SHEEPO
TL:DR - Buy the game. A perfect introduction to Metroidvanias for newcomers to the genre, some of the best feeling platforming I’ve experienced in recent memory, and a 10/10 SpeedGame
As someone that finds the Metroidvania genre pretty intimidating, Sheepo was a perfect introduction. Many other reviews have pointed out that this game is very light on its metroidvania mechanics and this is precisely why I loved it so much. It allows for newcomers to the genre, such as myself, to avoid feeling overwhelmed and simply enjoy the game and the atmosphere it provides.
– Real player with 228.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Metroidvania 2D Platformer Games.
It’s a cute, fun game
The movement feels really floaty and there’s a lot of inertia, but I think the challenges are well designed around the movement. I’m glad things get a bit more interesting and punishing in hard mode for actual platforming and adds more moves to bosses, not just extra health to mobs (which don’t even exist in this game) like in a lot of other games. The visuals are cute, quirky and nice to look at, very appealing art style to me. The dialogue is also fun to read, and isn’t too much in your face. It’s actually a nice break from the platforming. I REALLY appreciate that you can actually track where you’re missing the main collectible of the game, something I sorely miss in games like this. It’s never fun to just roam around looking for the last thingy out of hundreds of thingies when you have no idea where to even go.
– Real player with 12.8 hrs in game
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
After playing this game for more than 40 hours, I think I can finally write a review on this one.
Where do I even begin?
First of all, this is a mix between a metroidvania and a platformer.
In this game, you don’t transform into animals like in the other games, but you use some nice pirate gear!
You may play Risky’s Revenge before this one, but it isn’t necesarry at all.
I won’t tell you the story here, I think it’d be best if you play the game and get to experience the story without just reading through everything.
– Real player with 86.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Metroidvania Female Protagonist Games.
This is what I call an improvement!
If you check my profile, you can see that I played and reviewed an earlier installment of the series: Risky’s Revenge. While it was lacking in some aspects it was cool enough that after the convincing gameplays I decided to jump back to the series. This is definitely more fun and polished game and I can easily say it is worth your interest with only few hiccups along the way. If the game is solid, then I’m more than happy to nitpick some issues for further ironing out for the next Wayfoward’s game. Criticism makes excellence!
– Real player with 22.3 hrs in game
Cave Story+
I had played the original Cave Story back in 2010, when I read an article about it on ‘Hak5’. I liked it 10 minutes into the game, and loved it by the end; when I had had experienced two different endings. “Multiple endings! Wow!”, I thought; and when I read more about it, I found out that there was one another “best” ending, and some more hidden secrets that I was yet to discover. So I went back to the game, and I did. That was awesome, discovering something new about something that you are already in awe of.
– Real player with 72.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Metroidvania Indie Games.
I have no hesitation in saying Cave Story is my favourite video game of all time.
The gameplay is basically rather simple platforming/run’n’gun stuff with some weapons that feel very nice, and get stronger as you gather XP for them from enemies, levelling them up a total of three levels maximum(Though a couple of the secret weapons break this setup in some rather interesting ways), however this can be somewhat fleeting, as you lose XP from your current weapon whenever you take damage.
The story, world, music, art, and characterisation are all very charming. The interesting thing about the story of this game is that you kind of walk into the middle of it in the game, and figure out what’s going on as it’s already well underway. Without spoiling anything, essentially an evil scientist is kidnapping people from a village of peaceful Mimigas(Cute little bunny people) with the help of an evil witch Mimiga, and a large box man, presumably for the purposes of some evil scheme.
– Real player with 62.1 hrs in game
Wuppo: Definitive Edition
Wuppo is a hard game to pin down in a review, but I’ll try to be descriptive and add some practical details to help make up the minds of anyone that tries to decide if this game is right for them.
First off, what immediately will catch your eye, is that the game looks very “cute”. This cuteness is not is not just added for its own sake, but its aesthetic and style really serves the purpose to complement and add to the feel of the world. What I mean by this, is that the world is very friendly and open to exploration and has generally a very laid back atmosphere. Most of the world’s inhabitants that you encounter are friendly and can be interacted with for some possible rewards or information. Some can be triggered into attacking you, but if this happens when you have the bird equipped for example, I can’t really blame them.
