Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
Mike Driver
Cosmic Funnies
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
shark vs the universe
d e v o n
⁂
occasionally subtle
Kaledo Art
we're not kids anymore.
No title available
Andulka
Not today Justin
YOU ARE THE REASON
Discoholic 🪩
One Nice Bug Per Day
untitled
No title available
Product Placement
Game of Thrones Daily
seen from Chile
seen from Mexico
seen from Argentina
seen from Australia
seen from Russia
seen from Uruguay
seen from Malaysia
seen from Ghana
seen from Costa Rica
seen from Colombia
seen from Nepal
seen from Argentina
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Türkiye
seen from Brazil
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Bolivia
seen from Brazil
seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
@metroidvaniastudies
One of my favorite metroidvanias, Headlander (2016) predates the big metroidvania boom by a few years. The game is not quite the first metroidvania I ever played, but it's probably only the second or third.
I grabbed some photos off Double Fine's site. Look how pretty!
Just started looking through Jeremy Parish's new book The History of Metroidvania: Decade One -- 1980 - 1990. More to come.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as seen on my phone.
As much as I hate virtual touchscreen controls, I have to admit I think they're kind of nice-looking. The layout is pretty. We'll see how far I get before I give up and hook up a controller.
There's an autosave system between rooms that sometimes makes the game more forgiving, but at times can trap you such that you have to go back to the save room anyway. I'd just as soon retain the save room system. I go back to them by habit as it is.
Alucart, son of Tracula
Abusing the Healing Mail during the Granfaloon fight. I abused the Healing Mail a lot during this run. I can't tell you how many times I've tanked damage because I just flat out miss the "button" with my finger.
At last, the inverted castle.
I saw this screen a lot. More than usual. The virtual controls make the game at least 2x as hard.
Then I got a new phone and my save file didn't transfer over, proving the death of this phone-based SOTN run.
A lot of Silksong over the past few days. The game is exquisite.
Just hanging out with Quirrel.
Kirbyoidvania!
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, as seen on the Switch virtual console. This game is an amazing twist on the metroidvania genre. Did Kirby inhale Symphony of the Night?
As I prepare to actually play Silksong within less than 24 hours (in fact, by the time you read this, I'll be playing it), I'll need a new unreleased game to fixate on.
When life gives you a game over, screenshot it and make a Tumblr post out of it.
It begins.
Hollow Knight: Silksong title screen, as screencapped on the Switch 2.
Did You Know There's a Hollow Knight Sequel Coming?
I'm trying not to panic. Hollow Knight: Silksong has a release date: September 4th, 2025. I know I'm not breaking any news here, but I have to gush about it on my shiny new metroidvania-focused blog.
If you know me, you know I'm a Hollow Knight fanatic. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and I can't stress enough just how much I love it. And you know what? I'm not even going to pretend I have anything but the highest expectations for this DLC-turned-sequel.
It was arguably Hollow Knight that sparked my love of metroidvania as a dedicated genre. I had played games like Symphony of the Night and Shadow Complex, but Hollow Knight absolutely blew my mind.
Now here we are, one famously long delay later, Silksong nearly within reach. I am indescribably excited.
Some Metroidvania Terms: Portmanteau Edition
Here are some words.
Metroid
[meh-troyd]
proper noun
A science fiction videogame franchise. Games include the original Metroid, Super Metroid, and Metroid Dread. Origin: portmanteau of the terms "metro" and "android" (I can't find a source for this besides Wikipedia).
Transylvania
[traanz-sill-vay-nee-yuh]
proper noun
A region in Central Europe, associated in parts of pop culture with vampires and Dracula. Origin: a portmanteau of "transgender" and the name "Sylvia". Just kidding but that would be interesting if true.
Castlevania
[caas-el-vay-nee-yuh]
proper noun
A gothic fantasy videogame franchise starring Dracula. Games include Symphony of the Night and Harmony of Dissonance. Origin: portmanteau of "castle" and "Transylvania" (I assume).
metroidvania
[meh-troyd-vay-nee-yuh]
noun
A videogame subgenre defined by 2D side-scrolling graphics, open-ended exploration, and ability progression. Example: Hollow Knight. Origin: portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania.
roguevania
[rohg-vay-nee-yuh]
noun
A metroidvania subsubgenre in which metroidvania elements mix with roguelike elements. Example: Dead Cells. Origin: portmanteau of "roguelike" and "metroidvania".
soulvania
[sohl-vay-nee-yuh]
noun
A metroidvania subsubgenre in which metroidvania elements mix with soulslike elements. Example: Salt and Sanctuary. Origin: portmanteau of "soulslike" and "metroidvania".
retroidvania
[reh-troyd-vay-nee-yuh]
noun
A precursor subgenre to metroidvania, or a deliberate throwback to said genre, defined by 2D side-scrolling graphics but with little exploration or ability progression. Example: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Origin: portmanteau of "retro" and "metroidvania".
Portmanteau
[pohrt-maan-toh]
noun
A word comprised of two or more other words mashed up together. Origin: luggage for some reason.
Card Collecting
One of my favorite games of all time is Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. One of my favorite elements of Circle of the Moon is the DSS Duel Set-Up System, in which protagonist Nathan Graves collects from two sets of cards and pairs them up for a variety of magical combinations.
I have an affinity for cards: trading card games, collectible cards, tarot, playing cards, deckbuilders. I grew up with Pokemon and MTG. There's something magical about a group of cards, put together, creating something new and unique, whether it's a game or a collection or a sleight of hand.
But my goodness, getting these DSS cards is a grind. At least, getting all of the cards is a grind. One of the strengths of the metroidvania genre is the overall lack of necessity for such repetition. When you double back, it's supposed to be because things are different now. So while I love the card collecting, I hate the card collecting. But at least there's a cool Unicorn I can screenshot.
Later, once you've beaten COTM, you'll unlock Magician mode. As Magician, Nathan starts the game with all the cards already.