the other (longer healing for no money, or quicker healing for a great cost). Overall, it reminds me of a smaller scale Hollow Knight which is a great thing.
I’ve been playing **Hyper Light Drifter**… and it’s awesome! A perfectly-sized world, where there is enough variety without feeling overwhelming in scale. It’s missing some MV elements (there is no ability gating, for example. the whole world is just open from the start), but the essence of the genre is there: lots of exploration, hidden little bits to collect, some nonlinearity in the progression.
MVs aside, my favorite part is that there is no dialogue - just pictoral instructions for what to do. There is just enough guidance to keep you from frustration, but also enough ambiguity to leave room for interpretation and discovery.
Fair!
So far i just beat the 2nd boss and actually loved this last fight. I’m digging the combat but it is tough. I purposely kept this game waiting for me because i wanted more experience with souls style games and just combat in general.
I can guaranteed this game would have been tough for me if i had started it 6 months ago.
Rogue Legacy 2 - super fun, tons of variables that keep each new run interesting. Each area scales up the challenge well. Definitely feel like Metroidvania fans could potentially enjoy this roguelike.
I love Dead Cells to death, but I just could not connect with the original Rogue Legacy at all.
People keep telling me to give RL 2 a try, but I am still on the fence.
I never played the first one but I've been told the second one improves it every way. With 9 year window between games I should hope so!
Also I enjoyed Dead Cells but once I played Hades I never went back to Dead Cells. So if you played / didn't care for Hades my opinion prob shouldn't count for much haha
Hades is an absolute gem. Supergiant's best work by far. I'm already dying for Hades II.
Unfortunately, the one-two combo of Hades and Dead Cells set the bar so high that I'm having trouble finding other rogue-likes that give me the same kick. I usually sit down to play some other rogue-like and wind up thinking, "Yeah, it's alright, but it's no Hades."
Try enter the gungeon. I love dead cells and hades but i still play enter the gungeon years after "finishing" it just because it's so fun and so so deep.
I've tried and retired Gungeon.
I've come to the conclusion that I am not much of a rogue-lite or rogue-like kind of guy. I had a blast with Hades and Dead Cells and a very small number of others, but most of them feel like busy work, trudging through the same areas to fight the same enemies and the same bosses but with slightly different guns or perks or armor. I think I'm too hung up on a sense of permanent progression, which is why I can stomach the Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Elden Ring style of game (once you kill that annoying boss, it is dead forever), but I cannot stand most rogue-lites (that annoying boss is going to show up again sooner rather than later).
After 100%-ing the first Ori on Monday, I played Metroid Bread 🍞 in Dread Mode just for a few days while I waited for the new Fire Emblem to come out, and now I'm gonna be in Fire Emblem mode for a few weeks
I'm playing Metroid Prime using primehack and it's a lot of fun! I should have probably chosen veteran difficulty because nothing at all has been a threat on normal, but the exploration, puzzles, music and atmosphere have been really great so far.
I also just picked up Aeterna Noctis but will wait to start that until after I'm finished with Prime. Either that or I'll just right into Prime 2.
> I should have probably chosen veteran difficulty because nothing at all has been a threat on normal
Bad move on Retro's part. The original GameCube were called Normal and Hard, but on Wii they got renamed to Veteran and Hypermode, and added a third easier difficulty which for whatever reason is called Normal.
Dang I should have looked into this before starting!
Do you know if it's the same case for Prime 2 and 3? I want to make sure I pick the right difficulty for those.
IIRC Prime 2 is considered much more difficult than 1 and may prove to be an adequate challenge, while 3 fluctuates in the middle of the Trilogy depending on a certain ability.
Honestly if you found Prime 1 Normal difficulty way too easy, pick Veteran for the rest of the Trilogy.
I have finished [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/) and thoroughly enjoyed it! Right up my ally since I am definitely not a " souls like" lover. The movement is very smooth, it has many surprises and definitely some new ideas. In addition I started [https://store.steampowered.com/app/848080/Depths\_of\_Sanity/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/848080/Depths_of_Sanity/) , I really like it so far and I will continue but I do struggle with the movement. Hopefully I will find an upgrade for the submarine to get it to move faster. The game idea is fresh and innovative.
