We are eating good guys. Metroid Ravenous in january!

Overall rating: 9/10 the movement takes a while to get used to but is amazing and smooth. The first act of the game is slightly more linear but the second act onwards is absolutely amazing. Currently at 60% completion. The bosses are quite hard and I've had a few bosses I was just ok with...

Overall super enjoyable experience but it definitely took a while for me to go from 7/10 -> 9/10

Nah if you're on the fence, after the first 20% (which does not take that long honestly) it genuinely becomes SO GOOD

Latest week I did post about Well Dweller, but what I didnt say is that earlier this month I actually also completed Crypt Custodian!

Im getting qutie fond of kylevanias. Next sale I do gotta buy and play Islets and Sheepo.

Also, fuck Kendra, all my homies hate Kendra.

This game is now in my top 5 MVs of all time. It's an amazing game. Combat is fun with so many weapon mods to mix and match with, the map is huge with tons of Secrets and is interconnected wonderfully. The new patch had fixed fast travel concerns. It's really a masterpiece and deserves your attention!

Just finished a 100% run on Well Dweller, well done good sir. A joy to play, a joy to explore, so many weird, funny, original ideas in this thing, and it ended before wearing out its welcome. Can’t wait for the next one, thank you brother!

Just finished Aggelos 2 on Steam Deck, clocking in at around 13 hours without going for full completion. I had a really fun time exploring its world, discovering secrets, and enjoying that classic retro feeling. The exploration is easily one of the highlights, and the killer retro soundtrack makes the whole experience even better. My biggest criticism would be the boss fights. Personally, I found them way too easy, and I wish they had offered more of a challenge. Overall a fun metroidvania.

Hi everyone.

I consider buying the said game, but want to know some details about it. Most of these questions appeared after I played the demo.

First, does level design get better? The demo was super linear, and for me the map structure matters a lot. If the game's mostly linear, I'm definitely not going to play it.

Second, about the music. What I heard in the demo was painfully generic. Does it get the Castlevania-style ost later on?

Thirdly, what about colour palette in the game? Does it carry that "one main colour defining an area" through the entire playthrough?

And last: how much of the grappling hook is mandatory? I'm not a huge fan of spiderman-ahh movement and want to know whether this mechanic is mandatory. Plus I also heard that it's very inconsistent and doesn't work properly often. Was it fixed?

[EDIT] Thanks everyone for feedback! I guess I'll better wait for Scarlet Engagement after all. Iga's approach is something I want to see in a Castlevania game.

So I have beaten 3 bosses and am running around in the next area. Avoiding spoilers obviously. My gripe with this game at the moment is I don't feel any character progression. I have gotten quite a few levels but they don't seem to do anything. Extended my health and magic but everything takes the same amount of hits from the first enemy to the enemies I'm facing after 3 bosses. The enemies still kill me super fast as well and the only movement skill can only be used in certain spots so far. I like the game a lot but it can definitely use some kind of character progression. Or am I missing something? Does anyone else feel this way?

Hello all!

As some of you already know, I've been thinking for a while about making a cosmetic update for our Metroidvania, The Mobius Machine. I've finally found time to start working on it, and it's progressing at a good pace! :D Hopefully it will be released in a few months.

Recurring feedback we get from time to time is that the sectors and locations in our game are a bit samey, and players would appreciate more variety between the different sectors and more memorable areas in each sector to help with orientation. So I'm working on a set of hero props for each sector to enrich the game's world.

I made this 'behind the scenes' video of one of the props I've already made. It's for Sector 02 (The Spaceship Graveyard), and it's a skeleton from a creature of the same species as the Caddisfly boss from this sector. I recorded part of my creative process across the different software I use to create assets for our games, as well as the in engine placement and finally how it looks ingame.

I hope you find it interesting, maybe it's a bit too technical for a mainstream audience, so I tried to keep it short :P Let me know what you think!

Is it just me or are enemy attacks not very well telegraphed?
Granted I’ve been playing dead cells and Metroid Dread lately but it’s seems hard to tell when certain enemies are winding up. Like the particle effect from hitting an enemy almost obscures what they’re doing. I’m pretty early in the game and so far that’s the only thing bothering me.

I’ve never played a game by this developer but I’m absolutely loving it. First off, I’m a huge metroidvania fan, having played all the major titles like Hollowknight, Silksong, etc

For whatever reason this game gets equal praise as it does hate and I don’t really get it.

Of course it’s not as in depth, challenging or polished as the other “masterpiece” MV games by my goodness it’s so fun and quirky. Well worth the $20 already.

Video games are supposed to be fun right?

I know there are some platforms that have a lag response I’ve read about on Reddit. EDIT: I play on Switch 2 and I’ve had no concerns myself.

But I think there’s a serious lack of definition between the comments of, “the controls are sluggish/slow” and, “what do you mean? They’re super smooth” alongside, “Silksong is way smoother. So is Dread.”

I think the discrepancy is (actual platform lag withstanding) an issue of pace. Silksong and Dread have a fast pace. The hero moves quickly, the fights are quick, and that’s really fun.

In contrast, Belmont’s Curse paces closer to SotN. The challenge is still there with platforming, and fighting… but it is paced slower. It’s an adjustment, but it still what I would call “smooth.”