– Real player with 22.1 hrs in game
Heartwarming, unique adventure hidden behind silly presentation and relative lack of popularity - Wuppo delivers an amazing world, interactivity and genre mashup that screams GIVE THIS DEV MORE MONEY!
You are a wum. The wuzziest, roundest and possibly laziest wum in the entire Wumhouse. So lazy, that you are a constant nuisance to the Wumhouse’s main manager. When you spill your daily dose of ice cream all over the corridor, manager loses it and orders security to throw you over your room’s balcony into the garden. After you lose few pounds when somebody steals the TV out of you (which you apparently ate previously) the new quest awaits for you - the search for a new home, happiness and your own little place in the world.
– Real player with 21.5 hrs in game
Guacamelee! Gold Edition
This game is a love song to Super Metroid played by a nerdy mariachi band.
Instead of an arm cannon, you use your fists. Instead of a morph ball, you turn into a chicken. Instead of color-coded doors to be opened with the appropriate weapon, there are colored blocks to be smashed with your varied slam attacks. You even gain your powers by destroying precious Chozo statues (more on that later.)
The best part of this game, hands down, is the combat. The multitude of useful attacks at your disposal, combined with the responsive dodging mechanic and the fun and powerful grapples means that the combo system is both useful and rewarding. Battles in this game just resonate with me as being really fun, as you can bash some skeletons around, throw them into other skeletons, and just keep it going as the numbers on your screen go up and up and you get a bigger money reward when the fight is finished. It’s just really fun, and the enemies are well designed to let you take advantage of combos and such if you’re good.
– Real player with 25.4 hrs in game
-Quick Review-
Guacamelee! Gold Edition is an action, adventure, 2D, indie platformer that has strong Spanish/Mexican themes. Not only that, but there are hilarious cross-game-references. The game play is fun, fast paced, and dynamic. I greatly enjoyed this game, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys indie adventure-type games.
-Detailed breakdown review-
Story: You are Juan, you are trying to save el presidente’s daughter (whom everyone tells you that you’ve had a crush on since you were little. Everyone knows but me?) The villain Calaca has taken her and Juan must master his powers as a Lunchador to save not only el presidente’s daughter, but to also save both the world of the living and the dead.
– Real player with 23.6 hrs in game
STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜®
Strider stands as a reboot to an old Arcade series by the same name. The game stars Hiryu, the last remaining Strider to be sent on a suicide mission that involves taking down Grandmaster Meio, the iron fisted ruler of Kazakh City and the Earth and avenging the fallen Striders.
The game’s mechanics are pretty simple, like an old school title should. It’s structured very similarly to some older games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid and the such as it has a lot of backtracking as well as you gain new powers to unlock new doors and the such - which may lead to new powers, health upgrades, energy upgrades, kunai upgrades, etc. There’s lots to find in the game.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
As a Strider fan, this game was a disappointment.
Compared to other “metroidvania” games, this game is a disappointment.
New and improved review with impressions I wrote up when asked for specifics about why I disliked the game so much.
For the record, I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 9-10 hours with Strider. It was just enough to get 100% and then delete it from my hard drive immediately.
I can honestly say I will NEVER play that game again. EVER. And here’s a list of reasons why:
(1) There is no variety, in anything. There’s two main types of levels – futuristic cityscape and sewer. Maybe you could count the temple area… maybe… but it reminds me a lot of a blend between the sewer and the city. This makes it feel like you’re never going anywhere.
– Real player with 15.3 hrs in game
There Is No Light 616
Decent game design, but lacking a certain degree of something… Or is it?
Even though I say it seems lacking the more I played, - the more I felt some of this “lacking” might have been a design decision and something I actually have wanted to see in games for a long time.
