Game News 30 years later, this genre is still unstoppable! Here’s why metroidvanias are now essential

Game news 30 years later, this genre is still unstoppable! Here’s why metroidvanias are now essential

With the recent release of Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, which received very favorable critical reception, the metroidvania genre is still as relevant as ever. This clever mix of action, adventure and platform was born from the meeting of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, two video game classics released in the 1990s. It is made up of several criteria: an experience “side view”, the exploration of a world with interconnected areas and the acquisition of powers which allow – ultimately – to reach previously inaccessible places. A formula which has hardly changed in 30 years and which does not seem ready to stop.

A genre that can be adapted to suit your taste

You would have understood it, it’s a genre that is not new, and yet it symbolizes the revival of the Prince of Persia license. In an interview given to GameRant, the two minds behind The Lost Crown evoke several inspirations: first the first Prince of Persia, The Sands of Time (2003) and of course Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. According to Ubisoft, the goal here was to start from the metroidvania base and make “unique” additions. For example, to facilitate player navigation, the developers have integrated “Memory Shards”, allowing you to pin a screenshot on the map to remember a passage that is still inaccessible. There is also a system of clues through a little girl that we can meet almost everywhere in the adventure.

Because yes, despite its almost immovable base, the metroidvania offers great creative freedom, and this is also what the developer of Axiom Verge, Tom Happ, recommends at Game Developer. “I think the genre provides a solid foundation where you can branch out and try new things.” Indeed, the title stands out in quite a few ways. Already in terms of weapons, more than twenty are available, which is impressive, and unlike Super Metroid, most are not necessary to progress and just serve to enrich the combat. But the biggest originality is that Tom Happ added “useful” bugs that can be manipulated with different tools. They are part of this universe which is “falling into ruin”. The title is known to be largely inspired by Super Metroid, even in its graphics, yet its creator does not lack imagination.

An approach that hits the mark in the successes of the genre. Drinkbox Studios, the developers of Guacamelee!, understood this well and each member of the team wanted to add their little grain of salt – so much so that they defined their game as a “Frankenstein”. For example, “someone wanted to make a Beat’em up, while another wanted to make an exploration game”, we can read on GamingTrend. Focusing on difficulty and very precise action gameplay, as in Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, is another lever. So much so that we sometimes speak of “Soulsvania” – a contraction of metroidvania and Souls-like (games inspired by Dark Souls)

In short, with ultimately “not much” and well-established codes, creators can do whatever comes to mind, hence the success of the genre among independents. Today, there are even “turnkey” solutions for creating your own metroidvania. Tomasz Chabora, a Polish developer, notably created “metroidvania System”, a toolbox open source with everything you need to create a game of this type.

It’s all about exploration

Furthermore, the metroidvania allows something that seems incompatible with 2D (and therefore with horizontal scrolling): exploration. It was this element in particular that pushed the developers of The Lost Crown to opt for the genre. “In Prince of Persia, immersion in a world is central, the possibility of exploring and traveling freely in various biomes seemed important to us and respectful of the freedom that we wanted to give to players”, we can read on GameRant.

Even for Koji Igarashi, father of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, “exploration is very important”. “We thus allow players to survey the map, to take their time. This seems important to me, and everyone can enjoy it,” he explains on The world. For the Japanese designer, it’s also the way to create longer adventuresbreaking with the side scroller of the time.

An exploration in the service of progression. In a metroidvania, you gradually acquire new skills and then retrace your steps to access new corners. A necessary loop for the two men at the head of the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown project but which, according to them, can change in the future to “evolve the genre”.