Metroidvania? I don't think so.

[MrEntity]

Why is one of the main tags for this game Metroidvania? I will grant that the game makes vague overtures towards the metroidvania genre, but, to the extent that it exists at all, the metroidvanianess of this game affects the gameplay in an absolutely minimal manner.

I will explain my viewpoint:
Metroidvania means (to me) "you gain abilities which allow you access to previously innaccesible areas". Also, and perhaps most crucially, "these abilities affect the manner in which you play the game".
I could go into depth on this issue, and point out the ways in which, for example. the transformations in Symphony of the Night, or how the Super Missile or Super Bomb in Super Metroid completely change the way you engage in combat, suffice to say that each ability you get is directly applicable to gameplay and alters the way you approach the game from then on.
In this game what do you get? A vine ability you're immediately forced to acquire which gains you access to a couple new places and does NOTHING else. You get a teleporation ability which gains you access to new areas and does NOTHING else. You gain a floor-smash ability which (very occasionally) helps you kill an enemy or two below you, but mostly only gains you access to a new area. And, finally, you gain a wall climb ability which affects gameplay in an absolutely minimal manner beyond allowing access to a few new areas, and occasionally better manners of escaping combat.

You can complete this game without gaining any of these abilities (except the mandatory vine thing). Metroidvanias are DEFINED by the fact that new abilities allow access to new areas which recquire that ability to navigate, and the new combat strategies presented by the aquisition of new movement abilities. In this game you get the occasional chance to break a floor on an enemy's head, and that's about it.


This game is good. It is possibly even great. It is a very solid action-platformer (mostly action). It is NOT a metroidvania. It makes vague overtures towards the genre, but makes no actual effort to exemplify the defining characteristics thereof. The only real thing gaining "metroidvania" abilities does in this game is let you explore a bit more, or gan you access to new areas.
I will try to explain this as best I can by referencing a non-Metroidvania game series which none-the-less exemplifies its basic tenets:
Imagine you are playing a Zelda game. You go through a dungeon, kill the boss, and are rewarded with bombs. Now imagine that the only thing those bombs do is open the door to the next dungeon. No enemies take damage from bombs, and there is no reason to use them outside of the explosive way you open the door to the next dungeon. There aren't even any areas to open in this new dungeon by bombing walls Would that feel great? Would you appreciate that your bombs, hookshot, arrows, etc, were in no way useful beyond allowing you access to the next dungeon? Would you like it if they didn't even affect the boss of the dungeon? I am thinking no. And I am confused as to why this game is tagged as a metroidvania. Yes, the abilities you gain allow you access to new areas, but no it does not affect gameplay or your ability to progress. This same effect (or 90% of it) could be applied by locking doors to which the bosses have keys.

I am confused. Why is this a Metroidvania.

[Demonmax]

Well, the first two runes you unlock by playing Dead Cells indeed doesn't affect gameplay as much besides opening new areas to explore. But the last 3 ones (Ram Rune, Spider Rune &
Homunculus Rune) they do change the way you approach your fights and explore the scenario within the game's biomes.

Ram Rune buffs up your Dive attack's damage and range (long fall dive attack only) PERMANENTLY, and as you've described, you can also find grounds to break that help you kill some enemies.

Spider Rune, at least for me, is the one that affects most my gameplay style. It helps SO MUCH when you need to think and measure your actions before engaging in a fight, and changes the way you explore ALL the biomes (not mentioning the specific spider rune areas, but all the walls that now starts to act as a tool for you).

And lastly, the Homunculus Rune allows the player to control their 'head' separate from their body to reach different areas of each level and disable a single enemy's movements with full control of the player's body. It ROOTS a foe, and it can be an elite, a boss or whatever.

For me, those three really changes the way you play the game, Spider Rune being the most impactful of them.

But back to your assumption, the game has the tag "Metroidvania" on it because it has characteristics of that genre and it should be listed, as well as it has the tag "Roguelite", and the devs even used a mix of those words "Roguevania". And I think that the term "Rogue" comes first for a reason.

Besides, tags in Steam games are suppose to help the buyer to choose better his games. If the game has aspects regarding two or more genres, I think it's great to have a tag to represent the main genres it fits in.

TL:DR
The game has characteristics of a Metroidvania game, but it's not ONLY a Metroidvania. It's also a Roguelite and can also be other genres as well, but the Store Page shows the main aspects fo the game.

You can find the tags Roguelike, Metroidvania, Action, Perma-death, Roguelite, Souls-like and many other tags as well. This means the game has all those characteristics on it, but doesn't mean that it needs to be effectively a Roguelike (since it's not) nor a Metroidvania. It's a mix. :)

Edit: grammar check and TLDR added.

[256MB of SPAM]

It's definitely not a pure Metroidvania as Waylllop points out. HollowKnight would be a good example of a pure Metroidvania and a good one at that.

I'm a big Metroidvania fan myself and am somewhat skeptical about Iga's return with the yet to be released Bloodstained (would well have preferred the style to remain pixel-art based with the more mature gothic style from Order of Ecclesia). Even still, before purchasing this game I had a fair idea of what to expect from a rogue-lite/metroidvania mashup.

Don't get me wrong, I would have preferred the runes we get in DC to better augment the combat as opposed to being primarily used for traversing to previously unreachable areas, but I guess you can't win them all.

Tbh, I'm more disappointed in how repetitive this game can feel especially considering it's procedurally generated. There's a serious lack of variation and of course; unfinished aspects to the story (eg. the green dude behind the bars in the sewers that doesn't lead to anything) and the hidden scroll scaling mechanic.

[TreasureCat]

It's really not a metroidvania. Which isn't a knock against it (I love this game), just a point of fact.

This video articulates why very nicely: https://youtu.be/LpceV7GD6fg

[Gem of Temporarity]

This game as a whole isn't a metroidvania, it just has a tiny bit of it. Think of it as a meal and the metroidvania bit as the sauce. You don't eat the sauce alone, nor it is required for consumed food to be edible, but it tastes a bit better with it, so you add it to your meal.

[Tristessa]

The food option maybe? ;)

[NeedtoDie]

@MrEntity
I don't agree with your definition.

For me, Metroidvania is just a game that is inspired by Castlevania and Metroid.
You can easely see those inspirations in this game. The exploration, use of runes and combat, most notably.

Games don't have to be clones to share the genre. Just some core mechanics. And since this game is mostly combat, and the combat is a lot like SotK, it's definitely a Metroidvania.

[falloutdude83]

Fans of the Metroidvania genre are welcome to join our group and discuss what they think makes a Metroidvania

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/MetroidvaniaReview/discussions/0/1743346190287990109/