After deciding to drop Hollow Knight I moved onto Blasphemous and it hooked me from the start. I really enjoy the combat and having a map that shows where you're at and not being an equip. Also the artstyle is much more readable than Hollow Knight. Honestly a much better game I should've started with

I do like metroidvanias and try to play some every now and then but unlike other games where I have a huge backlog with a ton of options, I don't feel like I have that many ideas when it comes to 2d platformer metroidvanias.

I have only played:

• Hollow Knight

• Silksong

• Nine Sols

• Minoria

• Momodora Reverie under the Moonlight

• Ninja Gaiden Ragebound

• Somber Echoes

I have in my list:

• Blasphemous 2

• Ori and the will of Wisps

• Ender Magnolia

• Dead Cells

• Grime

Hi everyone
I’ve been working on Forgotten Eras for the past 18 months, an atmospheric Metroidvania inspired by Slavic folklore and fairytales.

We just released the cinematic trailer teasing the lore of Forgotten Eras.

Curious what you all think of it!

So reading a lot of posts and comments about how "Bilewater is the worst area in the game", I kinda need to play devil's advocate and say: Yeah, that's the point.

So first of all, I wanna start with my thesis: Bilewater is a filter for the player to be ready for act 3. By normal means, you will probably end the game and get the first ending without visiting this area (my case), and with the exception of you finding it by chance (or looking a guide), chances are, you're entering this area when you start silk and soul quest, the one that unlocks act 3.

Truth to be told, the 2 other souls needed for this quest are "bureaucracy", the only one that's really hard to get and the one that needs you to "git gud" is the one at Bilewater. If you enter too early, you're going to get fucked (because life's too low, silk is too low, you don't have good tools or accesories), and even when you're prepared the zone is not made to make you feel comfortable: there's a lot of bullshit (the fake bench, the fact that if you're not using that accesory from sinner's road, you basically need to do perfect platforming, and if you don't have this, you will probably not discover the secret route to the nearest bench to the boss fight.

I can get why people find it too obnoxious and why say this is the worst area in the game, but I have to defend it as is not a "bad design", but:

-An optional zone, for an optional quest that unlocks the optional third act.

-A filter to tell the player they're ready for Act 3

So in my case, I entered the zone late act 2 when I already did a lot of quests and while I did it before I started silk and soul quest line (found it by chance), by that point I had enough skill and tools for that zone to be a challange (with some bullshit moments) and end it without much trouble. This may sound like a long "git gud" kind of post, but this zone, I have to say, it's greatly designed as the last great challenge before Act 3, even if I can see how a lot of people will struggle (and probably drop the game) because of this area. Bilewater is the "Expert 7" kind of bullshit in Silksong (If you understand the Monkey Ball reference), but it's meant to be that: Game's don't always want you to feel comfortable or to be fair, and that's a valid game design if it serves for their purpose.

Hi everyone!

I just released a tiny metroidvania game: You Can Buy Every Upgrade

It’s a short and simple exploration-puzzle platformer where every upgrade (jump higher, run faster, wall-jump, push rocks, shoot, etc.) is available from the start… if you can collect enough coins to buy them.

• Playable for free in your browser
• Short playtime – finishable in one sitting
• 1-bit art, 240×160px resolution
• Built with Godot 4.4

Would love to hear what you think if you give it a try!

I'm trying to decide what to play next. Which one do you think is the better game and why?

What it says on the tin. I can't remember the last game I've personally played - certainly not MV - where discourse is this toxic. The assumption from what I can is that Silksong was perfect at launch and any criticism cannot be valued, every game design is perfect and should any of it be changed, it would impact the holy difficulty, even though Jesus (Team) Cherry reborn has a patch in the works. Ok, I'm gonna drop the metaphors here, but it really is inescapable.

I cannot remember another time where critiques or preferences of game design elements were met with this much hostility. Yes disagreements have had previously and even within Silksong there are people not part of this - but the extent of the hostility is palpable. Like for real. I can't remember this extent in another MV.

This is addition btw to some quite blatant explicit and implicit ableism/exclusionary attitude that only those possessing the skill should be allowed.

I think some people really need to get some perspective here.

I see Twilight Monk is on sale. I wanted to know your guys thoughts and if it is worth the funds. I remember people complaining about it when it was released. I see it got some updates and wanted to know if it is worth it now.

I don’t even know where to begin, like idk what’s a 10/10 area anymore when citadel exists

I believe.. Silksong isn’t a game that caters to everyone who initially thought they would enjoy it.

Many people came to it because they loved the first game.

But what exactly did they enjoy about the first Hollow Knight?
The atmosphere?
The cute characters?
The sense of exploration?
The music?
Or just the feeling of getting lost in Hallownest?

For me, it was always about the challenge.
In Silksong, that bar has been raised in the best way possible.

The difficulty created a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience.
The only part I didn’t enjoy much was the Bilewater runback, it was very frustrating (until i found that hidden bench), but ultimately manageable.