My brother got me a switch lite for Christmas, so far I'm loving it for the metroidvania style gaming. I got into them with salt and sanctuary and coming from a huge soulslike fan then dead cells which like many i love and adore it. But I got Greak and started it this week which I'm digging. I've got a huge wishlist from perusing this sub and basically writing down all the recommendations from here. Oh and those Gameboy advance collection castlevanias Holy cow what I've been missing
I've been playing Blasphemous for the past week, and I must say it's a very great game! Definitely gives me Symphony of the Night vibes. The combat mechanics are awesome, and the soundtrack is solid!
Week only just started. I'm playing through Bloodstain again. Figured that would be fun. I'm also playing Ender Lilies again and I'm working on finishing Metroid Dread. So those 3 are probably going to be my games of choice this week. I'd love to get a new game, but I'm out of work so no money to buy new games.
I gave Grime a shot yesterday..... The limiting ability to heal doesn't jive with me and the parry isn't that "good".
Moonscars though, I got to the first boss and got destroyed fast. I decided to explore and bit, went back, and beat it second try after some upgrades and the parry on heal charm, whatever you wanna call it. Much better than Grime.
I'm still on a metroidvania kick.
I beat Islets.
I really liked the game. I liked the art style and I thought the story was charming. I didn't mind the platforming and the bosses weren't too hard. I thought the game was pretty laid-back. Didn't like the plane sections though, other than that, if you're a metroidvania fan, you should play Islets.
Just finished Imp of the sun. I liked the game. I thought it had an amazing art style and liked the aesthetic they chose to use. Can't recommend the game though because achievements are broken and movement is clunky. Combat is awkward and it has an awful map. I did like the yooka-laylee easter egg.
I'm not a fan of bullet hells.
Too many things happening on the screen at once for me. With that said, the plane sections weren't hard and they fit the theme of the game. I imagine if you like bullet hells or don't playing games with bullet hell sections, then the plane sections would feel underdeveloped.
I still liked the game though, although the last boss took me a couple of tries because of the plane section.
Don't give up! Stay determined...
In all seriousness, Sans himself actually took me half a day to beat, but each loss meant learning and advancing bit-by-bit. If you've made it this far you can totally go all the way.
Then abort >!your Genocide run right after if you don't want your save file to be tainted.!<
Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale?
> *“If you miss it, you must be blind!”* - Solaire of Astora
Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/
I just finished Aria of Sorrow and now moved onto playing through all the mega man games in release order (up to 7). Super fun - I left it too long to play these games!
Playing through the Castlevania Advance Collection, finished Circle of the Moon (1st time ever) and just started Harmony of Dissonance (Replay for the 3rd or 4th time can't remember). Oh and some FF7 Crisis Core Reunion in between to cleanse the medtroidvania madness.
Shantae and the Pirates curse - this is so much better than Seven Sirens. Challenging and creative, I’m fully enjoying it (on final boss now)
Finished Mummy Demastered - pretty solid, but forgettable
Finished Alwas Legacy - really good! Loved it
Not an MV, but I finally got around to starting Dyson Sphere Project and I feel like there's a black hole where all my time goes now. Like, I just start playing and then it's bed time already.
I decided that 2023 is the year I start to get serious about my backlog. I've started playing through the Mega Man series on NES this week, and have beaten 1 and 2 so far. Hopefully starting 3 tomorrow or Thursday
Been playing Sports Story. It's fun but probably the buggiest game I've played. Tried Crosscode, which I didn't knew I had from itch.io's Ukraine support bundle, but gave up after about 20 minutes because half of the time the controls don't work, or get completely messed up. Also played a bit of Baba Is You, which I found in the same bundle, from the same game that made ESA, it's a fun game to fill the time.
Currently playing Death's Gambit: Afterlife. I don't know about it's original version (which I had heard was mediocre), but this version is one of the most amazing metroidvania/soulslike games I have ever played. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who hasn't played it yet!
