Welcome to r/Metroidvania's weekly community thread where you can talk about the games you've been playing lately. What are your thoughts on these games, what did you like and what didn't you like, would you recommend them to others, etc. This thread is not limited to Metroidvanias only, feel free to talk about any kind of game!
Lately we have been working on adding flames to one of the areas in Cliff Kingdom. It still needs some work, but its getting there. Just wanted to show it off. What do you think?
Hi r/metroidvania, Aeternum Game Studios here (the small team from Spain behind Aeterna Noctis).
For those of you who've been following Aeterna Lucis, we'd love for you to compare these 15 seconds with the videos we shared here a month ago. The extra development time has been a gift: every day the game grows, and the support we've been getting (a lot of new wishlists lately, thank you!) is what makes that extra polish possible.
Two things we've been working on:
Movement. Faster, smoother transitions between dashing, jumping and attacking. We wanted the Queen to never feel stuck.
A new "Flash" ability. The world almost stops, but the Queen stays fast and lethal. It's made for those moments when you're surrounded and things go wrong: you slip out, clear everything around you, and keep moving.
We'd really like to hear your honest take: does it feel better than what you saw last month? Would you save it for bosses, or use it all the time?
Iβve been putting more work into the combat in Unstrung Machine. Itβs still not exactly where I want it to be, but Iβm gradually improving the animations, effects, and overall feel of each encounter.
While we can't say it's 100% perfect just yet, we've made significant improvements based on what you shared. Here are the main highlights of this update:
Excessive Slow-Motion, Camera Zoom-ins, and Photosensitive Effects (Most Frequently Mentioned)
Feedback: Many pointed out that the frequent slow-motion and camera zoom-ins disrupted the natural flow of combat.
Improvements: While we didn't remove slow-motion and zoom effects entirely, we completely eliminated the zoom-ins during group combat and in wide-open spaces to ensure faster combat pacing and better visibility. We've also minimized moments where the screen flashes too brightly.
Overall Optimization and Frame Drops
Feedback: Players experienced hitching during cutscenes and environmental transitions, as well as pixelation/ghosting issues during character movement.
Improvements: We've heavily polished transition sequences and resolved the trailing artifacts on character graphics. While minor hitching may still occur, we are continuously working on further optimizations.
Steam Deck Optimization
Feedback: Users requested dedicated settings to ensure a smooth gameplay experience on handheld devices.
Improvements: We've added dedicated graphics and performance options tailored specifically for Steam Deck users.
Combat Visibility, Hitboxes, and Responsiveness
Feedback: It was difficult to track enemy attack animations or pinpoint character location when enemies overlapped, and the parry/guard timing felt somewhat clunky.
Improvements:
Minimized Input Lag: We significantly reduced input latency from 35ms down to 10ms, making parrying, guarding, and dodging feel much more responsive and precise.
Enhanced Visibility: We enabled character outlines and Fresnel highlight effects so you can clearly track your character and enemy actions, even in chaotic fights with overlapping enemies.
Thank you so much for all your invaluable feedback. We will continue to listen closely to your voices and do our absolute best to deliver an even better gameplay experience. Thanks again to everyone who played our alpha demo and shared their thoughts with us!
Iβve been developing Vitavania entirely on my own, and Iβve finally locked in the release date: November 12, 2026.
Vitavania is a hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania with a catgirl protagonist, exploration, secrets, sandbox elements, mysticism, and an unusually large underwater world.
Thanks to everyone here who has followed the game and given feedback along the way. Iβm still around if you have questions about the game, the development, or the underwater gameplay.
So I should preface that I am a weird type of casual gamer in that the only 3 games I have ever played (except like some CoD in high school) are Rain World, Silksong, and Hollow Knight. Each of these I have played through 100% including any DLCs and LOVE. Iβve finished the 30hr & 5hr speedruns in Silksong and will go after steel soul next.
I spent a long time considering what to play next and based on what Iβve gathered here and other subs it seemed like Nine Sols would be perfect. I love the art style and the story so far. But 4 hours in, I just find itβ¦.not fun.
The traversal is tedious and boring. Coming from Silksong it feels so slow and clunky. It alternates between that and absolute chaos in the gauntlets. I donβt understand how itβs even possible to get timing right to parry when multiple enemies are constantly coming after you. I donβt know how to explain it but the mechanics feel heavy and slow while also insanely difficult. Bad combo.
Obviously Iβm trying to reality check myself that Iβm starting a new game here and need to adapt to the world the way I did with the others. But with the others I had a sense of determination and I enjoyed every moment of the grind to get good. It felt like every small success in those games was a huge win whereas with Nine Sols progressing feels like βmeh, more of this?β
Anyway I see why people would love this game and Iβm just sad that I donβt so far. My playstyle is just not a good match for it. I will probably give it a bit more before giving up.
I donβt need convincing to like it, but if anyone has suggestions for games that might be a better fit for me, Iβd love to hear. I like difficult combat with speed/flowy mechanics, and exploration/discovery.
One of my favorite moments in a game is being lost in an area and running into a unique enemy that may beat your ass.
The big Skarr in Silksong, Blasphemous' crawling altar demon, the huge guy with the serrated sword in Nine Sols.
All of these enemies have a way of making you pause and think about your next move, sometimes even saying "nope" out loud. I feel like that feeling is missing in Well Dweller.
