Any good metroidvania recommendations?

[Grauken]

What do people think of https://store.steampowered.com/app/1669420/Islets/ ?

scroll upward and you see my opinion

 

[ChaDargo]

Bloodstained is a friggin masterpiece. Go kick rocks ya bum.

Sounds like you don't drink water but the paint dripping from your walls

You wouldn't know a sexy metroidvania if it handed you a piece of paper with it's phone number on it, slapped you on the ass, and flirtingly walked away. Bloodstained delivers everything you could possibly want from a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night. What else comes remotely close in this day and age?

I played more metroidvania than you even know exist

Lol I forgot that your post was the reason I even looked Islets up. Looks good. Did you play their other game, SHEEPO?

As an aside, do you know which Metroidvania's that work well with KB/M? My fucking gamepad broke and it'll be a week or so until I can get a new one =\

 

[Grauken]

Lol I forgot that your post was the reason I even looked Islets up. Looks good. Did you play their other game, SHEEPO?

As an aside, do you know which Metroidvania's that work well with KB/M? My fucking gamepad broke and it'll be a week or so until I can get a new one =\

Never played Sheepo, though I probably will in the future

UnEpic is perfect for KB/M, as it was developed for that control scheme. Also a pretty good metroidvania

Also Aquaria

 

[toughasnails]

I think I probably started UnEpic half a dozen times over years without ever progressing too far... I'm not sure I can articulate why, I barely even remember anything about it. It seems to be be really well loved though (although I imagine it coming out before Steam was so flooded with metroidvanias of all sorts contributed).

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS DONT THINK THIS IS MENTIONED YET

WELL MADE BUT I GOT BORED WITH IT

 

[Grauken]

BROS DONT THINK THIS IS MENTIONED YET

WELL MADE BUT I GOT BORED WITH IT

I started this but never finished it. Got bored as well

 

[Insect Hordes]

last boss made me uninstall

 

[JDR13]

I think I probably started UnEpic half a dozen times over years without ever progressing too far... I'm not sure I can articulate why, I barely even remember anything about it. It seems to be be really well loved though (although I imagine it coming out before Steam was so flooded with metroidvanias of all sorts contributed).

UnEpic is another game I really wanted to like but couldn't get into.

What kills it for me is how small the sprites are. It feels like the view is zoomed too far out.

 

[Grauken]

Bloodstained is a friggin masterpiece. Go kick rocks ya bum.

Sounds like you don't drink water but the paint dripping from your walls

You wouldn't know a sexy metroidvania if it handed you a piece of paper with it's phone number on it, slapped you on the ass, and flirtingly walked away. Bloodstained delivers everything you could possibly want from a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night. What else comes remotely close in this day and age?

Should have known it was you, you little pussy, can't even get past a little door in Metroid: Dread, no wonder you think Bloodstained is the second coming

 

[WaterDrinker]

Should have known it was you, you little pussy, can't even get past a little door in Metroid: Dread, no wonder you think Bloodstained is the second coming

I have the gravity suit and screw attack you ass. I almost have the game finished. The only reason I keep putting it off is because it's kind of a shitty game. Bloodstained is infinitely superior to Dread in every single way imaginable. Don't you dare try to compare the two.

 

[Valestein]

I've been doing a second run of Aeterna Noctis on "Noctis" mode and thus far haven't see that much of a difference beyond more traps here and there. Not sure why certain chievos are only achievable in this mode but not Aeterna, like killing a certain boss before you get the arrows.

 

[manifest]

Picked up Blasphemous again. Difficulty feels right. Somehow missed that the Last Door team made this, maybe 10 people? Some nice spanish guitar tracks on the soundtrack, but it feels a solid notch below the rest of the set dressing. Haven't passed enough bosses to comment on them yet. Combat isn't particularly expressive, lots of cheesing with the upward thrust attack and "bait the parry" on shielded enemies. Bell dungeon is ugly.

 

[notpl]

I thought Blasphemous had very pretty art and absolutely nothing else. Interminable writing that completely missed the "show, don't tell" lesson, clunky and unresponsive combat, HP sponge enemies, nes-style "fuck you" platforming with enemies sniping you off ledges from beyond your LOS, and the bosses were mostly contra-style giant unanimated background elements that just spawned orbs/spikes/whatever else at you.

 

[toughasnails]

I liked the game but I guess I can see where the complaints are coming from. In particular with how the combat is and how some platforming sections are (like the mountaintops) you feel like you are to do the same very specific things every time with no place for player creativity and variation, actually you feel punished for not following the right rhythm in trickier parts. So yes it can be NES platformer-like in that way, and with limited rewards for fighting and limited sense of progression it makes replaying the same stretches tedious.
I'm hoping the sequel will redo the combat and introduce some decent customization. They needn't go the RPGvania route but they can look at how Hollow Knight did it those amulet combinations and so leave some space for experimentation and different playstyles while still giving primacy to player skill.

 

[Monstrous Bat]

Blasphemous' mechanics were fine. The problem was that enemy design was quite shitty in the vanilla game. The later bosses added in DLCs (the Amanicidas, the snake dude and the scythe girl) were considerably more fun to fight against.

But yeah, the game is primarily played for the art, there's no denying that.

 

[randir14]

I recently started playing one called Souldiers: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1419160/Souldiers/

The artwork and animation are really good. Lots of different skills to acquire and there's kind of a Megaman aspect in the way you can acquire new elemental abilities.

 

[Silentstorm]

Started Ender Lillies, it's fine so far, do like the idea of controlling the undead to fight stuff, haven't gotten very far yet, though, but it feels like i will be enjoying this game till the end.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Started Ender Lillies, it's fine so far, do like the idea of controlling the undead to fight stuff, haven't gotten very far yet, though, but it feels like i will be enjoying this game till the end.

