Metroidvania
Ongoing coverage on Metroidvania.
Latest coverage
Review: Ariana and the Elder Codex Can Be a Magical Metroidvania
Ariana and the Elder Codex offers a magical Metroidvania experience with customizable magical loadouts and solid combat, though it lacks innovation and has a predictable story. While enjoyable for newcomers, experienced players might find it somewhat boring due to its familiar mechanics and easily telegraphed boss patterns. The game is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC.
GNAW – Beta Demo | Alpha Beta Gamer
GNAW is a metroidvania game where players control a dinosaur with newly acquired powers tasked with saving a collapsing dinosaur metropolis. The game features interconnected environments, over 150 enemies, challenging boss fights, and more than 15 unlockable abilities to customize gameplay. A beta demo is available for download.
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse Review | NoobFeed
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse successfully blends familiar Metroidvania and roguelike elements with original ideas. The game is presented as a visually and mechanically appealing package.
Hollow Knight just fixed a bug that's plagued the final boss fight for 9 years, and I don't know if I want to celebrate or cry: "The amount of deaths to this is insane"
Team Cherry has finally fixed a nine-year-old bug in Hollow Knight related to the Radiance's orb attack, which previously allowed players to be hit by the projectile even after it had visually disappeared. This fix comes as the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong approaches, potentially encouraging players to revisit the original game.
Next Week on Xbox: New Games for March 30 to April 4
This weekly feature highlights new games arriving on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Game Pass between March 30 and April 4. The upcoming releases include a variety of genres such as action platformers, co-op horror, RPGs, and puzzle games.
Annalog Achieves First Stretch Goal on Kickstarter
The Kickstarter campaign for Annalog, a new Metroidvania adventure for the NES developed by mdsteele and published by The Retro Room Games, has successfully reached its funding goal. The game is complete and features a free-form programming system, multiple endings, and is designed to run on original NES hardware. Funds raised will go towards physical production of the game, including cartridges and manuals.
Nothing Beyond This Point Launches With Twisted Metroidvania Mechanics
Nothing Beyond This Point has launched on PC, introducing a unique Metroidvania mechanic where players spend health to deal damage, with infinite regeneration available. Developer Dieuwt aims to challenge genre conventions by shifting focus from health preservation to aggressive combat and spatial reasoning over traditional platforming. The game also features a unique approach to achievements and optional secret bosses.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Walkthrough – Complete Guide to Every Level, Boss, and Secret (2026)
This comprehensive guide for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown covers every aspect of the Metroidvania title, including level walkthroughs, boss strategies, secret locations, and optimal ability and amulet usage. It details combat mechanics like parrying and Athra Surges, progression through Mount Qaf, and provides tips for achieving the true ending and mastering New Game Plus content. The guide emphasizes mastering time-bending abilities and precise combat for overcoming the game's challenging encounters.
Review – Ariana and the Elder Codex (PlayStation 5)
Ariana and the Elder Codex is a side-scrolling action RPG with light Metroidvania elements where players control Ariana, a magic-user tasked with restoring elemental codices to save a world devoid of magic. While featuring enjoyable boss fights and a visually appealing art style, the game suffers from repetitive enemies and a lack of overall focus, leading to a mediocre experience with limited replayability.
Ariana and the Elder Codex Review 📚
Ariana and the Elder Codex is a visually stunning Metroidvania with a charming narrative and a unique magic system that allows for deep spell customization. While the game excels in its art, voice acting, and rewarding exploration, it can suffer from visual clutter during intense combat and could benefit from more varied stage design.
The Last Faith Patch Overhauls NG+, Balancing, and Dungeon Mode
Playstack and Kumi Souls Games have released a significant patch for the metroidvania game The Last Faith. The update addresses player feedback from the Awakened Ancients DLC, introducing numerous changes to gameplay, New Game Plus, localization, and more. The patch also includes adjustments to enemy and boss scaling, weapon and skill damage, and various bug fixes across multiple platforms.
Ariana and the Elder Codex Review - Abscessed Ubiquity
Ariana and the Elder Codex is a surprising standout in the 2D action and metroidvania space, delivering fast, fluid combat and a highly customizable build system that keeps encounters engaging throughout. Its story and characters are more compelling than expected, with strong dialogue and an endearing protagonist, while the structured progression across codex worlds maintains a satisfying sense of momentum. Although limited enemy variety and a slightly short runtime hold it back from true genre dominance, the overall experience is polished, rewarding, and consistently enjoyable, marking it as one of Compile Heart’s most impressive releases in years.
23 Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games To Play Right Now
The Nintendo Switch 2 has quickly become a powerhouse for gaming, offering enhanced versions of existing titles and exciting new releases. This list highlights the best games available, from enhanced RPGs like Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster to new adventures like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World. The article emphasizes how the Switch 2's improved hardware benefits games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Hollow Knight: Silksong, providing smoother frame rates and better visuals.
Sunday Postmortems/Retrospectives
Konami released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 29 years ago, a game widely considered one of the greatest and a pioneer of the Metroidvania genre. The article also briefly mentions that PlayStation's Firesprite Studio was in talks to develop a Breaking Bad VR game.
PS5 Spin-Off God of War: Sons of Sparta Was a Big Hit for Sony
The Mega Cat Studios-developed Metroidvania, God of War: Sons of Sparta, has been a significant success for Sony, achieving 14th place in the February 2026 Circana sales report and sixth in the PlayStation-specific top ten. Despite its lower $29.99 price point, the game's strong revenue performance indicates a market for smaller-scale, first-party PlayStation projects.
PS5 Spin-Off God of War: Sons of Sparta Has Been a Big Hit for Sony
The side-scrolling spin-off God of War: Sons of Sparta, developed by Mega Cat Studios, has achieved significant success for Sony, appearing in the top 15 of the February 2026 Circana sales report and sixth in the PlayStation-specific charts. Despite its lower $29.99 price point, the game's revenue performance indicates a strong market for smaller-scale, first-party PlayStation projects.
Releasing March 20 on PC & Console
RUBATO, an experimental 2D physics-based collect-a-thon platformer developed by solo developer 'dconn', has launched on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation. The game features open metroidvania-like areas where players use their tongue to collect 'Planet Bits' and interact with the environment. The narrative involves a dystopian future ruled by 'GSSAI CO.' and a quest to fix the solar system.
A Dark Journey Begins In Voidwrought
Voidwrought, a cosmic horror action-platformer Metroidvania developed by Powersnake and published by Kwalee, has launched on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. The game features fast-paced combat, intricate level design with over 70 enemy types, and a shrine-building system. It is priced at £16.74 and emphasizes precision, discovery, and a dark, unforgiving atmosphere.
Voidwrought Physical Editions Out Now on PlayStation 5 & Nintendo Switch
Physical editions of the cosmic horror Metroidvania game Voidwrought are now available for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. Developed by Powersnake and published by SelectaPlay and Kwalee, the game features fast-paced combat, precise traversal, and a dark, atmospheric soundtrack. Both Standard and collector's Special Editions are available at specialist retail stores.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse’s World Premiere Part of Triple-i Initiative Showcase Next Month
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse will have its world premiere at the Triple-i Initiative showcase on April 9th. The game is a 2D side-scrolling action Metroidvania set in 1499 Paris, releasing in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It is being developed by Evil Empire and Motion Twin, with Konami set to publish.