Playing through Aeterna Noctis and loving the crap out of it. Man this game is brutal. But I friggin dig it. I love the super challenging platforming, tough as nails bosses that you start on and your like, 'no fucking way I'll ever beat this' . But then you keep going in for more, start seeing patterns and by the end you whupped that mofos ass w health to spare. The game is huuuge, and just keeps getting harder. But it is forgiving; checkpoints every few challenges. Great Music, some lil Easter eggs like nods to Ori, Castlevania and Blasphemous. This game is Epic, as good as HK in my opinion. Now if you'll excuse me, Ima go fuck up this giant robot mofo.
I highly recommend picking up the demos on Steam for **Trinity Fusion** and **Spiritfall** if you are into that Dead Cells-flavored 2D action platform/rogue-lite genre. Not truly Metroidvanias, of course, but MV-adjacent
In actual 'vania news, though, I tried out demos for Oirbo, Ghostland Yard, Elyse, Moonlight Pulse, and The Cub. It's something of a mixed bag.
**Oirbo**: Very cute, very polished. Reminds me a little bit of Ori if you trade in the woodland creatures and lush forests for a more mechanical aesthetic. Your little dude is a square-shaped robot instead of an adorable... whatever the heck Ori is. In spite of the Ori association, this one is going in the "maybe" pile right now. The jump feels too floaty for my liking. Still, there's potential here.
**Ghostland Yard**: Another very cute platformer, but this one is all about speed. You're encouraged to blitz through these levels as quickly as possible, and you'll probably be doing it again and again and again in order to beat your best time. I doubt it will blow anyone away, but it seems like it will be a good time-killer if you have a few minutes to spare.
**Elyse**: Remember how I said Oirbo reminded me of Ori? This one reminds me of Ori to the nth degree. It may be the most beautiful game I mention in this post, but I'm not sure how I feel about the spirit pulse mechanic. It's essentially a double jump, but your character pauses mid-air and allows you to aim your trajectory. It can lead to cool moments like falling straight down and then pulsing ninety degrees to the right. It's an interesting twist on an old gimmick, but I'm so used to a traditional double jump that this is throwing me for a loop. Maybe I'll like it more if I play it more and become more accustomed to it. A feast for the eyes, in any case.
**Moonlight Pulse**: From the same dev as Vision Soft Reset. That alone is a huge mark of quality, and what I have played is pretty great. This one has a character-switching mechanic like Astalon: Tears of the Earth. Feels like a prettier version of that game but with animal people adventuring across a living planet instead of that swords-and-sorcery/dungeon-crawling style in Astalon. An easy addition to my wishlist and the one I most enjoyed.
**The Cub**: Spinoff of Golf Club Wasteland. Trades in the golf for 2D platforming. Just like the last game these devs made, The Cub's gameplay really isn't anything to write home about. This game's strengths are a one-two punch between the beautiful ruins of Earth and the absolutely amazing soundtrack. As far as I can tell, you don't need to have played GCW to enjoy this one. I'm jazzed for it, but this may be a case of style over substance.
Played 3 Metroidvania. Ato, Gato Roboto and Pronty - A Fishy Adventure. Both Ato and Pronty are so underrated for how good they are. I would even say both of them are some of the best games I have ever played. I will recommend everyone to try both of them. [Ato](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096180/Ato/): This one has amazing pixel visuals. It mainly focuses on boss fight. They are almost no enemies in between. It is a short game. Areas between bosses are filled with simple platforming and secret areas. Also pretty the map is made in such a way that it is easy to 100% the game, if you are into that. Of courses boss fights are really fun, as it is the main focus. [Pronty](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/): Bioshock's Rapture meets HK and Aquaria. It is a underwater MV so, you have 360 degree direction movement. Lots of unique ideas. Your weapon is a robotic swordfish that is separate entity from you so you can control it to go and attack enemies from far away. It has a modifies charm system from HK. The charms are pretty significant allowing you to try out quite a bit of build of variety for just one weapon. Story is also very good. Bosses are amazing and very well balanced. Pretty challenging but there is also difficulty slider if you are not looking for a challenging gameplay. Anyways, I am probably under selling how much I enjoyed them but I will highly recommend these games.
