Metroidvania Megathread: I Hope You Like Grid Maps

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guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I believe there is, but if you accidentally kill him, you can get the necromancer to resurrect him.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2023 15:25

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 05:11

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

HAAK gives you tools to 100% -- completion percentages, stuff marked on map (I think that requires upgrades? It's been a bit) -- but there is a lot of hidden stuff. I did 100% it, but what I did, and suggest you do, is get as close as you can and then consult a guide for the last little bits.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2023 03:25

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I only started reading this thread recently, but it's probably a pretty good one-stop shop for keeping up with releases. There's a Metroidvania subreddit, but nobody agrees on how broad or narrow the genre definition should be, and reddit being reddit, it winds up being a mess, although I have found some gems in there. There are also various YouTube channels that specialize in the genre.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2023 19:00

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

BurningBeard posted:

Yo goons. I�m looking for a new game to play that I don�t have to overthink and metroidvanias are probably my best bet while still being deep enough to play around with. So in the interest of that what would you guys recommend say from the last five-seven years?

I do have some on hand that I haven�t gotten around to and I have played a good number of the foundation games. Super Metroid is a stone cold classic. SoTN likewise, Bloodstained hasn�t really grabbed me but I like all the options it gives you, and I�m not in the mood to have my head bashed in by something extremely execution heavy like Hollow Knight. I haven�t really messed around with Steamworld Dig 2, but it seems pretty cool.

the second Ori I started and like, but don�t know if I�ll stick with it right now. It�s good but just fiddly enough that I keep losing my patience.

So what I would actually want is something more focused on exploration and problem solving rather than combat. I�m game for a good combat system but the feel has to be right, and that�s really subjective.

I�m struggling to articulate exactly what I�m after here. Heavy exploration emphasis, smooth/fluid controls are probably my most important wants. Xbox series/Switch/PS4, though I�m sure anything you guys would recommend would be on any of them.

I�m also open to a more combat oriented game, I just want to make sure I like the feel of the controls. When I say smooth and fluid, something like Hades or Celeste are two huge touchpoints for me in terms of their controls being incredible and responsive.

Stylistically I like fantasy more than sci-fi, but if there�s a good creepy abandoned ship or space station I�m into it. Games with top knotch sound design will get extra consideration from me. Too bad I hated how Ghost Song felt, fwiw, because the sound design in that was incredible.

Two execution-heavy games I am looking at are Hyperlight Drifter and Unsighted, just because of how they look. So thoughts on those would be nice too.

Unsighted is top-down, it's good but may not scratch the itch if you want 2D platforming. I thought I didn't like Hyper Light Drifter, but it turns out I have played eleven minutes of it, so either I really hated it or I need to give it another shot. I think I was thinking this was Immortal Planet, which was much too punishing for me.

Here are some MVs I liked from the last several years:

Axiom Verge and Axiom Verge 2 - clear Metroid homages, very creative power-ups, pixel art. They're both good but the first one is better. Best to go into these blind so you can be surprised by the power-ups.
Song of the Deep - Aquaria-style gameplay (2D underwater).
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero - This doesn't have the full interconnected world (some Shantae games do, some don't) but it's the best Shantae game.
Aggelos - wonderful game, big beautiful sprites. Melee combat.
Timespinner - I thought this one was just okay, but it was very well-received.
The Messenger - likewise.
Pharaoh Rebirth+ - very weird game and runs in a smallish window IIRC, but nicely made. I don't think it has an interconnected world though.
Alwa's Awakening and Alwa's Legacy - excellent NES-style MVs.
Gato Roboto - adorable bite-size mini-MV where you're a cat in a mech suit. Lo-fi Game Boy type graphics.
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - this game's story is incomprehensible -- I assume it would be clearer if I had watched the anime -- but the gameplay is pretty good.
Astalon: Tears of the Earth - really great, switch around between 3 playable characters.
Haiku the Robot - stylized/lo-fi palette, very good
Super Daryl Deluxe - good, funny, RPG elements, there's really nothing else like it
Islets - this is good, nothing specific to say about it but I liked it a lot
Haak - good, big, tons of secrets
Lone Fungus - this just came out, I'm still playing it, definitely B-list but I'm having fun. Wish the map were better.

