So no item for finding missing collectibles ???

Appreciate this.

Voidrought has swung the other way - after a late November patch, it's waay too difficult.

Voidwrought is my top metroidvania of 2024. The updates that they released a couple weeks after launch really helped with boss balance. And those updates also shuffled a few minor item locations around to smooth out progression. I did a second playthrough to get the last few achievements and it felt quite a bit better in some places. I also really liked Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, Crypt Custodian and Animal Well. Hated the combat in Nine Sols, so I dropped it, despite the game looking good. The core mechanic and platforming of Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus also wasn't my thing. Next on my list are Biomorph, Rebel Transmute and Gestalt: Steam and Cinder.

Quantas horas tem esse jogo?

I finally played and finished this one over about 3-4 play sessions. Loved the platforming, the art was good, and the music was pleasant enough. The bosses are mostly trash. Not really difficult, but they take way too long with lengthly attacks that just have to be dodged for awhile until it decides to give you an attack window. The last boss was one of the worst final bosses I've ever played, and I'm in my 40s, and have beaten hundreds of games. Way too many phases, long dodging sessions with no attack windows... it was a truly lousy end to a game that I really enjoyed (save the horrible fragile egg quest that was a stupid knockoff of one of the few dumb parts of Hollow Knight). The developer has some potential, but those bosses suck.

Where is The Devil Within or Dark Light?

Nine sols is pretty addicting. I wish it was more challenging overall not just the bosses.

Yes! 2024 was a great year for metroidvania. We got Castlevania Dominus Collection. No other metroidvania needed 👍

This game reminds me of Sword of the Vagrant. I'm buying this. Thanks for the review

Prince of Persia is worth playing

I 100% Voidwrought Game is good

دمت گرم❤خسته نباشی👍

Its amazing how out of step with 95% of the community I am with Nine Sols. I thought it was a complete drag. My favourites of the year were PoP, Animal Well, BioGun, Crypt Custodian and Minishoot Adventures.

Lost Crown is on my list of top games ever made and is a damn shame it didn’t sell well. Dev team is now disbanded hopefully those peeps can start up their own small company and make something else.

Personally found nine sols to be a mediocre metroidvania. It would have been an insane linear game (if they removed all the yapping) but they wanted to do a metroidvania. They clearly dont know how to do one though. Confusing map and direction, it tries to be an open map with linear progression for the sake of being confusing. Finale boss is also just artificially difficult, having too much health for no reason and one shoting you