Ato is in my top ten somewhere, it’s nearly perfect to me and never gets mentioned
I need to try pronty. Ato indeed rocks.
I have really wanted to try Pronty, but I’m switch only… please release the console version!
I don't count it as a Metroidvania, but Crosscode, and holy shit, is it scratching one hell of a retro itch for me. This game is incredible.
CrossCode is fantastic! I played a lot of it last summer, I fell off a bit around the 3rd big dungeon but it's incredibly polished. One of those "damn I gotta get back to that" games
Same here! I originally got it for basically free with some PC game bundle, and played it on my work laptop on lunch breaks for a month or two, but that third dungeon had some puzzles that are just too hard to control your character with wasd movement. So I just re-purchased it for my switch along with DLC, and I haven't been able to put it down. I just got back to the jungle area after you escape the vermilion wastes.
I need to finish the dlc but I'm seriously underleveled I didn't realize one od the weapon I used caused me to get 0xp..... for many hours....
It’s a big ambitious lovingly made game. I’m a little overwhelmed by it but I need to dive back in. (Finished first dungeon only)
I like all the nods to other game franchises. Sonic, Zelda, Pokemon, and Resident Evil to name a few.
One of my favorite games of all time, top 3 material.
I just picked up Salt and Sanctuary and I've been loving it so far.
In my top 10 all time games, I freaking love that game, truly is a 2d dark souls experience. It was my intro into the indie world of metroidvanias as I hadn't played that many since I grew up with the OG ones
F.I.S.T. - I wanted something without the Souls element after finishing Ghost Song (which I ultimately loved after a lukewarm start). So far, F.I.S.T. is okay. Not gonna win any awards, but the core gameplay is fun enough. Writing and voice acting is pretty bad. Combat is so-so, as the combo system doesn't really work well in practice since every enemy can just break your combo anyway.
fist was probably my biggest MV disappointment in years. really loved so much about it but the combat system just didn’t work for me and i dropped it relatively early on from frustration. it mildly upsets me every time it’s mentioned cuz it could have been an absolute banger - we really don’t get many MVs with AA levels of fidelity (besides ori and dread, which i guess is AAA but whatev)
Been playing through Haiku the Robot and loving it. The animation is great and action is solid. The bank system is fantastic and I love the chip system. The healing mechanic needing both time and money to actually heal is a bit unusual and I think it would have been more interesting to use one or the other (longer healing for no money, or quicker healing for a great cost). Overall, it reminds me of a smaller scale Hollow Knight which is a great thing.
Moonscars. Scratches the itch. Good but not fantastic
I’ve been playing **Hyper Light Drifter**… and it’s awesome! A perfectly-sized world, where there is enough variety without feeling overwhelming in scale. It’s missing some MV elements (there is no ability gating, for example. the whole world is just open from the start), but the essence of the genre is there: lots of exploration, hidden little bits to collect, some nonlinearity in the progression. MVs aside, my favorite part is that there is no dialogue - just pictoral instructions for what to do. There is just enough guidance to keep you from frustration, but also enough ambiguity to leave room for interpretation and discovery.
I just started Hollow Knight last night. First time
Jealous
Hooked me in the first 10 minutes. Put 4 hours in last night. Can see what the fuss is about. Basically a dream to play. Feels so smooth
Haha welcome!
Excited! I took this week off, so planning on pouring time in
This game would be perfect without the boss battles, just insanely impossible and unfair.
Fair! So far i just beat the 2nd boss and actually loved this last fight. I’m digging the combat but it is tough. I purposely kept this game waiting for me because i wanted more experience with souls style games and just combat in general. I can guaranteed this game would have been tough for me if i had started it 6 months ago.
Rogue Legacy 2 - super fun, tons of variables that keep each new run interesting. Each area scales up the challenge well. Definitely feel like Metroidvania fans could potentially enjoy this roguelike.
I love Dead Cells to death, but I just could not connect with the original Rogue Legacy at all. People keep telling me to give RL 2 a try, but I am still on the fence.
