I did it! I finally did it! Over five hundred deaths later I conquered Ori and the Blind Forest. Moon Studios developed a game that clicks on so many levels. The story, art, music, combat, and precise platforming all blend together to form a tough as nails diamond of a game. The completion of Ori got me thinking about the other Metroidvania games I've played lately.
I'm pretty new to actually playing Metroidvanias and really only heard the term floating around in the last year or two. I have never played a Castlevania or Metroid game. In the past year I've finished a couple games in a similar vein: Hollow Knight and Yoku's Island Express. I think all three of these games bring a unique twist and style to a similar base model. I'll wanted to take time to gush about the three games individually and then wrap up with parts I'd take from each title to build the ultimate dream game.
H O L L O W K N I G H T
I heard the phrase “instant classic” thrown around a lot when people talked about Hollow Knight. People in forums and critics were claiming it to be better than the titans of Metroidvania style games. A difficult feat for any but even more impressive coming from a studio of just two developers. Team Cherry created a classic that rightfully deserves the accolades it has received. Lost in the endless flood of indie games released on PC, I hadn’t heard of Hollow Knight until it made its way onto the Nintendo Switch. Watching the short snippet of time during a Nintendo TreeHouse presentation I was sold, it was a day one purchase for me and I haven't looked back.
Hollow Knight has the feel of a Soulsbourne game, with it's difficult combat, mixed with some platforming. It truly felt like someone at From Software decided to make Dark Souls but flip the perspective. Coming hot off the heels of Bloodborne and the Souls fever still burning, Hollow Knight was exactly what I needed. The combat is tight, it's unrelenting in the way it punishes the player. The aesthetic is uniquely grotesque. I mean it is a game full of insects trying to kill you and the design of enemies/bosses are enough to send chills down your spine.
I spent hours navigating through treacherous depths, suffering defeat after defeat. Each death however was still progress. I learned a new tell the boss used to signify his next move or found the correct fork in road (by process of elimination, my elimination that is). The feeling of successfully killing a boss who had repeatedly stomped me felt amazing. This is a game that is very satisfying, because like Soulsborne games, nothing is handed to you. You as the player are expected to find your way. Which makes it that much more fulfilling when you finally hurdle over whatever obstacle that was in your path. All of that being said there is one thing I would personally change. The map system, personally, isn't the best. It requires you to move around in the dark until you find the map maker (you do hear him humming to let you know you're close). There were times I'd see him, but not have enough currency to purchase the map. This scenario adds to the already incredibly tense game play but can lead to more time frustratingly retracing your steps to the map maker. Overall though Hollow Knight is a gem. I didn't get around to finding everything in the game, but writing this is making me giddy about navigating the dark tunnels with my nail (the weapon used in Hollow Knight) in hand again.
Y O K U ' S I S L A N D E X P R E S S
Where Hollow Knight's strength in design relies on creepy crawlies and bugs I never want to see, Yoku's design is at its best when it's showing a wide range of color and cuteness. Some people may look at this game and think it childish, however it was a game I really enjoyed. Yoku's Island Express is something I never thought I needed.
The experience is a good blend of relaxing and stressful. It also mixes the best parts of Metroidvania games (new abilities needed to unlock other areas, big map, interconnected world) except the big difference is in the traversal. You are a beetle with a ball that moves around the island that acts as a giant interactive pinball machine. Getting from point A to point B is fun and littered with collectibles on the way. I found myself constantly stopping and trying to grab as many of the extra items that I could. I may have ended up needing a guide but this is one of the very few games lately that I pretty much finished with 100%. That can be attested to how much fun I had rolling, flipping, and bouncing around with Yoku.
I don't know exactly what this game is missing and it really could be that it isn't missing anything. The pinball mechanic is a very strong concept that I would love to see improved upon in a sequel. In fact of the three games I'm talking about Yoku is the one I'd love to see a sequel to the most. I am someone that loves new IPs, especially ones that are as much a breath of fresh air as Yoku, but I really wouldn't mind another adventure with the beetle.
O R I A N D T H E B L I N D F O R E S T
Seriously, what a game. I talked about it a little in the intro, but this game is something else. I am ashamed to say I've owned the game for roughly two years or so but only finally got around to it last month. Games are a very time and place art and I might have bounced off of it back then, but it's hard to imagine that happening now.
Admittedly there were times during my roughly 8 hour journey that I may have thought, “Why do I keep pushing myself through this?” The answer is simple Ori is addicting and very satisfying to progress through. I loved trudging through new points in the map, fighting new enemies, and progressing through a rewarding story. Nailing a perfect run during the escape scenes after countless tries is up there with some of my favorite gaming moments.
All of that being said and I think one of Ori's strongest traits is it's upgrade system. The game never felt dull or repetitive because it constantly gave you a new power to mess around with. Whether it was combat related or a new maneuver to help you reach previously out of reach areas. The pacing and placement of these upgrades made the play through infinitely better.
O R I , Y O K U , A N D T H E K N I G H T ' S I S L A N D E X P R E S S
( T I T L E P E N D I N G )
Ok, so as I touched about what makes these games wonderful. They all have extremely well executed mechanics, nailed the visual aesthetic, and were, most importantly, flat out fun. I doubt I'm really saying much new when praising these games. However, I thought, “What if I could take pieces of each of them to really create a dream game?” The initial answer is easy: Yoku's traversal, Ori's world along with it's upgrade tree, and Hollow Knight's combat.
Yoku's whole shtick is in the way you navigate the tropical paradise. So, why not steal something so fresh and feels really good? It is easy for me to envision Ori's forest filled with pinball zones. This of course would make combat essentially not much of a focus for the normal treks along the way.
That's why I'm thinking that it'd almost be a boss rush type game in the sense that combat is limited to boss rooms. Once entered your hero jumps off the ball and the fights begin. It would transform itself into what Hollow Knight does so fantastically, a tough yet satisfying showdown. The learning of patterns and having to execute your game plan perfect would carry over. Learning to use new power ups would be essential in taking down your enemies and moving on to the next zone.
My thought is that these power ups would work there way in as well as Ori's system. It is hard to pinpoint how they got theirs organized and placed in the world that fit so well, but it's my dream game so let's just say it works. You'd get a combination of new ways to move around (faster speeds to go up steep inclined, an ability to ring the pinball around a tree limb so you can swing from platform to platform) and new fighting techniques (charge attacks, new combos) that would aid in fights. They would have a mix of fun hidden upgrades and mandatory upgrades that are narrative driven. After all you need a reason for the player to look through every nook and cranny of the map.
C O N C L U S I O N
All of the games I've talked about in their own way breathe new breath into a genre I want to spend more time diving into. I'm sure I've played Metroidvanias before without knowing that's what they were and probably bounced off. Now that I've seen the light, I can only hope to find as much pleasure as I found in these games, even if it takes dying five hundred plus times.
Comments