I've been playing that a bit. Just finished chapter 3 and not really getting what all the fuss is about. Tonally it feels like it's desperately trying to ape some mish-mash of Dark Souls and Hollow Knight, but it just fails completely and has me constantly rolling my eyes, and in terms of level/map design it's waaaaaayyyyy too linear so far.

I've also been playing F.I.S.T. which, true to its title, is filled with absolutely terrible writing, but I'm nonetheless enjoying it. Really nice environments and pretty satisfying combat and exploration, although it too is slightly too linear for a top-tier Metroidvania. I avoided it for a while because I have a pretty extreme distaste for all things that smack of furdom, but this game is relatively restrained as far as that community goes. Would recommend to fans of the genre; reminds me most of Bloodstained (just trade the weeb vibes for furry ones) with all the good and the bad that comes of that comparison.

 

[spekkio]

BROs, just wanted to let you know that I'm playing Haak currently and having teh most fun since Hollow Knight. Game's more similar to Mark of the Ninja than HK though, only without stealth and with proper 'vania elements (get upgrades, go back to previous areas). Highly recommended.

Feels 10x more polished than stuff like Aeterna Noctis too.

 

[Silentstorm]

And feeling bored with Ender Lillies now, the aesthetics at the start were carrying the game, but honestly, the combat feels repetitive, and enemy variety could really be better, and because the main character doesn't run and takes a while to get a proper dash, the maps just feel too long...heck, even with the dash, some areas feel like they drag just to transverse which is...really not a good thing in a metroidvania.

It's like the game eases you in with pretty art style and the promise of ghost fighters before showing the full tedium it's made of, also the fact the game isn't good enough it doesn't feel repetitive.

 

[spekkio]

BROs, finishned Haak (1.02) and had a blast. IMO the second 'vania that beats Super Metroid (with Hollow Knight being the 1st).

Short list of pros / cons, since you have to play this shit to learn if it "clicks" with you anyway...

Good:

• Fantastic, fluid & fun gameplay. After some time you will be efortlessly traversing the environment, jumping, dashing and killing things along the way, with sense of total control over Haak. Fucking A+ design.
• Equally fantastic map design. Just google some YT clips.
• Clever puzzles, sometimes very hard either to figure out or solve, but never unfair / too long.
• Plenty of skills, all of them being constantly useful.
• Over 9000 secret areas, shortcuts, hidden walls, etc. There are "secrets within secrets too".
• Often there's some "easier but hidden" solution to difficult sections. So you can keep trying to dodge 70 lasers, or just look for some hidden path, which allows you to skip the harder "official" path. Great idea.
• Final four interconnected areas (Subway Depot, Industry Zone & The Two Towers) are super fun to play.
• Fun & competent writing, characters and lore.
• Post-apoc done right.
• First game since HK that I simply had to complete, before going back to some other.
• Took me 35 hours to complete (100% of everything), but I didn't want the game to end - I would love to spend some more time playing it.

Bad:

• That "dream sequence labyrinth" section was a bad idea. (Boring) maze PLUS difficult (but boring) puzzle? C'mon...
• Some "optional get" areas are just fucking torture. In 3 areas I had to use cheats, 'cuz I was worried about destroying my gamepad with 1000 retries. I would've only missed some +1 shit, but THAT CAN'T HAPPEN!

:autism:

Ugly:

• Light on bosses. There are only like 4 (?) boss battles in the game, not overly difficult (maybe except the final boss). It's not Hollow Knight in this area (bosses as gatepoints). Game is focused on platforming & puzzles, not combat.

Verdict: and blows overhyped shit like Bloodstained or Blasphemous out of the water due to fantastic gameplay and map design.

some random pics

Haak gets domesticated by the hobo wanderer / musician:

Just kidding, older women FTW!

 

[Ash]

Bloodstained is a friggin masterpiece. Go kick rocks ya bum.

Sounds like you don't drink water but the paint dripping from your walls

You wouldn't know a sexy metroidvania if it handed you a piece of paper with it's phone number on it, slapped you on the ass, and flirtingly walked away. Bloodstained delivers everything you could possibly want from a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night. What else comes remotely close in this day and age?

Should have known it was you, you little pussy, can't even get past a little door in Metroid: Dread, no wonder you think Bloodstained is the second coming

Got to second this guy. Anyone that says Bloodstained is a masterpiece and better or even close to Symphony or even a couple of the DS igavanias gets written off. Your standards are clearly lacking.

 

[Noct]

Finally got around to finishing Bloodstained. It feels like a true successor to Symphony of the Night/Aria of Sorrow, and I cannot recommend it enough. People will fling shit over whether it's better or worse than those, but I just happy to have another Igavania

 

[Machocruz]

Still waiting for one that doesn't have basic-bitch level design compared to Super, including every other Metroid.

Also, I just realized CV heroes got progressively more soy until they became literally female. Only a matter of time before Japan goes all in on homely butch dikes and trannies, ike the west.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1352930/HAAK/
is a really good game. Quite big, some really cool levels, not too much bullshit

Spoiler

escaping the subway tunnel from crab and hunting the mole claw fighter with gas coming in are the worst

. Art style is mostly high-res pixel, but sometimes it feels a bit off, like the silly dogs or cutsey cat.
Most importantly, controls feel pretty tight, powers are cool and make progression feel good. Took me around 26hrs to finish apparently - yeah, I suck at those kind of games. Still probably my favourite genere.
Only real complaint I have is the localization, sometimes it feels too engrish.

My final score