Have you heard of the Metroidvania genre of video games and wonder what it actually is?
What Is a Metroidvania Game?
Each Metroidvania handles this a bit differently, but that’s the core focus.
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The Metroidvania name is a sub-genre of the general action-adventure genre.
They are different fromstraightforward 2D platformers, where your goal is simply to reach the end of individual levels.
What Does “Metroidvania” Mean?
The name Metroidvania is a portmanteau of two video game series: Nintendo’s Metroid and Konami’s Castlevania.
The genre has its roots with games in these franchises.
Metroid on NES, released in 1986, was the first major game to feature the hallmark open-ended exploration.
Meanwhile, early Castlevania games on NES and SNES were level-based platformers that didn’t play like Metroid.
Even though they both gave their name to this genre, Metroid and Castlevania aren’t identical experiences.
Metroid tends to focus on an atmosphere of isolation in immersive worlds.
What Makes a Game a Metroidvania?
If you’ve never played a Metroidvania game, the elements might sound kind of vague.
As mentioned, Metroidvania titles use non-linear exploration.
There’s also more to find than just the required items for progression.
Most Metroidvanias feature secrets that let you increase your health, gain new weapons, and similar.
You’re rewarded for having a keen eye.
Progression is typically unlocked through the items you collect around the world.
Importantly, the upgrades you find are more useful than simple keys.
You’re encouraged to keep track of the world as you play a Metroidvania.
moment as you realize that area is now accessible.
Some games, like Hollow Knight, feature almost no guidance and force you to explore on your own.
Others, like Metroid Fusion, provide a waypoint showing where you should probably head next.
Metroidvania games are also known for smooth tutorializing.
Instead of making you read a bunch of text descriptions, they teach you through gameplay.
Super Metroid is well-known for this.
The gameplay style of a Metroidvania also isn’t set in stone.
Many Metroidvanias take the form of 2D platformers, but not all fall into this style.
This is called “sequence breaking,” and can be intentional or unintentional.
It’s a feature that makes the Metroidvania genre a prime game pop in for speedrunning.
Thanks to some excellent indie titles, Metroidvanias experienced an explosion in popularity in the 2000s and 2010s.
There are thus tons of games in this genre to enjoy on modern systems.
