Special Feature: August 2018 is Metroidvania Month

The rise of independent game developers and the “indie” software they’ve provided led to a surge in Metroidvania games, 2D platformers with nonlinear progression and a focus on exploration. There weren’t too many being made before this glut, with scant examples coming from Japan in the form of several Metroid and Castlevania games, and a few others. But to no coincidence, their rise started when both those franchises took a vacation due to several factors. Developers wanted to make games to fill the void they left, while others who wanted to make these kinds games for years finally got the chance.

The string of indie Metroidvania titles has been going for years, and it’s showing no signs of letting up. Metroid has since returned, and while Castlevania is still (mostly) in the grave, a spiritual successor from the team that made the last several Metroidvania Castlevania titles is coming.

There isn’t a better sign of the platforming subgenre’s continued popularity than August 2018’s video gaming release schedule, where at least one Metroidvania title will arrive on a weekly basis. And that’s not including ports of earlier titles to other platforms. This might seem a little excessive even for anyone who likes the genre, but it appears several developers and publishers wanted to give the audience several games to play in a month relatively light on AAA and B-tier releases.

La-Mulana 2| PC | Available Now

If you’ve heard of La-Mulana 2 before, you might be aware of how long it’s taken. This sequel to the popular first game was announced at Tokyo Game Show in September 2013 and crowdfunded in January 2014, but it ran way behind schedule. It was originally planned for a release in December 2015, but it finally arrived today after several delays. In fact, they only announced that it would be available today, July 30, around 36 hours ago. Thankfully, the wait for it sounds justified, as the game has been praised as a worthy successor to its predecessor. The difficulty is also reportedly just as brutal despite the tighter controls, so you and your controllers have been warned.

Chasm | PlayStation 4, Vita, PC | July 31

In a pure coincidence, Chasm is yet another Kickstarted game coming way past its due date this week, and this one took even longer. The project was crowdfunded in April of 2013, and was originally due for release in May 2014, meaning it’s coming more than four years after its intended release. Chasm isn’t as immediately appealing as other indie Metroidvania games because its level design is procedurally generated, whereas the best games in the subgenre have benefitted from strong premade designs. The fact that they’ve been working on it for long gives me hope that it will be an enjoyable experience despite that, and hopefully that’s the case.

(Yes, I know both of these games aren’t actually releasing in August, but they’re coming close enough that they count.)

Dead Cells | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC | August 7

In addition to this being a list of Metroidvania titles coming within a short time span, this post is also showing how much time commitment is necessary for making a game in the subgenre. Dead Cells has been in Steam Early Access for over a year, and is coming a little later than expected. But it appears the developers gathered enough praise and criticism to make their already-quality game even more polished.

The developers have called Dead Cells a Metroidvania-inspired title, but the game takes enough elements from the games (particularly the open-ended progression) that it’s well worth a mention here. They wanted to emphasize how big a focus has been placed on surviving, as the game will have no checkpoints. Maybe you’ll need to set money aside for extra controllers. Well, more controllers.

Death’s Gambit | PlayStation 4, PC | August 14

Death’s Gambit is another Metroidvania game with a twist. While it incorporates elements like nonlinear exploration and stat management, it also takes equal inspiration from FormSoftware’s Souls titles. The latter has also been a common source of inspiration among independent developers, which is no surprise considering both these types of games have several overlapping features.

This game places a larger focus on combat compared to other such titles, with lengthy bouts between one or two enemies of various sizes. It’s evident that plenty of time was spent on making this a sprite-based sight to behold animation-wise, while players spend time memorizing the patterns of several enemies to exploit their weaknesses. But there’s still an ample amount of platforming, and hopefully the game strikes a workable balance between the two.

Guacamelee! 2 | PlayStation 4, PC, | August 21

As shown through its name, sequel Guacamelee! 2 will continue the format established in the previous title, in being a hybrid between a platformer and brawler inspired by Mexican culture and lure. It takes place in the Mexiverse, where luchador Juan Aguacate returns to unleash his wrestling moves on a new threat. The sequel allows for more customization with Juan’s move set, so players can have more unique approaches to combat.

There’s a good reason for that. The biggest difference with this installment will be the addition of four-player drop-in co-op, and each player will ideally have a distinguishable set of techniques. It’s not clear whether the levels are balanced for single-player or multiplayer, but the game will ideally have an adjustable balance.

The Nintendo Switch has been a home to several late ports, especially from indie studios. That’s hardly surprising given how well indie games have been selling on the system. Iconoclasts, which released for PS4, Vita, and PC earlier this year after being in development since 2010 (topping the other games above), will release for Switch this Thursday, August 2. The game has been described as a fusion between Metroid and Mega Man Zero, and it garnered a good reception. Salt & Sanctuary, the previous noteworthy fusion between the styles of Metroidvania and Souls titles, will also release for Switch on Thursday. Switch is only getting one of the games from the main list, but it’s not like owners won’t have several options regardless.

This list shows how there are too many good Metroidvania titles coming to several systems throughout August, more than enough to make up for the lack of bigger games. I recommend not playing all of them right behind each other, so you don’t burn yourself out. But keep this list bookmarked so you don’t forget about any of them in subsequent months, where AAA and B-tier games will be more plentiful.