Metroidvanias

Movement and World Traversal

By Tim Carbone
 What defines
“Metroidvania”?
What defines “Metroidvania”?

● Large,
interconnected
world
● Upgrades/abilities

● So first, I wanna discuss what defines a Metroidvania game

● Games in this subgenre draw their main inspiration from the 1994 hit, Super
Metroid
● The two major defining features of a Metroidvania game are
○ A large, interconnected world of smaller areas that the player will
explore
○ Upgrades and abilities that the player unlocks throughout the
adventure
● Picture:
○ Super Metroid
What defines “Metroidvania”?

● Atmospheric
● Focus on level
design
● Backtracking

● Covering the first point, the large, interconnected world usually consists of
visually distinct smaller areas that are inaccessible until the player progresses
in some way
● The games are overall pretty atmospheric because the map is so large that
areas have to be very distinct and memorable for their own reasons so players
can orient themselves
● There’s a big focus on good level design that makes use of the player’s
abilities and really tests their mastery of it
● And finally, Metroidvanias are known for forcing the player to backtrack
somewhat in order to reach areas you couldn’t previously access with your
new upgrades
● A large, interconnected world like in Metroidvanias is very different from an
open world because an open-world is often characterized as one large area
divided into separate areas that may seamlessly blend together in order to
make the world feel realistic, while a Metroidvania world is comprised of
smaller, very distinct areas that are only accessible from certain points.
○ A good way to describe it is an open world is a circle that is then
divided up, whereas a Metroidvania world is many smaller circles with
lines connecting them.
● Picture:
○ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
What defines “Metroidvania”?

● Access to new
areas
● Traverse/battle
easier

● The other major aspect of Metroidvanias are upgrades. These upgrades are
used in two major ways.
● The first is that there are often areas of the world that are simply inaccessible
with the base moveset of the player character, but as they receive upgrades,
they are able to overcome the obstacles that block these areas off and
continue their exploration
● The other major use of upgrades is one that is forgotten every so often and it
really makes the difference, and that is having the upgrades also make
traversal and battle easier. Backtracking can be incredibly tedious, so it’s a
game’s responsibility to balance this by using the new mechanics as ways to
make previously difficult enemies easier and tedious paths shorter.
● Pictures:
○ Foam from Shadow Complex
○ Vengeful Spirit from Hollow Knight
Where does world
traversal fit in?
Where does world traversal fit in?

● The lens I want to focus on with this research project revolves around
movement and world traversal in Metroidvania games
● The things I want to research include:
○ The different ways Metroidvania games have attempted to make
traversal across their large worlds fun or interesting
○ How mobility affects the other aspects of gameplay like combat and
level design
○ Why certain movement works better with Metroidvania’s style than
other genres, and vice versa
● Pictured
○ Bash from Ori and the Blind Forest
○ Rooster Uppercut from Guacamelee
○ Stagway from Hollow Knight
History of Movement in
Metroidvanias
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
1. Game is innovative and successful

2. Companies make “clones”

3. “Clones” try to take specific parts and innovate

4. New genre forms from common elements

● I want to quickly discuss the history of how a genre is often formed so that the
history of Metroidvanias makes sense
● This 4 step example is from a Mark Brown video on genre that I highly
recommend
● So DOOM came out and was wildly successful and new
● Next, came clones of DOOM. They would find the elements that made DOOM
what it was, and then put them in a different setting with a tweak here or there,
but they were essentially the same game. An example is Duke Nukem.
● Next, these games that take inspiration from DOOM start picking out pieces
that they think make DOOM so good and they use those, while throwing other
new ideas in and innovating upon it. An example is Half-Life with its controls
and shooting, but its focus on story on emergent gameplay.
● Finally, people settle on the common elements found in these games and
decide that just calling it a clone of a game is too far off now. So DOOM clone
becomes first-person shooter.
● When it comes to Metroidvanias, we are...
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
1. Game is innovative and successful

