Review by Matt C. As soon as you describe a Kickstarter project as a spiritual successor to something beloved, you set the expectations through the roof—not least of all when the original creator comes out of the shadows to take the helm. Even if the end result is something that’s…
Read MorePreview by Matt C. Mable & The Wood is not your typical Metroidvania. For one thing, you can’t jump, nor can you swing Mable’s hefty sword. But more significantly, all the upgrades—which are, I’d say, the thing that defines Metroidvania as a genre—are optional. You can, in theory, play through…
Read MorePreview by Matt S. You can always be sure of one thing about anything Devolver Digital stamps its logo on; somehow, even when it takes on a project that is completely traditional in scope, it manages to find a developer to do something interesting with tradition. Gato Roboto is Metroid…
Read MoreReview by James T. You could be forgiven for believing that Japanese developer Game Freak is only responsible for bringing the world of Pokémon – the series it is best known for – to our games libraries. Since the company’s inception in 1989, more than fifty percent of its releases…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The developer of Salt & Sanctuary got very lucky. The Dark Souls remaster was meant to be the first Dark Souls-like game on Nintendo Switch, but with that apparently stuck in limbo, Salt & Sanctuary gets to be first to the table instead. It’ll probably do…
Read MoreReview by Clark A. You generally know what you’re signing up for when you step into a Metroidvania-style platformer. You’ll explore vast, interconnected environments as you enhance a character’s abilities and survey every cranny. Being a doujin game willing to wear its niche appeal upon its sleeve, though, Rabi Ribi…
Read MoreReview by Matt C. Before Sundered, I’d never have thought that “procedurally generated Metroidvania” is a thing that could work. Meticulous, intricate level design is the single most important thing for the genre, and that’s something always better achieved by a deft hand than by lines of proc-gen code. But…
Read MoreReview by Matt C. “This is Castlevania but in Victorian times.” That’s the thought that kept running through my mind as I played Momodora: Reverie Under the Moon. As I stepped out of the tranquil forest into the cold, oppressive atmosphere of Karst City, I thought those opening moments of…
Read MoreReview by Matt C. “NOT a Metroidvania” – that’s one of the first things the Steam description for Exile’s End says. It’s an odd point to make, because Exile’s End absolutely is a Metroidvania, and it’s one of the most Metroid-like games I’ve seen in a long time. When the…
Read MoreReview by Nick H. Song of the Deep is a beautiful game that tries to chart its own course, but too often reminds me of other, more polished games. That is not to say Song of the Deep is a bad game by any means, as there are several elements…
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