Metroidvania Games I've Played
Metroidvania games are categorized by a primary gameplay loop of large, interconnected maps and progression blocked by ability acquisition. I've played 11 games in this genre so far.
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Metroid Dread
A well-made metroidvania. On the whole, the movement felt really good and you could fluidly zoom around the map once you got moving. Combat was pretty fun, if a little simplistic. The EMMI mechanic was fine, but didn't feel like it added a lot. I liked all the powerups, but it almost felt like there were too many relative to the amount of time you got to use them. Also, the story felt shoehorned in. But, I enjoyed coming back to it and exploring, plus it didn't overstay its welcome.
Monster Sanctuary
Great combat and team building. Exploration was decent. It was a little overwhelming having full skill trees for everyone, but certainly lead to a lot of depth and ability to customize. Story was decent. I liked that there's advanced game modes too.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Stellar soundtrack and hand drawn animation. Good platform and ok boss fights. Good variety of levels, though it does sort of follow the regular set of levels. I liked the width of the puzzles you got with the mix of animals, equipment, and abilities. The story was basically non-existent, but that didn't really get in the way. There's some funny jokes thrown in occasionally.
Hades
Such a fun game. Great gameplay and art direction. Hugely dynamic text is impressive, as is the totally dynamic storytelling. The builds are varied and fun. There's a lot of agency. I think it does get a little repetitive, but there's a lot of levers to pull. I could have maybe done with more enemy variety though. Endgame difficulty levels definitely add longevity.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Beautiful art and presentation. Really excells at the fluidity of its motion. Music and enviroments are great, albeit a little more grim than the first time around. Decent collectibles. Didn't much care for the boss fights, but they were mostly less frustrating than the escapes from the first one (which weren't so burdensome this time around). Overall, an absolute delight.
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Really fun platformer! Some tough sections, but enjoyable. Movement was great, combat was decent, music and art were phenomenal. Touching story, lots more to explore. Update, I explored more. Really fun running around late game. Map could use a little detail and the zoom is annoying, but I am very satisfied with this game.
Metal Slug
Cute game, one I have a lot of nostalgia for. Played on freeplay and needed 26 "quarters" to beat it. I definitely had never gotten that far in the arcade. Gameplay is simplistic and clearly designed to take your money, but I liked the art style and sound effects.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Definitely an interesting game. Would have been a superb PS2 game? The graphics felt inconsistent between the environments, characters, and cutscenes. The core gameplay was fun, but in the same way that playing like, a children's game is. It's jump and attack (only one attack animation) so it's all about attacking and moving yourself as not to take too much damage. I liked getting powerups from killing monsters, but that meant you needed to grind a lot for certain strong shards. The econ stuff was fine, as was crafting. All of the environments were just rooms and platforms in what felt like a very haphazard manner. Enemy design was weird, but not in a good way. Writing was pretty dreadful, even for a campy game. Great/fitting soundtrack. Some push for exploration, but nothing that interesting to find. Overall, triggered a nice sense of nostalgia even though it's a modern game, which I'm not sure is a great thing.
Hollow Knight
Beautiful art style and atmosphere. There was a story, but it was pretty buried. There also wasn't a great power curve- the world was always dangerous. Definitely a design decision, but not one I loved. Cool enemy designs and varied environments. Game was tough but fair, which is nice to see. Tons to explore, too. Meeting a tough boss was exhilarating. Trekking around was less so- more convenient fast travel would have been nice. 64% completion.
Metroid: Samus Returns
There's a lot to like here. Exploring is pretty fun and the game conveys a fair amount of story without dialogue. Controls are great and fluid, especially for and old handheld. Downsides are enemy repetitiveness and the sheer number of upgrades. Some are good, but more than a couple feel tacked on and forgotten. There's the same 5 basic enemies the whole time and there's the same 5 mini boss fights throughout. A couple of good actual bosses though. Lastly, playing this on the 3DS really cramped my left hand. Maybe because I don't play many action titles on it? But I could only play for short bursts.
Iconoclasts
Really wonderful art and sound. Some decent puzzles. Cool boss variety. Regular enemy combat didn't really add anything to the game- felt oddly shoehorned. That, coupled with a story that felt very complex made for an experience that didn't quite hold my attention. Some cute writing though.