guppy fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Apr 15, 2023

# ¿ Apr 15, 2023 16:06

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I think I'm wrapping up Lone Fungus soon. It never really occurred to me that I could go have the Hyperbolic Host unlock the door even though I've had all the spells for a while, because there was so much unexplored map, because they never really call your attention to it when you do get them all, and because there were tons of blockers I couldn't get past. I'll write something more detailed when I beat the game and have some more time, but this lack of signposting is a significant weakness in the game, which I otherwise quite like. How do you break the barrier above the Hyperbolic Host? Great Spin Slash doesn't seem to do it.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2023 19:00

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

That explains it. Sucks I have to walk all the way around. Thanks!

# ¿ Apr 17, 2023 22:34

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I am now on the last boss of Lone Fungus and am considering just quitting. I am pretty sure I can learn it, I've only given it a couple tries, but I really dislike having to redo phase 1 to get to phase 2. Phase 1 is not very hard, but it takes too long to get through to get more practice on phase 2, and phase 2 is really obnoxious. It has a ton of different attacks, some of which are trivial but some of which you have to react to very fast to avoid damage, and it has enough health that you gotta do it for a while. I dunno if I like the game enough to commit that much time to this fight.

Overall my opinions are, and you should bear in mind that I am only around 57% completion:

1. There's a lot to like here. The graphics are cute, I love my little mushroom sprite and I super love when he goes "wheee!" occasionally while flying through the air.

2. Big world, lots of different biomes, always a plus.

3. Enemies and bosses are both pretty forgettable.

4. The challenge rooms (both ladybugs and astral gates) are insane. Early on they're easy but they get hard fast, and eventually I just stopped even trying them. Like, I wouldn't even make one attempt because it just isn't worth it to deal with these finicky Rube Goldberg machines.

5. There are a ton of movement abilities. Too many movement abilities. You get confused about which button to press for what you need, and it adds nothing to the experience.

6. Lots of different spells, emblems, and relics. I mostly ignored all of them.

7. You frequently get new traversal abilities that unlock new areas. Many of these get used, like, twice, and only in the immediate area where you got them.

8. My biggest complaint is the map. It's quite good for knowing where you are, and I don't care at all about the Hollow Knight style map updates at save points, that is fine. But it is horrible for telling you where you might want to go next. So very often you are wandering back to the many places where you couldn't get before to see if you can get there yet. Usually you can't. And sometimes, because the map only shows you whether rooms are visited or not, there are places that don't look on the map like there's any reason to return to, but actually there's stuff there that you can get to now. But there's no breadcrumb to lead you there so you don't know to return.

9. My absolute favorite thing, and this is going to sound like a backhanded compliment but isn't, is the forward dash. I genuinely love it. The speed it moves you at is great. It's incredibly versatile, because it doesn't just move you horizontally, you get a lil vertical lift too. So it's good for getting over obstacles, and it's good for zooming through the world even in areas with uneven terrain. It is by far the best feeling movement in the game, and movement generally feels good in LF.

EDIT: I beat it the next try. I changed up my relic loadout completely and that helped, but it also became clearer after a few tries when it was safe to heal and how to avoid some of the attacks consistently. This fight is a good example of the kind of polish the game lacks, though, in a lot of small ways. For example, several times even on that last attempt, I would successfully avoid damage... and then he would appear again on top of me. That shouldn't happen, there's no way to respond. Eventually I got better about just not jumping as high and that helped.

EDIT AGAIN: I will say, I never actually ran into any bugs at all, so well done there. I can't even say that about Hollow Knight, I got myself stuck in a wall in that the other day.

guppy fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Apr 18, 2023

# ¿ Apr 18, 2023 00:28

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

The Advance pack is Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow. AoS is the best by a wide margin; I had fun with the others, including Circle of the Moon -- I've played through it a few times and I don't recall it being particularly grindy? -- but they are not as good and they are very different, from both Aria and each other. Worth playing if you're bored and looking for something new to play, but not standouts like Aria.