For example, - –I sort of felt, and assumed that there was no chance of any hidden items lying around to be found and discovered by searching every nook and cranny, and
spending 3/4 of the game face, and chest massaging the walls and corners of each area in hopes of finding an apple, stick, or rock. And if found the good spot, - a Shiny apple, or Raw or Rotten Meat of some sort.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
The game is going to go places, a complex yet digestible combat system where each weapon interacts with one another seamlessly is no easy feat to achieve. I would recommend any one to try this game out, more-so if they heard of Hyper-Light Drifter(feels really similar, yet better in some aspects). The section below is mostly for the developers to take from. The developers have requested for feedback from this demo, which is what this bottom section is written for, have a read through if you’d like, I’ve added spoilers in case you have not played the game yet. Like this one meme
! Evil “There is no Light” be like, “let there be light'
– Real player with 5.2 hrs in game
Aeterna Noctis
Aeterna Noctis is a challenging 2D hand-drawn action platformer, a Metroidvania with thrilling combat that will keep you on the edge of your seat and heart-stopping platform sections that will put your skills to the test. Play as the King of Darkness and explore 16 connected areas in an epic journey to regain your powers.
Unnumbered years ago, the supreme god Chaos created the Universe and the world of Aeterna. After populating it with different races and creatures, he appointed powerful rulers to govern them and show them the way. But soon they turned against their Creator, seeking to take the world for themselves; and gathered their subjects in two groups that fought each other – and thus gave rise to war, death and hatred.
The all-powerful Chaos was angered, and in His terrible wrath He cast a terrible curse upon the rebellious leaders. He named them King of Darkness and Queen of Light, and condemned them to keep fighting each other forever, until the end of time. Not even death would free them from this doom, for Chaos granted them the Gift of Immortality – so that even if one managed to defeat the other, they would be reborn, and regain their powers to continue their eternal war.
Difficulty level
The world of Aeterna Noctis features a challenging difficulty system that scales progressively as you the player go through the game and get more experienced with the controls and unlock new skills. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, always offering a challenge with each encounter, but also resulting in a great sense of pride after completing each challenge.
Fluid gameplay mechanics
In a game with such a difficulty curve that scales with progression, Aeterna Noctis features extremely responsive controls, allowing for precise movement and combat.
High mobility
Intuitive world design allowing the players to exploit the precise movement controls of the character, allowing you to overcome each challenge in a multitude of ways. As you become more skilled in the game, it allows you to get even faster completion times.
Deep, beautiful plot
Featuring an immersive and emotional story with incredible moments, filled with unexpected twists that will immerse the players into the rich world of Aeterna Noctis.
Traditional 2D Art
Worldbuilding in Aeterna Noctis is completed by handcrafting each asset, animation and environmental detail in the game using traditional illustration methods by the art team, giving rise to a vibrant and beautifully assembled world.
Freedom of choice
Aeterna Noctis features a defined path for the storyline, but allows the player to take whatever path and pacing to navigate the expansive non-linear map featuring 16 different zones, interconnected in a classic metroidvania style.
More than 40 music tracks
Aeterna Noctis features over 40 unique tracks each with its own theme. Once the game is made available, the OST will be released with special covers of the main songs as a piano collection
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro is a 2D adventure platformer with metroidvania elements. Take control of Rose, a mysterious amnesiac, and explore a world that has fallen into darkness—where only a few precious flickers of light remain. From peaceful grasslands to a long-abandoned mine, Rose will navigate this interconnected 2D world as she gains new abilities and faces off against monstrous creatures, as well as other adventurers with their own hidden plans for the light they all covet.
Before giving the demo a go, please read and consider the following:
This version is an alpha version and showcases the general feel of the game, not the final product.
Do note this alpha demo does not completely support resolution scaling and the recommended resolution for this alpha demo is 1920x1080. I plan on updating the demo eventually once I get around to implementing accurate game scaling options.
Exploaris: Vermis story
The game looks good, the music is great, but I would like more dynamics, the developers really tried over it. Early access due to the small amount of content, takes 2-4 hours. and tutorials would be great!
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
There is a lot of good stuff going on here.
-Hand drawn art is beautiful.
-Soundtrack is very relaxing and solid.
Unfortunately, the bad stuff needs a lot of work.
-Tutorial needs to include how/why to control 2 characters at once.
-The fighting feels sort of pointless.
-There are apparently upgrades and other attacks but I never got to do anything other than a simple punch.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game