… Metroidvanias… and fun… want more…
Afterimage, Ender Lilies… not working on our computer…
Alwa's Awakening/Legacy, Astalon: Tears of the Earth, Axiom Verge (both), Bloodstained (CotM1/2 and RotN), Cathedral, Catmaze, Cave Story, Chasm, Elderand, Fortune Summoners - Secret of the Elemental Stone, Iconoclasts, Iji, La-Mulana 2, Lost Epic, Lost Ruins, Mable and the Wood, Minoria, Momodora games, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, Monster Sanctuary, Phoenotopia Awakening, Poacher, Rusted Moss, Shovel Knight, TimeSpinner, Transiruby, Unepic, Valdis Story - Abyssal City, Vernal Edge, Wife Quest, Wings of Vi… already playable to us…
Opinions:
-- Axiom Verge: I really enjoyed the first one, it was awesome, I thought the upgrades were really cool and creative and I loved the setting. The drone gun in particular was a brilliant design decision. I have the second one, I played some of it, but I didn't finish it yet. So far, I think it's pretty good but not as good as the first one.
-- Cave Story: I don't think anything more needs to be said about Cave Story.
-- Mable and the Wood: I was really looking forward to this when it first came out, and it was a huge disappointment. It was buggy and didn't work properly and while the ideas behind it were super cool it never managed to live up to the potential. That was before the big updates though, maybe it's better now, idk.
-- Monster Sanctuary: Didn't get very far in it, but I thought the strategy aspects were creative :3
-- Shovel Knight: I played the original game but not any of the expansions. Excellent homage to Megaman, very well designed, even though I never really came back
-- Wings of Vi: Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Janky, broken, does not agree with my brain.
Recommendations:
-- An Untitled Story -- Probably my favourite metroidvania of all time. By the same developer as Celeste, but much older. Aged somewhat poorly unfortunately.
-- Hollow Knight -- It's brilliant in that the progression really is non-linear, as the metroidvania genre boasts to be. A truly epic adventure and a brilliantly creative setting. Pure Vessel is probably my favourite action platformer boss fight ever.
-- Metroid 2 -- Specifically, the fanmade version of it that Nintendo tried to kill. Balls hard. Absolutely epic music. It's rare that a game is made with this much love.
-- The Power -- A masterclass in metroidvania world design. Can navigate the whole map with ease, without getting lost and without the need for a fast travel system.
-- Shape Quest -- Many years ago, I called it a crappy ripoff of An Untitled Story, but really, I was being unfair to it.
-- Within a Deep Forest -- Veeeeeery old, but the world is very cleverly built and was one of the inspirations behind Project K. There's an overworld, with sub-levels, which leads to a world that might not be as interconnected as An Untitled Story or Hollow Knight but is easy to traverse and not confusing while still getting the point across and avoiding most of the game design challenges that come from open worlds.