Board 8 > What's the next big Metroidvania I just gotta play?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm wrapping up Guacamelee and am realizing how much I like this 2D-platforming formula. I named a few I've not played yet above (I hear Zero Mission > Fusion, but I don't think it works on a 3DS whereas I have but never really bothered with Fusion).

What can't wait any longer?



Rough ranking of my favorites so far:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Super Metroid
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Outland
An Untitled Story
Guacamelee!
Another Metroid 2 Remake
Shadow Complex
Cave Story
Metroid
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OoE was pretty great and gets my vote
Axiom Verge lost my interest after 3 hours :(
Metroid Fusion was fun, I played that on an emulator about 13 years ago

I will always recommend Castle in the Darkness. It was the best game I played last year imo.
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Add to your list:
Song of the Deep
Hollow Knight


I'm a huge fan of Salt and Sanctuary, but I'm not sure how Metroidvania it is. It's more of an rpg with actual stats that you increase, a huge selection of weapons and armors, and consumables. So it may not quite satisfy the metroidvania itch.
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Order of Ecclesia isn't really a Metroidvania. Like, it hits a lot of the same beats in terms of gameplay, but most of the game takes place in small, linear, unconnected areas.

Voted for Fusion -- it's super fun and adds some horror game twists to the standard formula that work pretty well.
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Ori.
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Ori.
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you gotta check out Hollow Knight

Ori
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Ori
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm6OG-hPrtI
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MysticBrohan posted...

you gotta check out Hollow Knight

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Another Metroid 2 Remake and Ori & The Blind Forest are two of the best games in recent memory. Wouldn't go wrong picking either. We're probably getting an announcement for the next Ori game this E3, so might be cool to sync those up.
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also if you play OoE you'll be current for Bloodstained
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Hollow Knight is a good recommendation too. I played the demo given back in the February Humble Monthly and loved it. Just didn't have the time for a full playthrough at the time, unfortunately.

Rain World is Metroidvania-y I believe and is in the current Adult Swim Bundle, if you're looking for a deal.
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Ori

Axiom Verge is really great
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Ori
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Order of Ecclesia isn't much like a Metroidvania for the most part. It's also by far the worst offender of copy/paste rooms and corridors, particularly corridors with nothing in them in any Castlevania. That's saying a lot. Compare that to a well done Metroidvania where each room feels unique.

So I'd recommend anything else on the list.
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Other not-really-Metroidvanias with similar gameplay that are very good are Shovel Knight and the Shantae games

You should also play the GBA Castlevanias
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Rogue Legacy is a fun one
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Ori is incredible. Contender for best Metroidvania period. Note that if you buy it on Steam it'll download both the regular version and the Definitive Version. Make sure you play the right one.
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I get the feeling that people here haven't played ESA, if it has 0 votes. It's fantastic. Of course, I didn't vote for it either. But don't neglect it, it's really good.

I'm surprised at all the Ori love. I remember getting it when it launched on Xbone and it didn't seem like anything special. Did they patch it or something?
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Delseban posted...

I get the feeling that people here haven't played ESA, if it has 0 votes. It's fantastic. Of course, I didn't vote for it either. But don't neglect it, it's really good.

two people who posted in this topic are on my friends list and have played it
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iiicon posted...

Delseban posted...

I get the feeling that people here haven't played ESA, if it has 0 votes. It's fantastic. Of course, I didn't vote for it either. But don't neglect it, it's really good.

two people who posted in this topic are on my friends list and have played it

I apparently bought it last July? Huh.

Guess I'll install it.
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Thanks for the recommendations so far! Little surprised about Metroid Fusion and Axion Verge here...huh. I'll wishlist these other Metroidvanias ya'll mentioned!

On the non-Metroidvanias: Shovel Knight is real cool. I couldn't get into Shantae though; the world wasn't clicking with me and I got stuck an hour or two in, so I dropped it.
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nah, Ori was great on day 1
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Axiom Verge is really really good
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I much prefer Ori to Axiom. Axiom is a little too limiting for my tastes. Ori flows.
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transience posted...

nah, Ori was great on day 1

Nah

Edit: Not to be obnoxious but I just didn't like it. The combat felt bad and the visual style, at least early on, was too far on the artsy end of the artistic vs functional spectrum for me.
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La mulana
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Yeah I wasn't too impressed by Ori either. Decent, for sure, but the best Metroidvanias have great combat and its was quite mediocre, I also agree that the art wasn't as functional as I'd like, though very pretty.


I think both Metroid Fusion and Order of Ecclesia are absolutely outstanding games, although OoE only gets particularly Metroidvania-ish in the last third or so. But the glyph system is so great, and it has some amazing boss fights (and combat in general by series standards).
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I tossed a vote ESA's way with out really looking at anything else on the list.

It...really shouldn't win for next, several others might be better served before it, but it absolutely should be experienced in some manner. Severely underrated game.
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I dunno if I'd say that any Metroidvanias have really incredible combat, and even there, Ori's still way beyond stuff like Guacamelee. What Ori did that made it so good was its focus on movement. Moving around feels better in Ori than it does in any other Metroidvania.
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yeah, I come to those games for movement. double jumps, speed boosts, grapple beams, how the new powerups play into your ability to traverse the environment, etc. Ori doesn't have great combat because it's kind of not really trying to be that. it's really focused on your movement abilities and those are top class.

contrast that with Axiom Verge where most traversal abilities let you go slightly further or phase through single walls, and I go Ori every time. I need that speed and Ori gives it.
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I think OoE and Fusion are both masterpieces. Ori I kinda liked but dropped it pretty quick for some reason. Not a fan of Axiom, didn't find each room very interesting...

Since Harrich seems up on Castlevania but behind on Metroids, I'd say Fusion. Or maybe Ori. He seems to value atmosphere over combat, according to the list of favorites!
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transcience posted...

Ori doesn't have great combat because it's kind of not really trying to be that.

I'm not saying it has to be Street Fighter 3 here, but if you're going to de-emphasize combat to the point where it's "press a button when you're kinda near a guy and he'll take damage", maybe it shouldn't even be there at all.

I also disagree with Ori having good traversal because the graphics are too artsy for precision movement. Axiom has beautiful pixels; I know exactly where the boundaries of every piece of the environment are at a glance. Ori's boundaries are a mystery until you collide (or don't collide) with something because everything is just a painting. A beautiful painting, yes, but not something good to platform on.
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I don't agree with that. Ori is plenty precise. it just isn't pixels.
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I feel the need to mention Ghost 1.0 in this topic. It isn't huge on exploration (it's non-linear but you need to go to all the rooms eventually so it's basically just choosing which direction to go first) but it had some amazing combat.
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I dunno, Ori's combat is simple, yes, but it also feels good and responsive? Like with some other games I'll occasionally feel like the combined movement and combat is a little much, or the combat is too complicated for it's own good, or that it's basic but still takes work. Ori doesn't have that problem. It's super focused. Combat is about dodging and jumping around while fighting, which is fun.
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Axiom verge is phenomenal, as is Salt and Sanctuary. Ori is breathtakingly beautiful but I'd take the first two over it in terms of gameplay.
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Beat Guacamelee! (Gold Edition...dunno what the differences in editions are)
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Hollow Knight
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Last call.
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NeoElfboy posted...

but the best Metroidvanias have great combat and its was quite mediocre

It's almost exactly Metroid combat

Metroid "combat" is literally just mashing X while running anyways
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Aria of Sorrow
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Ori is great, you gotta play it.
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