2. Companies make “clones”

3. “Clones” try to take specific parts and innovate

4. New genre forms from common elements

● ...here. We’re in the point in time where developers are finding elements of
Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night that they like or want
to run with, and they’re making new games from it. But they’re not entirely
through step three yet.
● It’s more like they are ending the first half of step three. Because Metroidvania
games still heavily resemble Super Metroid in structure and gameplay, and
“large, interconnected world and slowly increasing your arsenal” aren’t fully
distilled enough aspects yet, they haven’t reached Half-Life levels of becoming
their own thing.
● There are games coming out that are breaking the mold, for sure, and we’ll get
to those. But it’s important to realize the genre hasn’t developed as much as
first-person shooters yet, and we are just now seeing some really interesting
innovations.
● In this section I’ll talk about the most influential games and movement systems
that led up to the present indie boom, and then discuss those games that are
innovating the most a bit later a bit later
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Wonder Boy in Monster Land (1987)

● Standard
movement
● Jumping

● Wonder Boy in Monster Land is what most people consider to be the first
game in the Metroidvania genre
● The game was home to the interconnected world and upgrades that became
the defining factors of the genre
● There was nothing special about the movement, but you could move left and
right and jump, which is pretty much what is standard platforming for
Metroidvanias
● Picture:
○ Wonder Boy in Monster Land
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Metroid (1986)

● Zelda influenced,
but its own thing
● Morph Ball

● Next came Metroid, which took these two big ideas and made them accessible
to a wider audience.
● It was very influenced by Zelda games in ways, but it was still very new and its
own thing
● In addition, the Morph Ball was a new way of traversing by allowing the player
to fit into smaller spaces
● Picture:
○ Metroid
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Super Metroid (1994)

● Set/popularized
the genre staples

● Super Metroid is the father of the genre. It set the standard for what games of
that style were going to be from then on
● Power-ups and upgrades and abilities now served to both open up new areas
and make a player’s life easier
● The world felt alive with its interconnected areas that felt cohesive
● Most importantly, the game was wildly popular, which is what made it so
enticing to copy
● Picture:
○ Super Metroid
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

● Rode the popularity

● Added RPG
elements
● Transformations
● Inverted Castle

● Symphony of the Night is often overlooked when it comes to defining the

genre, simply because it’s obvious the game was heavily inspired by Super
Metroid. But the ideas it put forward really built upon the foundation that the
game it was inspired by set.
● It rode the popularity of Super Metroid and satisfied players who wanted more
of that same vibe, and it was so popular with fans that it was the new standard
for Castlevania games going forward for many years.
● The game also introduced XP and RPG elements that made for an interesting
twist on just the exploration and upgrading
● Alucard could eventually transform into a wolf and a bat, which made for very
different types of world traversal
● And the part that always seemed the most interesting to me: the game
changes things up halfway through by inverting the castle and completely
shifting the level design
● Picture:
○ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Metroid Prime (2002)

● Brought the genre

into 3D

● The next big stop on our journey is with the first 3D Metroidvania game, which
is Metroid Prime
● The game was an incredibly successful experiment in bringing the
popular-but-still-underutilized systems of Metroidvania games from 2D to 3D
● The game was often seen as an adventure first-person shooter, but it felt
exactly like Super Metroid with its upgrades and movement and shooting
● Pictures:
○ Metroid Prime
History of Movement in Metroidvanias
Cave Story (2004)

● Paved way for

indies
● Jetpack

● The last major milestone in the history of Metroidvanias was Cave Story
● This game was one of the first big indie releases, period. It opened the doors
for people who just wanted to make games they were passionate about with
small teams
● It was the first major Metroidvania release, outside of the two players that gave
the genre its name
● Also, hovering around with the jetpack was really cool and opened up some
cool combat and platforming maneuvers
● Picture:
○ Cave Story
What players like
Metroidvanias?
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Adventure
● Growth
● Altruism

● To model what players of Metroidvanias are looking for, I’m going to base it on
Jason VandenBerghe’s 5 Domains of Play
● After analyzing the different motivations and traits from the 5 domains, I’ve
settled on players of these games being motivated by
○ Adventure and exploration
○ Progression and growth
○ Altruism and heroism
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Most notable domain in terms of Metroidvanias in that players have extremely

high interests in the Novelty domain
○ Immersion is huge
○ Adventure and a sense of freedom is extremely attractive to these
players; they hate to have their hand held
○ Some use of intellect and being able to roll with the punches are also
appealing
● Pictures:
○ Arthropod Demon Edea fight in Momodora: Reverie Under the
Moonlight
○ Alien language puzzle in Environmental Base Alpha
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Above average Challenge