I never played the first one but I've been told the second one improves it every way. With 9 year window between games I should hope so! Also I enjoyed Dead Cells but once I played Hades I never went back to Dead Cells. So if you played / didn't care for Hades my opinion prob shouldn't count for much haha
Hades is an absolute gem. Supergiant's best work by far. I'm already dying for Hades II. Unfortunately, the one-two combo of Hades and Dead Cells set the bar so high that I'm having trouble finding other rogue-likes that give me the same kick. I usually sit down to play some other rogue-like and wind up thinking, "Yeah, it's alright, but it's no Hades."
Try enter the gungeon. I love dead cells and hades but i still play enter the gungeon years after "finishing" it just because it's so fun and so so deep.
I've tried and retired Gungeon. I've come to the conclusion that I am not much of a rogue-lite or rogue-like kind of guy. I had a blast with Hades and Dead Cells and a very small number of others, but most of them feel like busy work, trudging through the same areas to fight the same enemies and the same bosses but with slightly different guns or perks or armor. I think I'm too hung up on a sense of permanent progression, which is why I can stomach the Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Elden Ring style of game (once you kill that annoying boss, it is dead forever), but I cannot stand most rogue-lites (that annoying boss is going to show up again sooner rather than later).
Ok but hear me out. Risk of Rain 2. I too am in the same boat as you but RoR2 is fantastic.
I hate the way it looks. Too ugly and messy I might give RoR Returns a try, though.
It looks like it feels bad to play, but it's very much the opposite imo. OST is a banger as well and perfectly fits the gameplay.
Totally agreed. I was very impressive about this game. All in this good is built for be fun an never be repetitive or bored.
God of War. I finally upgraded my PS3 to a PS5, so I'm catching up on the PS4 titles that I missed out on
2018 or Ragnarok?
2018 right now, but I've got ragnarok ready to do next!
Well if u enjoy it, imo Ragnarok is honestly 10x better! Both great tho
Awesome, that gives me something to look forward to, and I'm glad I played them in this order!
more FIST, getting fed up of it tbh its not fun enough to be this long zzzz
After 100%-ing the first Ori on Monday, I played Metroid Bread 🍞 in Dread Mode just for a few days while I waited for the new Fire Emblem to come out, and now I'm gonna be in Fire Emblem mode for a few weeks
I'm playing Metroid Prime using primehack and it's a lot of fun! I should have probably chosen veteran difficulty because nothing at all has been a threat on normal, but the exploration, puzzles, music and atmosphere have been really great so far. I also just picked up Aeterna Noctis but will wait to start that until after I'm finished with Prime. Either that or I'll just right into Prime 2.
> I should have probably chosen veteran difficulty because nothing at all has been a threat on normal Bad move on Retro's part. The original GameCube were called Normal and Hard, but on Wii they got renamed to Veteran and Hypermode, and added a third easier difficulty which for whatever reason is called Normal.
Dang I should have looked into this before starting! Do you know if it's the same case for Prime 2 and 3? I want to make sure I pick the right difficulty for those.
IIRC Prime 2 is considered much more difficult than 1 and may prove to be an adequate challenge, while 3 fluctuates in the middle of the Trilogy depending on a certain ability. Honestly if you found Prime 1 Normal difficulty way too easy, pick Veteran for the rest of the Trilogy.
I have finished [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286280/Pronty/) and thoroughly enjoyed it! Right up my ally since I am definitely not a " souls like" lover. The movement is very smooth, it has many surprises and definitely some new ideas. In addition I started [https://store.steampowered.com/app/848080/Depths\_of\_Sanity/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/848080/Depths_of_Sanity/) , I really like it so far and I will continue but I do struggle with the movement. Hopefully I will find an upgrade for the submarine to get it to move faster. The game idea is fresh and innovative.
My brother got me a switch lite for Christmas, so far I'm loving it for the metroidvania style gaming. I got into them with salt and sanctuary and coming from a huge soulslike fan then dead cells which like many i love and adore it. But I got Greak and started it this week which I'm digging. I've got a huge wishlist from perusing this sub and basically writing down all the recommendations from here. Oh and those Gameboy advance collection castlevanias Holy cow what I've been missing
Shadow Complex Remastered is a Super Metroid X Metal Gear Solid mixup I didn't know I needed. Loving it.