Has anyone else had similar thoughts?

Hello,

The only Castlevania I've played is SOTN, but I was too young to really appreciate it back then. So far, though, I'm having a really good time with Belmont's Curse.

However, the game seems to be praised everywhere except here.

I absolutely loved Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Shinobi, so I'm really enjoying this modern take on classic franchises. I'm totally fine with fast, fluid gameplay and colorful graphics.

What does Castlevania mean to you, and why do you think Belmont's Curse is a good Metroidvania but a bad Castlevania?

P.S. I finished The Last Faith last week. It was an okay game, but I wasn't a big fan of the gameplay. It felt way too imprecise, and the bosses were awful.

I have no idea how to pick up this donut. I have all powerups and collectibles already, ready to open the ruby chest but I want all my collectibles first. Been jumping around like crazy for this one, to no avail.

I've noticed when people discuss metroidvanias and video games in general, they often focus on the mechanics and gameplay above all. For example, if someone looks for a recommendation on a game like Metroid, people will recommend games with ranged combat, focus on exploration, lack of RPG elements, etc.

But I think the aesthetic identity is just as important to determine if you'll like a game. At least for me, it's the most important part. It includes the artistic direction, how game looks and sounds: the colors, the style of the sprites, the themes in its music. But also it's about its atmosphere, what feelings does the game evoke when you play. It's also related and should be coherent with its theme and narrative.

Some of the best games in the genre have very strong themes and aesthetics. For example:

Super Metroid

• Theme: explore an alien planet to retrieve the last metroid.
• Atmosphere: isolation, heroism, tension, horror, wonder.
• Art Direction: colorful tiles, dark backgrounds, clear contrast, realistic and sometimes grotesque characters.

Castlevania SotN (until Order of Ecclesia)

• Theme: invade Dracula's Castle to defeat him and his minions.
• Atmosphere: melancholy, heroism, decadence, wonder.
• Art Direction: dark romanticism, elegant and highly detailed sprites, realistic enemies, anime-like characters.

Hollow Knight and Silksong

• Theme: explore a fallen bug kingdom.
• Atmosphere: melancholy, solitude, mystery, wonder
• Art Direction: cartoon-like characters, detailed and blurred backgrounds, heavy use of lighting and shadows, monochromatic biomes.

I think because of the exploration nature of metroidvanias, they benefit a lot from atmosphere, art direction and music. Other metroidvanias I really like aesthetically: Axiom Verge, Blasphemous, Animal Well, Ultros, Well Dweller and more.

This also made me think, which themes and aesthetics do you think are under explored?

I loved the game. It’s probably my GOTY. I’m calling it now. Too many games today hold you by the hand. It’s nice to see that Belmont’s Curse is a game that rewards you for exploring and experimenting.

This is a game that rewards you for solving puzzles on your own. There were a few instances in which dialogue from an NPC or item descriptions would hint at solutions to side quests and optional areas/bosses. I LOVED THAT. You WILL miss out on some secrets and some puzzle solutions if you’re not paying attention.

I loved the amount of exploration in the game. It reminded me of my experiences with Hollow Knight or Elden Ring in the sense that just when I thought that I had explored every area, BAM, huge hidden optional area! 🤯

The combat was fun, and the platforming was more fun than frustrating, so no complaints there. I did get a late game weapon that was pretty overpowered and it carried me through all the way to the final boss. The grapple whip into attack move is pretty overpowered, and you can kind of spam it if you really wanted to.

The game was a bit on the easy side though. I only got stuck on maybe 3 late game bosses. Otherwise, it only took a handful of attempts before I got each boss’ attack patterns down.

I didn’t have to do any additional grinding. As I was making my way through an optional area, I didn’t realize that I had reached the maximum character level of 99 while I was in there. 😅

I don’t know if I’ll bother trying to 100% my current save since I already got the true ending. I’d rather just do a new playthrough and try a different weapon this time or utilize the secondary attacks more.

I don’t get people who say that this isn’t a Castlevania game. Okay… well, whatever. It’s a damn good Metroidvania, that’s for sure. 🤷‍♂️😎👍

I started with hollow knight. Then many Metroidvania, then silk song and then many more after that with things like death gambit style (focus on action, soulslike). Hollow knight story was so obscure , from software felt easier for me. Prince of Persia lost crown was the best until now but castlevania belmont curse( my first castlevania) is just amazing. Story is good, simple. Combat variety is fun and gameplay is fun. Platforming is hard but fun. Has accessibility which I haven’t used yet but great to have. Finally music is banger. Complete package

As I’ve been working my way through Belmont’s curse I’ve realized it’s extremely unique in how it gates off content from the player. Most metroidvanias just gate off areas by requiring certain upgrades, meanwhile a select few others are almost entirely based around learning more about how the game works (I believe Toki Tori is like this and I’m not sure if Tunic is considered a metroidvania)

Belmont’s Curse on the other hand is about 50/50, with tons of hidden shortcuts and side paths that just lead to required information, but still requiring plenty of ability unlocks too.

I really really love this balance and really hope to see more games in the future implement it. Not sure just how crazy things can get on a second playthrough but I’m really looking forward to see all the crazy skips and sequence breaks that will be possible for experienced players, and I expect speedruns will be exceptionally cool.