metroidvania

Atari have been doing a lot with their old properties. We’ve seen Yars Rising transplant the gameplay of Yars Revenge into a search action game and now it’s Adventure’s time to get a modernised effort. Adventure of Samsara bears very little resemblance to the 1980 classic. Ilex Games have been […]

Adventure of Samsara – PS5 Review

September 28, 2025 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d / adventure of samsara / atari / exploration / ilex games / magic / melee combat / metroidvania / parries / Pixel art / platforming / search action game by Mike

Somber Echoes comes to us from Tønsberg based developer Rock Pocket Games, their location being known to us having flown into Sandefjord to the south with Ryanair last year. For the rest of you, it’s roughly 100km southwest of Oslo and was an ancient capital of Norway. Never mind that […]

Somber Echoes – PS5 Review

July 27, 2025 in PS5 / Reviews tagged greek myth / metroidvania / norway / somber echoes by Ian

Another day, another search action game to check out. This time it’s Biomorph from Lucid Dreams Studio. I bet it’s hard to elevate one game within a packed genre. Thankfully, they’ve mostly been up to the task, providing some interesting twists on abilities with some smart choices around map design. […]

Biomorph – PS5 Review

December 9, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d / biomorph / cartoon aesthetic / exploration / graph paper maps / lucid dreams studio / melee combat / metroidvania / search action game / transformation by Mike

I think I like the mood Atari is in. Their output from a preservationist standpoint has been cool and they have attempted to revive or reimagining some of their old classics. They don’t always hit but their willingness to try has been really admirable. Their latest attempt is Yars Rising, […]

Yars Rising – PS5 Review

September 11, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d sidescroller / alien invasion / atari / metroidvania / nostalgia / search action game / stealth / tech corporation / yar's revenge / yars rising by Mike

The indie space is full of search action games that don’t always manage to set themselves apart. Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune comes from IceSeaTeam and, after a long spell in early access, the full product is available for Playstation 5. What arrives is a fully-baked effort that, whilst […]

Frontier Hunter: Erza’s Wheel of Fortune – PS5 Review

July 31, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d exploration / frontier hunter erza's wheel of fortune / gunplay / iceseateam / loot / melee combat / metroidvania / search action game / turret sequence by Mike

Promenade, on the face of it, is a cutesy platformer. Just like you should never judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover, don’t assume Promenade is a game aimed at the younger player. Yes, it’s all pastel shades and fluffy pillow forts, but in fact it shares many traits with Metroidvania-type […]

Promenade – PS5 Review

February 23, 2024 in PS4 / PS5 / Reviews tagged holy cap / metroidvania / nantes / pastel shades by Ian

We’ve played a lot of Metroidvanias here at PSC, most recently the thoroughly decent Trinity Fusion, but we’ve also played some downright ropy efforts. We’ll spare them their blushes but it does seem like this is the go-to option of the moment. Accordingly, we were a little surprised to note […]

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – PS5 Review

February 3, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged Immortals / metroidvania / prince of persia / sargon / ubisoft by Ian

Cookie Cutter is a Metroidvania style platformer/brawler from Brighton-based studio, Subcult Joint LTD. Promising to fuse Manga stylings with a punk rock aesthetic, this futuristic title mixes a bit of dystopian sci-fi with some good old ultra-violence. You play as Cherry, a robot who receives a much needed refurb job after […]

Cookie Cutter – PS5 Review

January 15, 2024 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d / cookie cutter / metroidvania / retro by Richie

Run from the savepoint, skip the cutscene, jump to grab a ring, another cutscene showing the miasma that’s chasing you, platform section, mess up a jump, get eaten by the miasma. Then repeat last three sections over and over again until you die and start from the savepoint again. This […]

Itorah – PS4 Review

May 7, 2023 in PS4 / Reviews tagged grimbart / itorah / mesoamerican / metroidvania / super sunday super bore by Ian

Religion and videogames has always felt like an odd combination. Other mediums have had their religious epics but gaming just struggles to pull one together. Saga of Sins hasn’t quite got those lofty ambitions but this effort from Bonus Level Entertainment does use a Christian backdrop to deliver a decent […]

Saga of Sins – PS5 Review

April 25, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged 2d platforming / 7 deadly sins / angels / bonus level entertainment / crusaders / Devil / germans / metroidvania / religion / saga of sins by Mike

Curse of the Sea Rats is a metroidvania type game and it comes to us by way of Barcelona-based coders, Petoons Studio, the team behind Petoons Party and part of Sony’s Spanish initiative PlayStation Talents. The story focuses on a crew of British sailors who are raided by pirates under […]

Curse of the Sea Rats – PS5 Review

April 7, 2023 in PS5 / Reviews tagged curse of the sea rats / metroidvania / petoon studio / pqube by Richie

From developer 9Finger Games and publisher Jandusoft Games comes Zapling Bygone. Self-described as a “twisted metroidvania where you murder your foes and steal their abilities by wearing their skulls.” That’s true to a certain extent, more you have to beat bosses in some cases, others you find the skulls after […]

Zapling Bygone – PS5 Review

March 16, 2023 in PS4 / PS5 / Reviews tagged infection / metroidvania / sewers / skulls / vermin by Ian