# ¿ May 17, 2023 11:54

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Yes, it's pretty good. The story is borderline incomprehensible, but the mechanics are solid.

# ¿ May 20, 2023 13:15

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

9 Years of Shadows seemed "fine" to me but there is absolutely nothing about it that makes me want to go play it. It works, it's fine, but it's just not interesting to me.

# ¿ May 20, 2023 20:19

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I didn't like Lone Fungus. It's not bad but the inputs get way too finicky and it needs more polish and, frankly, less Stuff. There's so much jammed into it but a lot of it is forgettable.

I heard good things about Phoenotopia, but it did not work for me at all and I quit very shortly in.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2023 03:01

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I am playing through The Knight Witch and I have really been enjoying it, but in the 4th or 5th area (Forge whatever) things have really taken a turn. The bullet hell stuff is already pretty nuts, and so is expecting me to take my eyes off it on the regular so I can look to see what cards I can spend my insufficient mana on, but now with the addition of these eyeball tower things that I have to worry about, I don't think I can be bothered anymore. I like the game a lot but I am probably going to use cheats to finish it.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 22:23

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

SkeletonHero posted:

I was very dumb and didn't even realize that I was supposed to be putting something between myself and the eyes until I could literally no longer brute force it. I got the most mileage out of just stacking my deck with weapons and familiars. The spells were usually too situational to be worth it but extra firepower is always welcome. I also held a few shield cards and the 0-cost ones that generate mana and generally got on alright.

That works kind of but what worked for me (until I got fed up with it) was dashing when the circle turned white and big around me, that makes it miss.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 22:40

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

It is fine to like or not like the map system in Hollow Knight. But words have meaning and for something to be "objectively" bad would mean that it is an immutable fact, not something that can be disagreed with, and that is clearly not the case as multiple people in this thread, myself included, like the way the map works in Hollow Knight. It is fine for you to not like it but that does not make it an objective fact.

My only significant gripe about Hollow Knight is that I think a couple zones have overly punishing bench placement, like Crystal Peak. I also think they way overshot the mark re-doing the Traitor Lord fight, making it too difficult, and the Trial of the Fool is too long. I also do not care about most of the expansion stuff, particularly whichever thing had the boss rush (Godmaster?), since I am not into extreme challenge content.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2023 22:04

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Wait, isn't A Robot Named Fight procedurally generated? I've been avoiding it for that reason, is that not actually true?

# ¿ Jul 23, 2023 08:43

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Morpheus posted:

It's procedurally generated but the abilities you get fit into different categories, allowing the game to mix em up - for example, the game always gates the final boss behind the requirement of being able to fly, essentially. So the last required upgrade you'll get is one that either lets you jump forever, or one that turns you into a drone, or one that gives you a jetpack, or just shoot straight up in a line, etc.

Same with, like, an ability that lets you blow up walls.

It is, of course, fine if people like that stuff, but for me, proc gen destroys a huge component of what I like about Metroidvanias. I like my worlds to be carefully designed and manicured to give a good experience. Proc gen stuff is missing that human spark to me. Plus, if I get stuck, nobody can really help me, because we'll all have different maps.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2023 20:19

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

ExcessBLarg! posted:

Any thoughts on 9 Years of Shadows? I haven't seen much about it yet.

I put several hours into it. It's pretty but didn't do anything for me mechanically, unfortunately. I stopped playing it because I just never felt interested in firing it up.

bawk posted:

Played through Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth and The Last Case of Benedict Fox this weekend.

