All articles tagged with #metroidvania
The article highlights several anticipated games for 2026, including lesser-known titles like The Sinking City 2, Phantom Blade Zero, Mortal Shell II, The Dark Rites of Arkham, and Wolfhound, emphasizing their unique styles and potential impact on their genres, from survival horror to pixel art adventures and Metroidvania action.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a popular Metroidvania game, is available for free on the Epic Games Store for less than 24 hours as part of a holiday promotion, allowing players to download and enjoy the game at no cost.
Possessors is a familiar yet enjoyable Metroidvania-style game with strong combat, engaging story, and vibrant art, though it suffers from some exploration and navigation issues. The game features a demon possession mechanic, stylish combat, and a compelling plot centered on Luca and Rhem, but offers little innovation in its genre. Despite its safe approach, it remains an entertaining action game with notable character development and visual flair.
Redstart Interactive announced GNAW, a pre-apocalyptic Metroidvania side-scrolling action game set in a dinosaur civilization, coming to PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC in 2026, with a demo available now for PC. The game features dynamic combat, exploration across seven regions, and a storyline involving a transformed dinosaur named Mack Ripley unraveling a mysterious threat to New Dino City.
The article discusses the challenging nature of Hollow Knight: Silksong and suggests alternative, less difficult Metroidvania games for players who find it too hard, emphasizing that game difficulty is a developer's choice and offering options for different skill levels.
Ash Parrish discusses her challenging experience with Hollow Knight: Silksong, highlighting how her motivation to keep playing is driven by spite and community influence, despite the game's difficulty and frustration.
Atari released its new Metroidvania game, Adventure of Samsara, on the same day as the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong, which appears to have negatively impacted its initial player engagement, with only 12 concurrent Steam players since launch, despite positive reviews and cross-platform availability.
Atari released the challenging Metroidvania game Adventure of Samsara on the same day as the highly anticipated Silksong, resulting in minimal player engagement for Samsara despite positive reviews and good graphics. The decision to release simultaneously appears to have significantly impacted Samsara's visibility and success, with only 12 concurrent players reported, and little promotional effort from Atari.
Hollow Knight is praised as one of the best Metroidvania games ever, distinguished by its subtle tutorialization, clever use of visual and environmental cues, and a design that empowers player exploration and agency, making it a masterful example of game design that deeply engages players psychologically.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, a visually impressive revival of the franchise, is marred by a bug that causes players to become stuck due to a missing grappling point in Neo City, which is essential for progressing through the game. The issue appears widespread and affects multiple platforms, but developers are likely aware of it. Despite the bug, the game has received high praise for its art style and gameplay.
This week in PC gaming features the highly anticipated Silksong release alongside a diverse lineup of new titles including horror, metroidvania, and quirky simulations, amidst a cautious gaming community avoiding the Silksong hype storm.
Öoo is a brilliantly designed puzzle-platformer that subverts traditional Metroidvania mechanics by limiting the player to just two bombs, encouraging inventive problem-solving and exploration through imagination, with a vibrant aesthetic and thoughtful design that makes it a standout indie game for $8.
Atari is releasing its retro-inspired metroidvania game Adventure of Samsara on Switch on September 4, 2025. The game features exploration across 10 biomes, classic gameplay with pixel art, deep lore, Easter eggs referencing the original Adventure, and various collectibles. It aims to evoke the feel of classic titles like Prince of Persia while offering new gameplay elements. Atari is also working on other titles like Fatal Run 2089 and Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection.
Shadow Labyrinth is a PS5 Metroidvania that combines Pac-Man elements with a dark sci-fi setting, featuring abilities, secrets, and some fun transformations, but ultimately feels like a standard title that doesn't fully capitalize on its unique ideas, making it a mixed experience for fans of the genre and Pac-Man alike.
Shadow Labyrinth is a gritty, Metroid-style action game that reimagines Pac-Man as a sword-wielding hero navigating a dark alien labyrinth, featuring exploration, combat, boss fights, and Pac-Man themed elements, with a tone that balances tension and fun.