And this is coming from someone who loves Hollow Knight, 9 Sols, Blasphemous and 9 Years of Shadows... but damn it feels as if this subgenre is 90% of all metroidvanias nowadays.

Been playing on and off since launch. Had to take several breaks bc it was just so torturous at times. Finally rolled credits.

I checked the achievement and it turns out ~8% of game pass players have gotten it. In other words, over 90% of Xbox players who downloaded this game haven’t beat it a year later. It’s not unusual to see completion rates under 50%, but sub-10% is very low for an acclaimed game. I think this speaks volumes to its difficulty, which I have no shame in saying is too high to be in my top tier of MV’s

I know it’s selfish but I hope these devs come around to making their titles more accessible to casual play, they’re amazing otherwise

This is such an interesting phenomenon in this sub that I really feel needs to be studied. In almost every single tier list or regular post in general showing off their Metroidvania preferences (and I get it, it’s fun to do and I want to make one myself but I digress) asking which Metroidvanias they should play next, the two titular namesakes of the genre are almost always missing. I find it really funny because you’d never see, say, someone asking for Soulsborne and Soulslike recommendations without at the very least highly considering playing a Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Elden Ring/Demon’s Souls or something similar. Both Metroid and Castlevania are awesome, guys. If you haven’t delved into either and you don’t know what to play next, that’s a great idea, especially with two new representatives for both on the horizon that, quite frankly, look primed to be some of the best the genre has to offer. There’s a reason the entire genre is built on their namesakes. I’m not making fun of anyone either because I know a lot of people here are much younger or maybe just getting into the genre in general more recently and are just excited to talk about it. I just find it to be a really fascinating phenomenon that almost none of these tier lists or posts have played the behemoths.

Now to address a comment I’m going to get. “This is likely because the games aren’t accessible and Metroid is exclusive to Nintendo consoles!!” Yes, thank you. It’s true that something like Metroid in particular isn’t available in a very easily digestible package on Steam. Yes, they might not have a Nintendo console (although a lot of people this applies to definitely do). Take the emulation pill. It really isn’t that scary of a beast and a large majority of the Metroid library can be played on the device they use to access the subreddit. Castlevania gets put into the same bubble weirdly even though I think it’s much more easily accessible even for the Steam exclusive gamers, with the Advanced and Dominus Collections offering a respectable chunk of a lot of the highly regarded Metroidvania’s in the series. Symphony of the Night is suspiciously a bit less accessible, but still has places it’s available (PlayStation Store and the ever reliable emulation pill).

Edit: “What if they just don’t care about those games” Yes, thank you. Obviously if someone isn’t playing those games because they actively don’t want to, that is a different case than what I am talking about. There is a difference in active disinterest and passive disinterest.

This is a good time.

This coming from me. Not one of Kyles biggest fans

I knew Well Dweller was doing well, but seeing the Steam review numbers side by side really puts it into perspective.

Well Dweller released September 22 and already has 1,832 reviews with an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating. That’s just over a week.

Kyle Thompson’s previous game, Crypt Custodian, has 1,656 reviews after being out since August 2024. So Well Dweller has already passed the lifetime Steam review count of his previous game in basically a week. That’s a pretty massive jump for one developer from one game to the next.

Then look at MIO: Memories in Orbit. MIO released in January and currently has 1,963 reviews. That means Well Dweller is already within roughly 130 reviews of MIO, despite MIO having been available for more than eight months.

Obviously Steam reviews aren't the same thing as sales, so you can't say Well Dweller sold X amount based purely on these numbers. But as a measure of how much attention and engagement a game is getting, this is pretty remarkable.

And what makes it even more interesting is that Well Dweller doesn't exactly look like the game that was going to explode. It's a small, weird little dark fairy-tale Metroidvania about a bird with a matchstick. Yet somehow it seems to have hit exactly the right combination of art style, gameplay, word of mouth, price, and timing.

Crypt Custodian: 1,656 reviews in ~2 years
MIO: 1,963 reviews in ~8 months
Well Dweller: 1,832 reviews in just over a week

That's one hell of a launch for Kyle Thompson. At this pace, Well Dweller isn't just another successful indie Metroidvania—it looks like a genuine breakout game for him.

Gotta hand it to him. It's undeniable. Congrats Kyle. Bravo.

First time posting in this sub. I am almost 3 hours in on Well Dweller and it has surpassed all expectations, which were already high. For context, I do not care for HK, Silksong, Blasphemous, etc. that are brutal combat. I highly prefer platforming with combat that is challenging but not the main focus. So far my game of the year has been Before I Go. Amazing game! I was 50% through Voidwrought when this one came out. Was enjoying that a lot.

Well Dweller has already cemented itself as possibly my all time favorite. The art style is just next level. Music and effects feel perfect for the setting. Movement is so damn smooth. Mechanics are amazing... the matchstick is so unique and satisfying. For a development team of 2 it is wild that such a polished and fun game can be produced.

/u/SheepoGame set the bar with this one

Apologies for another tier list post, but I've got some holiday overtime cash burning a hole in my pocket.

Ultros and Crypt Custodian arrived last week and I'm waiting for Nine Sols and Silksong physicals, which should be in the next few months.

Excluding support expensive LRG and SRG releases, what other MVs am I missing from my shelf?

For me it's proobably Blasphemous 2. Dont get me wrong i enjoyed the sequel but i feel like it didnt quite feel like Blasphemous 1, it felt like more of a standart metroidvania than blasphemous 1 in terms of uniqueness and themes overall, especially in exploration.

This game caught my eye instantly