Deedlit felt like a bite-sized GBA castlevania title, good for what it was doing but not much meat on it (less than the GBA titles, even.) There are secret rooms to find, but if you missed a room it generally wasn't worth going back for. It could be an HP or MP up, but usually it was just a weapon with much worse stats than whatever you're currently rolling with, or an offensive spell (all offensive spells seemed objectively worse than just using health/mana potions). If you S Rank the shooting gallery when you find it, you're also set for 95% of the game because it gives you the second best bow, pack some Mana potions and you have a cheese strat for any boss that takes more than 2 attempts to melee. Music is all bangers

Benedict Fox had some neat puzzles (everything to do with the numbering system seemed pretty neat) and the combat was surprisingly fun. You can get by with just spamming the knife button, but there's smoke bombs and stun darts as well as a recharging gun and cthulhu-tentacle-grab-and-slam attacks. You don't have to engage with any of those parts of combat, but I liked the variety you played with. Movement felt god-awful and it was buggy as hell, but the animations were amusing. Voice acting seemed majorly off, both the volume equalization between different character VOs and the performances themselves, but the music/atmosphere was pretty awesome.

Then started Vernal Edge last night, love the PSX aesthetic and the movement feels pretty good. Not HK/AN good, but flying around the screen smacking enemies into each other is very satisfying and I've nabbed a few powerups by abusing the extra frames of height/distance you get from attacking in mid-air, so it's all good in my eyes.

E: I gotta say, having played Hollow Knight, Aeterna Noctis, Afterimage, Grime, and a few other really really big/tough metroidvania titles this year, these smaller games don't quite hit the same. I might give Salt & Sanctuary a try, even though it seems more 2D Soulslike than anything metroid or vania.

I got a bit cocky over how good I am at platforming though. Having finished some of the tougher platforming sections in these games lately, I downloaded Celeste to see how much harder the platforming is in comparison. 68 deaths in world 1 lol

I do not like Salt & Sanctuary at all. You're right that it's more Souls-like, but IMO it doesn't have any of the precision that makes the mean difficulty work. Plenty of other people like it, though, so what do I know.

A few recommendations that are... not unknown, but have gotten somewhat less attention than the big games, in case you've missed them:

Aggelos - Charming, feels like something out of the Wonder Boy era
Astalon: Tears of the Earth - LOVED this, three different characters with different abilities to swap between. Not a roguelike, but has this mechanic where you're sent back to the beginning if you die, which basically doesn't matter because you can fast travel back to roughly where you were pretty easily
Haak - Movement-intensive, not as much charm as some of the others but lots to explore and tons of secrets
Infernax - A love letter to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in every conceivable way
Islets - Very charming, loved it. Not too hard, movement feels good
Haiku the Robot - Limited color palette, not too long, but feels great to play. Shares some DNA with Hollow Knight[/url]

None of these are truly unknown, but some of them are smaller titles and maybe one of them will be new to you.

guppy fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Aug 7, 2023

# ¿ Aug 7, 2023 16:19

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

EDIT: Accidental double post

# ¿ Aug 7, 2023 17:08

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Kurui Reiten posted:

No one ever talks about it, but I really loved Super Daryl Deluxe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IksYXujBEHw

It legit has a bunch of mechanics I wish other games would crib, and the soundtrack is almost entirely bangers.

There is nothing quite like Super Daryl Deluxe, I do recommend it. It is sorta-kinda a Metroidvania but has a lot of side-scrolling beat-'em-up in the mix too. A lot of fun all around, including mechanics, art style, writing, the works.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2023 09:52

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

virtualboyCOLOR posted:

Can�t do that. I subscribe to the �you can�t articulate why you believe a game is bad unless you play until the end� line of thought. Plus people recommended it so maybe it gets better?

And honestly the gameplay is good. The parry mechanic is well done and adds a lot of reward for getting it right.

The game is also easy enough for a casual play through.

It�s just everything else is so bland. The game should be taught on how NOT to do sound design for games. I would even go as far to say that it is openly hostile to those with accessibility issues. Sounds cues are very important to the visually impaired (or anyone dealing with a lot of particles on the screen) and Grime provides essentially zero feedback to the user. The flower boss with the two gollums are a great example because the attacks are only proceeded by quiet, similar sounding grunts. If one were relying on sound to help distinguish attacks, they would be frustrated with this game.