○ Metroidvanias are all about progressing and feeling that achievement
○ Difficulty in Metroidvanias is on a spectrum and is not what defines the
games, but the games tend to lean towards a challenge and the
players that come to them enjoy that
■ About difficulty
● Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is easy and appealing
● Hollow Knight is brutal and anxiety-inducing
■ I’ll discuss difficult a bit more in regards to Threat
○ They also may be given side objectives to procrastinate with, but the
design of these games usually means that even if the player thinks
they are procrastinating, it is still part of the exploratory/empowering
experience
● Pictures:
○ Energy God fight in Aquaria
○ Boss fight in Salt and Sanctuary
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Slightly above average Stimulation

○ Metroidvanias are often lonely, solitary adventures, but some hold a
cast of enticing or engaging characters
○ Players of Metroidvanias typically enjoy the thrill and emotions that
come with playing the games, but the genre is not specifically known
for its bombast and it’s certainly not a defining trait of what draws
players to these games.
● Pictures:
○ Otus and Geddy from Owlboy
○ Ginso Tree escape in Ori and the Blind Forest
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Above average Harmony

○ Players are generally altruistic and willing to help others/the world as
they are given very heroic goals
○ This section is most often used for cooperative versus competitive
games; there are a few cooperative Metroidvanias
■ Guacamelee!
■ Cave Story+
● Pictures:
○ Level leading up to saving a crew member in VVVVVV
○ Alebrije chase from Guacamelee
What players like Metroidvanias?

● Average Threat
○ Threat is a bit about difficulty, so I’ll reiterate what I said before about
difficulty, but Threat is mostly about the emotions that the game elicits
from its atmosphere and gameplay
○ Difficulty in Metroidvanias is on a spectrum and is not what defines the
games, but the games tend to lean towards a challenge
○ Because of this spectrum, players from all sides come in and some
may feel aggravated or worried by the challenge or environment, but
the experiences are very broad and so somewhere in the middle
makes the most sense
■ About threatened-like emotions:
● Metroid games are very focused on making the player
feel alone
● Yoku’s Island Express is bright, happy, and charming
● Pictures:
○ Metroid Prime final boss from Metroid Prime
○ Yoku’s Island Express
What are different
companies doing?
What are different companies doing?

● Big games adopting major aspects

● Most big studios are not putting out games that fit the Metroidvania moniker
and they definitely aren’t innovating on the idea of movement/traversal, but
they are utilizing aspects that are core to the Metroidvania experience
● Some examples include:
○ Batman: Arkham Asylum with its branching world that isn’t as
open-world as its successors, and backtracking and accessing new
areas with new abilities and powerups
○ Dark Souls with its heavy emphasis on an interconnected, immersive
world
● Pictures
○ New traversal item of gliding in Batman: Arkham Asylum
○ Shortcuts in Dark Souls
What are different companies doing?

● Metroid and Castlevania dormant

● When it comes to the big companies that also happened to pioneer the genre,
there’s actually been very little activity as of late.
● While Nintendo has announced Metroid Prime 4 and just released a remake of
the second game in the series, the last major release in the series was in
2010.
● Konami, on the other hand, hasn’t released or announced a new Castlevania
game since 2013.
● Pictures
○ Metroid: Samus Returns
○ Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate
What are different companies doing?

● Indies are the new players

● The real companies that are pushing this revival of the Metroidvania genre are
indie studios
● Companies with staffers that grew up loving games like Metroid and
Castlevania but seeing a severe lack of them in the market decided to create
their own, and they’re trying a lot of cool and interesting stuff
● Pictures:
○ La-Mulana 2
○ Hollow Knight
○ Odallus: The Dark Call
○ The Messenger
What are different companies doing?

● Some are changing the structure

● Some companies are trying to play with the structure of the interconnected
worlds typically associated with Metroidvanias
● Dead Cells is a roguelike where the map shifts and changes, but the
exploration and upgrading is extremely Metroidvania-esque
● The Messenger starts and was originally advertised as a linear, Ninja Gaiden
style game, but it ends up opening up into a Metroidvania world halfway
through the game
● Pictures:
○ Dead Cells
○ The Messenger
What are different companies doing?

