Metroidvania: definition and well-known genre representative

The Metroidvania game genre has been around since the 1980s. It is still very popular today. But what exactly is a Metroidvania and which current representatives are there? We will explain it to you!

Metroidvania - what is it?

The term Metroidvania goes back to the 1986 game "Metroid" for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In this title, you guide space bounty hunter Samus Aran through the labyrinth of planet Zebes to thwart the plans of the evil space pirates. "Metroid" has long been a cult game and there are now a whole series of sequels. Together with the Castlevania series, which also appeared for the first time in 1986 and had similar elements, the term "Metroidvania" slowly formed in the scene. The forefathers of the genre have set some milestones in terms of gameplay that still exist today:

• A labyrinth is a must: Most of the time, the map is a huge level that you have to explore gradually with newly found equipment.
• Bosses: Particularly strong monsters guarding new equipment shouldn't be missing in any Metroidvania. It is common for you to bite your teeth from one or the other monster for several hours.
• Weapons, armor and gadgets: it is important to build up the arsenal piece by piece. This is the only way to fully explore the map.
• Secrets (in technical jargon: "Secrets"): Is this a wall or is it a hidden passage? Searching for secret passages and hidden items is a much-loved standard in Metroidvania titles.
• Fixed save points: These often occur before the boss fights. Therefore, it is usually clear: If you are allowed to save, it will be uncomfortable.
• 2D world: A Metroidvania is almost always located in a two-dimensional world. There are also 3D representatives, especially the newer parts of the "Metroid" series, but these are outnumbered.

Popular Metroidvania representatives

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Typical Metroidvania: As a daring archaeologist, you have to fight your way through the labyrinth of La Mulana and puzzle.

In Axiom Verge, the scientist Trace has to rediscover his past and an alien planet.

The sweet forest spirit Ori has to revive the forest in the game "Ori and the Blind Forest".

There are mysterious ruins to explore in the game "Hyper Light Drifter" as a silent drifter.

Monstrous bosses like this are standard in Salt and Sanctuary.

The young Merryn sets off in an enchanting deep-sea world to find her father.

Fantastic landscapes and dark depths have to be explored with a little beetle knight to save the world.

Sword warrior Zangetsu must find allies and defeat demons to free himself from a curse.

With revived corpses, you can conquer constantly fast-paced battles and tricky passages in Dead Cells.

Colorful landscapes and dark buildings like this alternate in Iconoclasts.

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Marine biologist Nikolay and buddy Buddy have to find their way back through a fantastic and dark underwater world.

It is often worthwhile to leave the big game developers with their AAA titles in search of a good Metroidvania. There are many small companies on the market that often consist of just a few developers or even just one person. But these often bring true treasures into the world in the form of indie games that you shouldn't miss. Metroidvanias therefore exists like sand by the sea. The following, chronologically ordered list is certainly not exhaustive, but is intended to give an overview of the representatives:

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• Metroid and successor (1986-2017) As already mentioned: The story of Samus Aran is so popular that there are many successor titles to it.
• Castlevania (1986-2019): The first game in the series is a classic among lovers of the genre. In this title, you go hunting for Dracula and his monstrous subjects with Simon Belmont, who comes from a family of vampire hunters. In other games, different protagonists are added, but the villain remains the same. Castlevania has also got all sorts of successors and even got its own series on Netflix.
• La-Mulana (2005-2018): Another tough chunk of the Metroidvania genre. The original game from 2005 was officially only available in Japanese. The fan community brought out a translation. La-Mulana was also re-launched in 2011 and officially made available to the rest of the world.
  In La-Mulana, you play the role of Lemeza Kosugi, who wants to explore the ruins of La-Mulana. The game demands a lot of brainwax, because only by solving cryptic puzzles can you explore all corners of the labyrinth and find all objects. Difficult controls contribute to a really challenging gaming experience.
  That shouldn't scare most gamers, because part 2 appeared in mid-2018.
• Axiom Verge (2015): A masterpiece - both game and soundtrack - that was written by a single man: Thomas Happ. Here, as a scientist, you set off on a strange planet in search of an evil doppelganger - and answers. Because the protagonist remembers only little of his past after an accident in the physics laboratory.
• Ori and the Blind Forest (2015): A darling from Austria with a heartbreaking story and beautiful graphics. As Ori, a cute, white guardian spirit, explore the enchanting landscape of the Nibel Forest. The goal is to bring the forest back to life.
• Hyper Light Drifter (2016): The story of this game is very cryptic, the graphics simple, the character is only called "the drifter". Tricky battles that require precise control, a mystical world that does not require dialogue and only with pictograms, and a mysterious story characterize Hyper Light Drifter.
• Salt and Sanctuary (2016): As a castaway who should take a princess to a distant country to marry her, you start your story on an unknown island. You must now find the princess again. The plot sounds like a normal fairy tale, but is staged very darkly and pays homage to the "Dark Souls" games. In multiplayer, you can even embark on an adventure here in pairs.
• Song of the Deep (2016): A different kind of Metroidvania. Here you control a character only in certain sections. Most of the time, you mainly explore the deep sea with a submarine. The protagonist is Merryn, a 12-year-old girl who goes alone to find her father, who has disappeared into the depths of the sea.
• Hollow Knight (2017): In the role of a beetle knight, you explore a dark world. It's about containing a plague and saving the world. Hollow Knight is also tough when it comes to the difficulty. It is not unusual for you to spend hours on bosses here and mastering difficult passages takes a lot of skill. However, the game entices with an incredible amount of secrets, optional bosses and multiple ends, depending on how you beat the last big opponent.
• Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (2018): This declaration of love to Castlevania made fans' hearts beat faster in 2018. In the style of the third Castlevania game, there are always several ways to the next boss. The main character is the sword master Zangetsu, who wants to take revenge on the demons who have cursed him. To do this, he uses the help of other like-minded people. Lovers of the classic get their money's worth here - including difficult controls.
• Dead Cells (2018): A particularly difficult representative of the genre. Here you slip into the role of a slimy creature that brings corpses back to life. However, there is no storage function - if you die, you have to start over and everything you have collected is lost.
• Iconoclasts (2018): As a helping but naive mechanic Robin, you explore a colorful world that is designed with wit, but also with a very serious story. Robin is torn from her ideal world when the overpowering "One Concern" breaks her family. Therefore, the young mechanic sets off to stop the company and meets like-minded people on her journey.
• OUTBUDDIES (2019): As marine biologist Nikolay Bernstein you will find yourself on the seabed in the lost city of Bahlam. He has dug too deeply for the secrets of the old gods and must now find his way home. The robot Buddy is at his side. A special feature of the game is that you can play it in pairs. One controls Nikolay, the other Buddy. It is also worth mentioning that, unlike other Metroidvanias, completely different paths can be taken in two-player mode.
• This game is still under development. That means you can play it and give feedback to the developer.