You can do whatever you want, but as with books, my experience with games became much, much better when I gave myself permission to just stop playing a game if I didn't like it. I don't care that much if I can articulate why I don't like a game, the important part is I don't like it and I'm not enjoying myself and I don't need to spend my limited time on a game I'm not enjoying.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2023 17:10

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

The developer was responsive to people's comments, so I'm hoping it'll have more of the stuff we all liked and less of the painful challenges and overly large move set.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 11:10

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

GrandpaPants posted:

What was the thread consensus on Afterimage and 9 Years of Shadow? Both are available in this Fanatical bundle ~$7 each: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/prestige-collection-build-your-own-bundle

IMO 9 Years of Shadow is extremely boring. There's nothing out and out wrong with it but I lost interest in going back to play more.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2023 11:09

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Falcon2001 posted:

Huge fan of the genre, just catching up on Blasphemous 1+2 right now. I haven't been following the thread, but some of the ones I liked on Steam the most in the last few years that weren't hyperpopular in case people were looking for other options:

- ASTLIBRA
- Alwa's Legacy
- Astalon: Tears of the Earth
- ENDER LILIES: Quieus of the Knights

Astalon is super good, one of my favorites. I also really like Alwa's Awakening and Alwa's Legacy; they're much simpler than most MVs in terms of mechanics, but very charming.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2023 01:20

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

The 7th Guest posted:

(Genopanic, Scrabdackle, Bushiden, Mira: The Legend of the Djinns, Rubi: the Wayward Mira, Dewdrop Dynasty, Ultros, Star Hearts, Rebel Transmute, Minishoot Adventures, Moonlight Pulse, Dormiveglia)

I don't have the original complaint, but I have also never heard of any of these, I should check these out. Do you have opinions about any of them in particular?

# ¿ Sep 18, 2023 12:26

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

The thing with Alwa is that while you get movement upgrades, none of them are the kind of thing you expect. You never get a double jump; instead you get a bubble you can jump on. The upgrades don't just change the color of things, they have functional improvements, but they are also minor upgrades. Often important, but minor.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2023 14:07

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Timespinner was okay, I finished it, but really lacking in personality and the weapons system was not very well-designed. I guess I would look at another one, but I'm not super excited about it.

Haiku is great, it's not as good as Hollow Knight but nothing is. I really enjoyed my time with it.

Cathedral was great for a while and eventually went completely up its own rear end in terms of difficulty. I didn't finish it even though my initial impressions were very positive.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2023 00:33

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I liked Lone Fungus. I think the precision challenges are dumb but they are very optional. My two bigger complaints are 1. there are a ton of bosses, but many (most?) of them aren't interesting and are just Big Regular Enemy, and 2. you have a lot of movement abilities and they are sometimes required for navigating the non-challenge areas. Mostly the latter isn't too bad but you definitely get overwhelmed occasionally trying to remember what combination of things does what.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2023 01:59

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

That is very different from my experience. I never really had flickering or slowdown on any Super Metroid boss. The big plant boss, yeah, that one is easy. Kraid is an extremely impressive fight, visually, that surprises you the first time through, and you have to learn to trigger and then exploit his vulnerability. Beating Crocomire requires an unorthodox strategy that made him very difficult for me when I didn't know what to do. Whatever the Wrecked Ship boss is really messes with your expectations; while I don't think the bosses are all that hard, for the most part, that one can be dicey even if you know what you're doing. I forget the Maridia boss' name but it has a secret easy mode way to beat him that is really cool and if you do it normally it can be pretty hard.

Ridley I actually think is a boring DPS race that hasn't changed all that much from the original Metroid, that one I think is disappointing.