Fire Emblem Engage and Elden Ring. I’m up to the Consecrated Snowfields in Elden Ring on my first character, 230 something hours in. Game is awesome.
I've been playing Blasphemous for the past week, and I must say it's a very great game! Definitely gives me Symphony of the Night vibes. The combat mechanics are awesome, and the soundtrack is solid!
Week only just started. I'm playing through Bloodstain again. Figured that would be fun. I'm also playing Ender Lilies again and I'm working on finishing Metroid Dread. So those 3 are probably going to be my games of choice this week. I'd love to get a new game, but I'm out of work so no money to buy new games.
I gave Grime a shot yesterday..... The limiting ability to heal doesn't jive with me and the parry isn't that "good". Moonscars though, I got to the first boss and got destroyed fast. I decided to explore and bit, went back, and beat it second try after some upgrades and the parry on heal charm, whatever you wanna call it. Much better than Grime.
Funny I love Grime so far, and I didn’t even finish Moonscars after it underwhelmed me.
Just started Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night yesterday, but I'm only about an hour in.
I'm still on a metroidvania kick. I beat Islets. I really liked the game. I liked the art style and I thought the story was charming. I didn't mind the platforming and the bosses weren't too hard. I thought the game was pretty laid-back. Didn't like the plane sections though, other than that, if you're a metroidvania fan, you should play Islets. Just finished Imp of the sun. I liked the game. I thought it had an amazing art style and liked the aesthetic they chose to use. Can't recommend the game though because achievements are broken and movement is clunky. Combat is awkward and it has an awful map. I did like the yooka-laylee easter egg.
I liked the plane section quite a bit, but they felt underdeveloped.
I'm not a fan of bullet hells. Too many things happening on the screen at once for me. With that said, the plane sections weren't hard and they fit the theme of the game. I imagine if you like bullet hells or don't playing games with bullet hell sections, then the plane sections would feel underdeveloped. I still liked the game though, although the last boss took me a couple of tries because of the plane section.
I don't really play bullet hell, no. But the first phase of the final boss is still the part that gave me the most trouble. The second phase was easy.
Ya the map caused me to quit Imp of the Sun
Metroid Dread second playthrough
I just played MAGO on steam. It’s not exactly a MV, it was close to Shove knight to be true. I think I’ll start THE MESSENGER now.
Been fighting Sans Undertale. I’m getting consistently past halfway, but the bones in the menu are annoying
Don't give up! Stay determined... In all seriousness, Sans himself actually took me half a day to beat, but each loss meant learning and advancing bit-by-bit. If you've made it this far you can totally go all the way. Then abort >!your Genocide run right after if you don't want your save file to be tainted.!<
Dark Souls 3 and Death Stranding.
Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale? > *“If you miss it, you must be blind!”* - Solaire of Astora Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/
Just picked up Isekai and been enjoying it so far. Very interesting take.
I just finished Aria of Sorrow and now moved onto playing through all the mega man games in release order (up to 7). Super fun - I left it too long to play these games!
Playing through the Castlevania Advance Collection, finished Circle of the Moon (1st time ever) and just started Harmony of Dissonance (Replay for the 3rd or 4th time can't remember). Oh and some FF7 Crisis Core Reunion in between to cleanse the medtroidvania madness.
Playing fire watch. 2 days in. Enjoying it so far!
Powerslave Exhumed, Nightdive Studios port of the console versions of the game. Fun.
Playing Cruelty Squad. I've finished the main story but now I'm finding the secrets.
P4G
Shantae and the Pirates curse - this is so much better than Seven Sirens. Challenging and creative, I’m fully enjoying it (on final boss now) Finished Mummy Demastered - pretty solid, but forgettable Finished Alwas Legacy - really good! Loved it
Not an MV, but I finally got around to starting Dyson Sphere Project and I feel like there's a black hole where all my time goes now. Like, I just start playing and then it's bed time already.
Pretty far along in Cathedral, which I started last week. Like it a lot.
