Many players crave risk, which makes action-adventure games the go-to for many people. After all, they allow players to live out their wildest dreams through their characters without taking an actual hit in the real world. The growth of these action-adventure games has paved the way for subgenres that hinge on these combative elements. Such is the case with Metroidvania games. Let’s look at what makes them unique.
The Making of Metroidvania Games
This subgenre owes its existence to elements from Metroid and Castlevania games. As such, we must take a peek at what these series offered to understand how they have influenced this sub-genre:
Metroid series
This game, whose release dates back to 1986, follows Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who makes his way through different planets, keen on eliminating the Metroid species. The series continues to evolve, taking players through different environments where they encounter new and more challenging adversaries, including space pirates and the X parasite. Top among the features in this series are subtle storytelling, diverse enemies, the need for strategic combat, ability progression, and opportunities for exploration. These have been impactful in the making of Metroidvania games, as we will explain in a later section.
Castlevania series
There is action-adventure, and then there is horror action-adventure. This series (which dates back to 1986) falls in the latter category, appealing to players who want to experience an adrenaline rush as they progress in the game. The aim of the game was to defeat Dracula. It was such a success that it turned into a series with multiple quests, role-playing opportunities, and changing narratives. As such, the series became known for its diverse environments, power-ups, engaging settings that featured horror themes, and combat opportunities.
Peeling Back the Metroidania Game Layers
Games in this sub-genre are known for the following features:
- The ability to explore various environments. These games offer players the chance to traverse large yet interconnected worlds, allowing them to learn more about their environment. Players can also go back to locations they have visited before and use their newfound abilities to access areas or secrets that were previously unreachable.
- The need to better one’s skills. While the game is open to all players, some have an upper hand as they have more abilities. For example, some secrets are only available to players with certain abilities or items. This limitation encourages players to work hard to achieve more items or abilities to further their reach.
- The lack of linear gameplay. In most games, players must tackle challenges in a given order. But in this case, the challenges are flexible. You are free to choose what you want to try your hand at. Of course, your abilities may not be up to the task, and you have to choose challenges that match your current progression. But nothing is off-limits.
- The RPG elements. You can change what you want about your character by upgrading them as you go or customize your weapons to ensure they match your playing preferences.
- The subtle storytelling. Unlike games that tell you everything you must do and when to do it, these games allow players to use their creativity in piecing the clues together. Throughout the environments, you will come across pieces and secrets that help you figure out more about the challenges that lie ahead and how you can best approach them. But you can only make sense of them if you are paying attention.
- The combat opportunities. What can make an interactive game even better? Combat! Unlike games that help players beat their enemies by equipping them with the latest weapons, these games take a different approach. Players must learn how their enemies fight and develop their skills so they can have the upper hand in skill-based combat.
What Makes These Games a Hit
Players continue to choose these games as they encourage players to discover new worlds without limiting their movement, reward players who put in the work to better their abilities, and allow players to take on the challenges they wish to try rather than forcing them to follow an order and feature subtle storytelling that requires players to pay attention to their environment.
They are also highly immersive (role-playing) and allow players to customize their characters and weapons while offering many chances for skill-based combat, allowing players to better their abilities as they outwit their enemies. Best of all, they allow players to go back to previous locations and try new challenges!
Examples of popular games are Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge, Dead Cells, and Ori and the Blind Forest.
Conclusion
The mashup of Metroid and Castlevania games has been a success as it allows players to enjoy fascinating yet challenging games that allow them to explore new environments, employ strategy when facing their enemies, better their skills, and immerse themselves in the games.