● Some are trying a few cool things

● Most devs will introduce a few interesting ideas for movement that don’t rock
the boat too much
● Axiom Verge allows the player various weapons like a small Drone, a Drill, and
Address Disruptor that both have unique combat abilities and allow the player
to reshape the game world a bit
● The Steamworld Dig games allow the player to create their own routes through
the world via the focus on digging mechanics
● Pictures:
○ Axiom Verge
○ Steamworld Dig 2
What are different companies doing?

● Many are playing with movement fundamentally

● Other devs, however, have tried to radically shake things up

● Yoku’s Island Express is the most recent and notable example, styling itself as
a pinball game
● Aquaria has players swimming around in the water, which changes the game
from a platformer to a much different style of avoiding obstacles
○ Owlboy has a similar free-movement system with its flying, but
obviously that’s not in water
● Dandara removes the ability to move at all, replacing it with teleporting
between white surfaces
● Pictures:
○ Yoku’s Island Express
○ Aquaria
○ Dandara
What are different companies doing?

● Many are playing with movement fundamentally

● VVVVVV removes the ability to jump and instead has the player flipping
gravity, which was a very unique mechanic at the time of its release
● Ori and the Blind Forest holds my favorite example with the Bash move, which
allows Ori to bounce off of objects in any direction while shooting the object
the opposite way, which adds a whole new layer to the platforming challenge
and utility
● So as you can see, the genre is still evolving and coming up with new ideas,
and I’m extremely excited to continue researching them
● Pictures:
○ VVVVVV
○ Ori and the Blind Forest
 Thank you!

Bibliography

Arguello, Diego. “Combining Pinball with Platforming to Build the Levels of Yoku's
Island
Express.” Gamasutra Article, 25 June 2018,
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/319656/Combining_pinball_with_platforming_
to_build_the_levels_of_Yokus_Island_Express.php.

This article describes the basic process that Villa Gorilla, developers of Yoku’s Island
Express, went through when designing the game. The team started with a pinball
game but decided to flesh it out into a Metroidvania-style game in order to stand out
from other pinball games. The source of the article is a freelance journalist who
interviewed the development team for the article. The multitude of quotes used
throughout makes the source seem very reliable. The source itself will be extremely
helpful to my research given how unique of a movement system the game uses
compared to other Metroidvania games.

Bitmob. “Metroidvania: Super Metroid and the Definition of a Genre.” VentureBeat,

VentureBeat,
24 April 2010,
venturebeat.com/2010/04/24/metroidvania-super-metroid-and-the-definition-of-
a-genre/.
This article quickly recaps what defines the Metroidvania genre and its history in
terms of the two games that defined it: Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of
the Night. It discusses how there’s more to the genre than the nonlinearity and
abilities, and how it all comes together to create a niche type of game that’s hard to
strong in many areas. The source of the article seems to be a journalist for a website
formerly known at Bitmob that now became VentureBeat, and finding the original
journalist is difficult. However, the recap of information seems to be very simple and
easily proven. This source is helpful to my research because it takes on the definition
of the genre from both a traditional and different perspective.

Brown, Mark, director. The World Design of Metroid 1 and Zero Mission | Boss Keys.
YouTube,
YouTube, 31 July 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUT60DKaEGc.
Brown, Mark, director. The World Design of Super Metroid | Boss Keys. YouTube,
YouTube, 3 September 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2MXwplMZA.

These videos highlight the level design and use of upgrades in the first 2 major
entries in the Metroid franchise. They specifically talk about how the games, while not
being the first games of their style, have become the standards and what made them
such remarkable templates. Mark Brown is a journalist and YouTube creator who
focuses his writing and production on videos that analyze games, game design, and
other related topics. His video essays include many sources and research, which
makes the videos he makes fairly credible. These videos are helpful because they are
essentially about what I’m trying to study: the core of Metroidvanias and how their
movement can affect things like other upgrades, combat, and level design.

Brown, Mark, director. Do We Need a Soulslike Genre? | Game Maker’s Toolkit.

YouTube,
YouTube, 12 July 2017, https://youtu.be/Lx7BWayWu08.