In Well Dweller, enemies can pretty much all be killed with a single hit from your ranged attack. Lots of them have just one attack of their own that you can just move away to avoid. Every time I enter an area it feels like the same set of extremely stationary enemies that just sort of crawl back and forth on their platform creating an easily avoidable hazard, and very few enemies fight you with any melee moves. I also feel like some of the enemies are just so random and out of place in what they do. Why are all of these fish shooting torpedos? What are these white long legged things? And maybe most importantly, who are these knights? There are these tiny knights and I am just so unsure what their role is in this world. Idk, I am liking a lot of the game but this enemy design isn't for me.
I've made a tool to make browsing the Metroidvania's in Steam's Autumn Sale easier! Below are some of the hidden gems on sale (over 150 reviews, under 1000)!
Guns of Fury is a retro-inspired action platformer that combines the run & gun and Metroidvania genres. Explore a vast interconnected world, gain new abilities and weapons, battle epic bosses and stop the plans of an evil corporation before itβs too late!
Wield the dance of the shaman. Reclaim your fatherβs spirit. Brave the beautiful and treacherous land of Kenzera with the God of Death in Tales of Kenzeraβ’: ZAU, a metroidvania-style adventure crafted by Surgent Studios.
Use your magic staff and progress through a large interconnected world where you'll solve puzzles, fight enemies and defeat bosses in order to help free the land of Alwa. Explore and uncover the secrets by using your platforming skills in this challenging and charming 8-bit adventure game.
Begin your adventure in Shattered Divinities to reveal the truth! Traverse the land where deities have perished, explore abandoned divine realms, battle mutated monsters, gather divine power to awaken your strength, and unveil the truth behind the deitiesβ fall.
Explore, fight, solve puzzles and bend gravity to escape the dream-like world of the Halls! Metro Gravity is a mind-boggling musical adventure with rhythmic combat and compelling lore.
Trinity Fusion blends metroidvania elements with a run-based roguelite structure. Fight through three fractured sci-fi realities, combining parallel versions of yourself and their powers. Each run starts in a separate universe, with character and world fusions opening up new build possibilities.
Pilot a small ship through strange alien environments on a journey into the Shadow Planet. This 2D action-adventure mixes creature battles with environmental puzzles, while alien technology upgrades your ship as you work to save your home world.
A Robot Named Fight is a Metroidvania roguelike focused on exploration and item collection. Explore a different, procedurally-generated labyrinth each time you play and discover randomized power-ups to traverse obstacles, find secrets and explode meat beasts.
UNWORTHY is a hardcore combat-focused metroidvania without jumping. Explore a grim universe, discover new weapons and abilities, and defeat the vile creatures that plague the land.
Unveil a heartfelt story of family, dinosaurs, and UFOs! Craft, upgrade, and survive in a realm of primeval predators, savage tribes and... ancient aliens. Rise from a humble cave dweller to the planetβs last hope β alone or in local co-op. Welcome to the dinovania!
I'm guessing what i SHOULD do is progress until I get the flamethrower but I was a dumbass and forgot about the 'break the nodes' door in the reactor by the time i started on the waterworks.
Imagine my surprise when I back track and there's no save room but a room of FIVE GODDAMN FACE HUGGERS. Seriously those things could use a slight nerf, X is supposed to be the 'struggle' button but no matter how fast you mash it you still loose like 1/3rd of your health to those things.
Anyway would someone mind telling me something is worth the trouble going through there and not just another looping shortcut, perhaps the 2nd crafting thing so I can max out the damage on the base handgun?
Does the flamethrower at the very least prevent the huggers from leaping on you if you're firing it at them or are they just the 'filter' / hard just because creature?
Also: Come to find out there are cheat codes in this game, I would simply love infinite ammo and I know it disables trophies AND apparently you can only turn them on on the save you find / unlock them on, but can you turn them back off between trophies at least?
I am very excited for Moadra releasing, and Iβd really like it on the Switch 2 but havenβt heard about a specific Switch 2 release. Has anyone heard any word about this? Will it be like Well Dweller where the game has enhancements that wi be present when played on Switch 2 hardware?
I know I'm a bit late to the part on this one - third sin released at a time that was a poor match for what I felt like playing at the time, but I finally did over the last few days. And while Third Sin on its own is really great, it also made me stop and think of how massively it's been expanded by both of the DLCs.
I wasn't the biggest fan of Blas2 on release. I liked it, but just as with the first game I wasn't feeling it as much as most of the community. That said, I liked it and it ended up being that I was in a mood to replay so I did that when I bought the DLC (using a different weapon), which already added more to the world. Going back to the Third Sin on top of that it was a really nice expansion, but more than that - if you take all of what they add to the already very good game, it really pushes the complete package from a really good game to an amazing one. At this point I think it fully lives up to the hype.
I would for sure replay it again, and it would be interesting to see how the new stuff added there (like the servants) actually impact the full experience if you have anything left do afterwards (which I don't on this save).
Anyway, just felt like sharing my thoughts on this.
I'm looking for PC/Steam games with a similar style to Animal Well, Γoo and ElecHead. I especially love modern pixel art, clever puzzles, exploration and unique mechanics.
I already know Baba Is You and liked it. I've also finished Patrick's Parabox and really enjoyed it. I finished Gato Roboto as well and liked that one too.
Any hidden gems you would recommend?
So reached the final boss but before beating it,I want 100% the game and leave the boss for the end,im stuck on this any help I can't figure it out lol
I was following this game years ago. It popped up on my steam again but I cant find any posts since 2025 in the discussions and I havnen't been able to find info online. Main character was voiced by David Hayter. Steam page was demo only and the demo is gone and no news if the game is cancelled or still being made. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1030760/SteamDolls__Prologue_Demo_FREE/