The last boss subverts expectations and has a cinematic story tie-in, though it's not all that difficult.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2023 10:19

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

There have been a few of these Metroidvanias that are so close to greatness but defeat themselves in this way. Cathedral was so close to being amazing, until it got absurdly unforgiving. I wish these games had gone through a more robust QA process.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2023 16:40

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I do not like Blast Brigade/Dr. Cread at all. I wanted to like it, it's polished, but I hated every second I spent with it. Your health is very low, you can't restore it very easily, there are all kinds of spikes everywhere, and yeah, the fast travel system is atrocious.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2023 20:29

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

field balm posted:

So i'm right at the end of lone fungus (I think) and I'm just about done with it. Is there a ng+ or anything? I've got access to the surface and what I assume is the final boss which I've put off to try and find all the secrets, but it seems like thats gonna be the bad end? I've also found the other ways out in the purple area and the bottom area which I assume are alternate endings but i just dont have the motor skills to do the kaizo-esque stuff with pogoing of the rotating spikes or the jumping off multiple spells schtick.

I enjoyed it a bunch as I was playing but the endgame just feels a bit ehh. The exploration was decent but the itemization seemed pretty mid to me. Is there any point in doing the ladybugs/shards? a lot of it seems too hard for me and I don't think I'll bother.

I like that they put a lot of movement tech in but it seems a bit janky to be honest, especially getting the spin jump to turn blue and bounce off stuff.

The bad ending is escaping early through the tall shaft, IIRC. I felt I was pretty well warned that that was a bad idea.

# ¿ Dec 25, 2023 03:23

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Martman posted:

Imo the only actual problem with Zelda 2 is that the last dungeon is a war crime

BIg agree on this, I replay Zelda 2 regularly but I always quit right after the second-to-last dungeon. Even getting to the Grand Palace sucks. I beat it once and that was enough for the rest of my life.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2023 23:48

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Astalon is great. One thing I want to say about it is that you should not be turned off by the implication that it has roguelike elements, it is not a roguelike. Do you go back to the beginning if you die? Yes. Does fast travel make it not matter very much? Also yes.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2024 01:58

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I think Guacamelee has great style, but it doesn't scratch the MV itch much for me, and I absolutely hate forced combat where you get trapped in a little room until everything is dead. One of the things I like about the genre is zipping quickly through places I've been not having to fight stuff. The combat is not interesting to me and definitely not interesting enough for the number of lovely little boxes they lock you in. Guacamelee 2 also upped the fiddly dexterity puzzles to the nth degree. Great presentation in those games, though, I'll admit.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 00:50

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

I thought Mummy Demastered was too punishing, I didn't like it and didn't get far. Way too annoying to progress.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2024 11:13

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Salt & Sanctuary is what I think of when I think "Metroidvania, but Souls." I also hate that game. Hollow Knight is nowhere near.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2024 12:25

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

Kheldarn posted:

3 of the 4 Shantae games are part of this sale, and I've heard good things about the series...

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut is $4.99 USD
Shantae And The Pirate's Curse is $9.99 USD
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is $6.99 USD

Those are Shantae 2, 3, and 4, respectivly. It seems that 1 never made it to PC, so it's only on GBC, Switch, and PS4 & 5. Shantae 5, Shantae And The Seven Sirens is on PC, but not on sale (30bux USD), and Shantae 6, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution will be released for GBA later this year, and then Switch, PS4/5, and Windows ports will happen some time after.

All of the Shantae games are good, but how good they are varies, and how metroidvania-y they are also varies. Half-Genie Hero is my favorite by a comfortable margin, but it is also level-based, not open-world. I was a bit disappointed in Seven Sirens.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2024 22:24

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

What a steal, that game is great.

# ¿ Mar 22, 2024 02:10

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

It has been several years since I played it but I don't remember anything like that, just the bullet hell/color swapping.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2024 16:09

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 05:11

guppy: Sep 21, 2004; sting like a byob

When you claim a free game from Epic, does the developer make money? Or is it just a flat fee? I already own Islets on Steam, but it's great, and I would bother logging into Epic to get them a buck or two.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 14:35

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