This video is mainly about whether coining the “Soulslike” genre is good or bad for the
development of the genre. Mark covers various genres spawned from a game like
roguelikes, first-person shooters, and (most notably) Metroidvanias in order to
juxtapose those to the current situation involving Dark Souls. Mark Brown is a
journalist and YouTube creator who focuses his writing and production on videos that
analyze games, game design, and other related topics. His video essays include
many sources and research, which makes the videos he makes fairly credible. This
video was helpful in figuring out what really is the process of developing a genre, as
well as helping me realize what basing a genre off a single or few games does to
innovating a genre.
Bycer, Josh. “The 3 Essential Elements of Metroidvania Design.” Game Wisdom, 17
Oct. 2017,
game-wisdom.com/critical/metroidvania-design.

This article discusses the three major factors to think about when designing a
Metroidvania game. The player should start off the game with a gameplay loop that is
solid and doesn’t rely on getting into the late game to feel good, the upgrades should
not just unlock new areas but should fit into the player’s routine and enhance their
abilities, and the world should be attractive and “invite the player to explore and return
to” it. The author, Josh Bycer, is a freelance writer and creator of the website Game
Wisdom, dedicated to examining game design across the industry. The article is an
analytical piece based on what the writer thinks is necessary for a good Metroidvania.
It’s helpful to use this source because it not only talks about what makes a
Metroidvania, but also what makes a good one.

Francis, Bryant. “Iconoclasts Developer Talks Making a Game That Just 'Feels
Right'.”
Gamasutra Article, 24 Jan. 2018,
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/313638/Iconoclasts_developer_talks_making
_a_game_that_just_feels_right.php.

This article discusses the designer of Iconoclast’s general philosophies when

designing and creating the game, while also distinguishing what makes it like a
Metroidvania but still keeps it out of the genre. He says because the game is mostly
linear that it shouldn’t be considered a Metroidvania, but Iconoclasts was heavily
influenced by Metroid Fusion and the minute-to-minute gameplay was very
movement-focused and upgrade-based. The author is the designer himself, so he is
an educated source on the matter. I think it’s important, in order to fully understand
the genre, to look at a game that is similar to Metroidvania games but specifically
talks about why it doesn’t fit the description perfectly. I also think the movement in
Iconoclasts is helpful to look at for this project.

“Metroidvania.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Sept. 2018,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroidvania.

This page is a fairly detailed summary about the entire genre and its history. It gives a
good definition for what really makes a Metroidvania, and briefly discusses how it
evolved. The article is from Wikipedia, meaning it is can be edited by anyone, but the
moderation team of the website cleans up any inaccurate or or unprofessional edits,
meaning it’s a good source to take, but still with a grain of salt. It’s a good reference to
have because it not only leads into many other helpful articles but also summarizes
the topic well.

Nutt, Christian. “The Undying Allure of the Metroidvania.” Gamasutra Article, 13 Feb.
2015,
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/236410/The_undying_allure_of_the_Metroidv
ania.php.

This article dives deep into why developers are continuing to make Metroidvania
games and why people keep playing them. The major reasons are that the
Metroidvania framework is not very restrictive and allows for a lot of creativity, it
follows a progression that appeals to a wide audience, and developers find a lot to
enjoy when developing immersive worlds and interesting gameplay. The source is
very reliable because the author of the piece is the main editor for Gamasutra’s blog
as well as a season journalist for games, and he was able to interview a variety of
developers making games in the genre. This is easily the most important source I’ve
found, as it is incredibly detailed about the genre and why it is so appealing to play
and develop for.

VandenBerghe, Jason. “The 5 Domains of Play: Applying Psychology's Big 5

Motivation
Domains to Games.” Game Developers Conference. Game Developers
Conference, 27 Sept. 2018, San Francisco, California.

This talk from GDC is about how Jason has been trying to find a more modern and
detailed way of figuring out what kind of games people like based on their motivations
in real life by converting the Big 5 from psychology to domains for game players. The
5 domains are broken up even further and then averaged out and they seem to be
able to define what aspects of games certain players enjoy. The creator of the talk,
Jason VandenBerghe, is a seasoned Ubisoft developer, as well as someone who
cited his sources and clearly did a lot of research about the topic. The talk is
extremely helpful when it comes to defining what kind of player wants to play
Metroidvanias and why they actually like them.