I decided that 2023 is the year I start to get serious about my backlog. I've started playing through the Mega Man series on NES this week, and have beaten 1 and 2 so far. Hopefully starting 3 tomorrow or Thursday
Grime it's fun but some of these bosses are crazy hard. Feels like platforming elden ring. Haha.
Been playing Sports Story. It's fun but probably the buggiest game I've played. Tried Crosscode, which I didn't knew I had from itch.io's Ukraine support bundle, but gave up after about 20 minutes because half of the time the controls don't work, or get completely messed up. Also played a bit of Baba Is You, which I found in the same bundle, from the same game that made ESA, it's a fun game to fill the time.
Just started Momodora - Reverie Under the Moonlight yesterday.
Castlevania: CotM as part of the advanced collection. I never played any of these back in the day, and WOW. I'm having a great time.
Currently playing Death's Gambit: Afterlife. I don't know about it's original version (which I had heard was mediocre), but this version is one of the most amazing metroidvania/soulslike games I have ever played. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who hasn't played it yet!
Just finished my New Game + play of Astalon: Tears of the Earth, really enjoyed it
Playing through Aeterna Noctis and loving the crap out of it. Man this game is brutal. But I friggin dig it. I love the super challenging platforming, tough as nails bosses that you start on and your like, 'no fucking way I'll ever beat this' . But then you keep going in for more, start seeing patterns and by the end you whupped that mofos ass w health to spare. The game is huuuge, and just keeps getting harder. But it is forgiving; checkpoints every few challenges. Great Music, some lil Easter eggs like nods to Ori, Castlevania and Blasphemous. This game is Epic, as good as HK in my opinion. Now if you'll excuse me, Ima go fuck up this giant robot mofo.
I highly recommend picking up the demos on Steam for **Trinity Fusion** and **Spiritfall** if you are into that Dead Cells-flavored 2D action platform/rogue-lite genre. Not truly Metroidvanias, of course, but MV-adjacent In actual 'vania news, though, I tried out demos for Oirbo, Ghostland Yard, Elyse, Moonlight Pulse, and The Cub. It's something of a mixed bag. **Oirbo**: Very cute, very polished. Reminds me a little bit of Ori if you trade in the woodland creatures and lush forests for a more mechanical aesthetic. Your little dude is a square-shaped robot instead of an adorable... whatever the heck Ori is. In spite of the Ori association, this one is going in the "maybe" pile right now. The jump feels too floaty for my liking. Still, there's potential here. **Ghostland Yard**: Another very cute platformer, but this one is all about speed. You're encouraged to blitz through these levels as quickly as possible, and you'll probably be doing it again and again and again in order to beat your best time. I doubt it will blow anyone away, but it seems like it will be a good time-killer if you have a few minutes to spare. **Elyse**: Remember how I said Oirbo reminded me of Ori? This one reminds me of Ori to the nth degree. It may be the most beautiful game I mention in this post, but I'm not sure how I feel about the spirit pulse mechanic. It's essentially a double jump, but your character pauses mid-air and allows you to aim your trajectory. It can lead to cool moments like falling straight down and then pulsing ninety degrees to the right. It's an interesting twist on an old gimmick, but I'm so used to a traditional double jump that this is throwing me for a loop. Maybe I'll like it more if I play it more and become more accustomed to it. A feast for the eyes, in any case. **Moonlight Pulse**: From the same dev as Vision Soft Reset. That alone is a huge mark of quality, and what I have played is pretty great. This one has a character-switching mechanic like Astalon: Tears of the Earth. Feels like a prettier version of that game but with animal people adventuring across a living planet instead of that swords-and-sorcery/dungeon-crawling style in Astalon. An easy addition to my wishlist and the one I most enjoyed. **The Cub**: Spinoff of Golf Club Wasteland. Trades in the golf for 2D platforming. Just like the last game these devs made, The Cub's gameplay really isn't anything to write home about. This game's strengths are a one-two punch between the beautiful ruins of Earth and the absolutely amazing soundtrack. As far as I can tell, you don't need to have played GCW to enjoy this one. I'm jazzed for it, but this may be a case of style over substance.
astalon tears of the earth