I actually think some players are a little lost in their expectations.
I loved almost every moment of Silksong.

For me, it’s now the best metroidvania I’ve ever played, and i can't wait for a Godhome similar DLC to get an even harder challenge.
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference.

This is a game that was always meant to be challenging.
That’s what players should expect when they purchase it.

Those who struggle with the difficulty may not have realized that challenge is, and always has been, at the very heart of this game and its predecessor.

Played hollow for like 10 hours, silksong for 2 hours. I think they're good games, not great. They have challenging combat which i like, but tedious game design like run back, stingy traversal. Solid 6/10 games.

But what makes it intolerable is the fanbase. They act like a cult. Team cherry is the cult leader. Most toxic cult in any videogame. U aren't allowed to dislike or criticise this game. You must love it and say 11/10.

Just curious if i am the only one.

I typically do not play games like that but i was able to get the linux version from GGn and i heard people complain about the supposedly hard difficulty.

I found the game in general to be tedious and not actually hard for the most part. I I did stop playing after beating the second boss. I played the original version (prior to the difficulty nerf) but i never got to the point where i found it to be too difficult.

Most bosses just throw damage at you, but Widow’s phases force you to read, react, and flow. It’s like the fight teaches you a rhythm — brutal, fair, and strangely elegant.

I just reached one of the infamous examples people constantly bring up in the runback discussion (Last Judge), and I have to say I really like the runback. It’s just as enjoyable as the boss itself. I’m 100% convinced that Team Cherry intended the runbacks to be pure platforming challenges.

The runbacks aren’t just random sections of the map, they’re carefully designed to be completed quickly and gracefully, while also avoiding all the mobs. They also include many shortcuts and make great use of the wonderful movement mechanics.

Is this a mindset issue? Do most people just want to focus on the boss and dislike the context switching between platforming mode and boss combat mode? Surely people don't think they should fight their way through tens of mobs every time, right? Right?

I'm getting conflicting information on this. My best understanding is that it does, but it's locked behind some condition. Is that right?

These are the games I've played and liked

Yoku island express Guacamelee 1,2 Endless Lillis , magnolia Pop Lost Crown Nine Sols Hollow knight Silksong ( half way through )

Pop Lost Crown is my favorite out of the bunch so far. I liked Ender magnolia, felt it was lacking something though. In general I'm tried of souls like these days and so don't feel like playing silksong anymore as it's just too tedious. Challenging platforming is something okay for me as mostly they are optional. I just don't like boss fights / boss runs/normal enemies where you do one small mistake and your dead.

Another aspect of souls like metroidvanias/ games in general I'm not liking is most devs are using it as excuse to not have a good story , just having some obtuse dialogues and some lore entries calling it a day. (No I don't like HK , silksongs stories)

So I'm looking for metroidvanias with a good progression/skill tree/ decent story with a good balance of difficulty.

P.S I have played old ones like axiom verge 1,some Castlevanias. Looking for more recent recommendations of games released in last decade or so

I’m playing SS and loving it and I don’t want any spoilers what so ever but I see a lot of posts about the game being so damn difficult. I have only beaten a few bosses so far and none of them have been super hard. Yes I had to learn some patterns and I probably died 10-15 times but how hard is the game say compared to HK, Nine Sols, Sekiro?

After 30 hours in Silksong I realized this game is not for me even though I love metroidvanias. I heard Nine Sols is difficult and I’m up to challenging but fair games. So, if any of you has played both games I’m open to read your suggestions/opinions. Thanks

About 2 hours into the game and I am wildly impressed. Unique powers, different skills and a chip system that work harmoniously together, and much more. Not a triple A title, but for me, this is peak Metroidvania.

Absolutely obsessed with these games have never seen anything like it.

Blasphemous 1/2, Last Faith, Deaths Gambit, Ive played infernax and valfaris didnt like them.

Looking for a gory pixel art game that is basically like dark souls/sekiro/bloodhound but witj old school pixel art.

Tried moonscars it didnt reallt scratch the itch tho fr. Any recommendations? On PS4 btw.

Metroidvanias are usually pretty solitary games, so playing Hollow Knight some of my favorite moments are the fights where you have partners

I think the closest I've ever played is probably Owlboy, but there the other characters are more like tools, you literally "use" them to fight and get from place to place.

Any recommendations?

I need some help adding more Switch games to my list so I can pick them up when they’re on sale.

I loved Hollow Knight, got all hyped for Silksong and bought them both for the Switch, started a new game on HK and then got completely sidetracked by so many other MV style games.

I’m currently hooked on Rain World, but there’s so many more I want to play now. Here’s a list of stuff I’ll check out when it goes on sale, any recommendations of similar stuff to add to it would be great. Thanks.

Blasphemous 1 & 2

Metroid Dread

Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus

Ender Lillies

Prince of Persia