Alright as is custom for my comments it is now time for a HUGE wall of text absolutely nobody asked for! :D I want to start of mentioning a few metroidvania's that are not featured on this list and are in my opinion VERY much worth a shot. They are criminally underrated and as far as i'm concerned games that every metroidvania fanatic should play! - Noreya the gold project is a metroidvania with incredibly smooth gameplay, addictive platforming and brilliant level design. It's my #1 this year of the ones i played. - Ultros may not be for everyone but i found the loop mechanic to be perfectly woven into the narrative creating a memorable experience with S tier visuals and music - Airhead is an incredibly well made puzzle metroidvania with an impressive variety of ingeniously crafted puzzles, atmospheric visuals and immersive sound design - Tales of kenzera i did not play (yet) but when it was announced i was very moved by the lead designer's speech of losing his father so i'm keeping this one for a special occasion - The last case of benedict fox may not have the best gameplay but the visuals, story and exploration are top notch. It's the best looking 2.5D game imo and worth it for that reason - Teslagrad 2 came out lat year but was incredibly fun with crazy fast movement and unique mechanics that really make it feel unique, an improvement over the 1st game in every way - NEVA isn't a metroidvania but i would like to squeeze it in here as it's so beautifully made that i think MV fans will still love this short masterpiece - Sheepy a short adventure is like neva not a real metroidvania but it has some hallmarks of one and it's completly free! It's also under 2 hours so no reason not to try it! - Awaken astral blade has some rough translations and voice acting but the visuals, combat and exploration were still a ton of metroidvania goodness! - Skelethrone is a bit rough but for a one man project it is certainly an impressive metroidvania with suprisingly good soulslike combat. It's pretty hard though but not impossible - Ex vitro is another short and free metroidvania but this one has uncharacteristically good writing. Seriously the lore is so well crafted in this, which makes it worth it Now for the titles shown in the video, i did not play all of these yet, some i never well because they don't interest me, however i'll give my two cents nontheless - Nine sols i found to be underwhelming because of the high expectations set by all the praise. I found there to be too much dialogue for how poor the writing was and combat was too punishing to be enjoyable anymore. I also really hated the music which is super subjective but it really didn't vibe with me. I did love the visuals and level design/exploration - Animal well is a game i opted to watch rather than play because that cut down the aimless wandering that is prevalent throughout the game. I enjoyed watching the game this way as the controls seemed too finnicky for my liking but the game is nonetheless and impressive solo dev effort and worth all the accolades. Also it's less than 1GB so that's just mindblowing tbh! - Prince of persia the lost crown is next to blasphemous 2 my most anticipated game i've yet to play. I played over 30 metroidvania's this year because i wanted to play the mediocre ones first, so I keep saving the best titles for last which is why i never get to them unfortunately. Same happened with blasphemous 2 last year, but once i finally play these i know i'll love em - The mobius machine is one of my least favorite MV's i've ever played, it really pissed me off with how tanky enemies are which made combat dull and boring, not hard, just boring. The map is huge and interconnected but there's nothing fun to find or discover. The only exception is genuinly fun boss fights but that alone does not make it worth playing imo - Biogun is dripping with charm and has such lovely visuals and an uplifting soundtrack that made playing it a blast. The exploration is solid and it has some of the most fun twin stick shooter combat i've seen so far in an MV. Definately worth playing but maybe after they've ported over the engine to unity, which they're now hard at work with - Moonlight pulse really suprised me with how fun exploration was. I'm not the biggest fan of character swapping in games but moonlight pulse did it very well. I also found level design to be very clever and i especially liked the fast travel system because it was so unique and appropriate for the setting. Bosses were also lots of fun but that final boss shocked me! - Bo path of the teal lotus is just an incredible game and finally another MV that places a big emphasis on platforming. Unfortunately most MV's nowadays focus more on combat, but i find platforming more enjoyable personally especially if it's challenging but not ridiculous. So no precision platforming basically, bo strikes the perfect balance <3 - Gestalt steam and cinder i'm playing at the very moment so not much thoughts here other than first impressions. The opening cutscene/lore has already intrigued me and i'm curious to see where it goes but i love the pixel art already and the music feels very fitting. Glad it's not ridiculously hard as not every MV has to be imo. - Biomorph is not S tier for me personally as i found the writing to be very weak, didn't love the visuals (although i liked them)and found the platforming to be a bit too basic. Combat was on the easier side but i still loved the ender lillies styled approach of having different 'spirits' or in this case 'morphs' to chose from. Not S tier for me but i can see why it is for some - Minishoot adventures is a twin stick shooter with no platforming because it is top down, it is also bullet hell. These three things are reason enough for me not to play it personally - Crypt custodian is another one of those MV's i just know will be amazing so i haven't played it yet but it sits next to blasphemous 2 and PoP TLC as my most anticipated ones. Kyle Thompson's previous games entertained me a whole lot with islets being among my favorite metroidvania's so far. I'm sure that crypt custodian will land in S tier for me! - Turbo kid really doesn't speak to me in terms of setting, visuals and gameplay. I may watch it but i have to skip some MV's for time management and this is one of them - Venture to the vile is in my opinion vastly underrated. I really liked the unique 2.5D level design and the unsettling atmosphere of the whole game. I would summarize this game as 'what if little nightmares was a metroidvania?' because that's literally what it feels like. I loved exploring the world and despite the basic combat i LOVED the bosses! - Frogmonster is a 3D metroidvania, which is immediately enough for me to decide it isn't for me. I love 2D platforming so not having that is a turnoff for me. - Momodora moonlit farewell is waaaayyyy too anime like for me. I hate these overly sexualized designs with jiggle physics so i'm avoiding this one in every way possible. - Voidwrought is the final game i didn't get to play but i'm anticipating a whole lot. I love eldritch/lovecraftian settings and i hope i can beat it after gestalt before the end of the year. - Aestik was underwhelming for me personally. I found the exploration, level design and especially writing to be very mediocre. The sound effects were also really weak and some of them straight up sounded like farts. It felt very juvenile and jarring which is why i opted not to 100% it as the path of pain style platforming section was not fun or worth it imo. - Anima flux is underrated in my opinion. People dislike the level design and elevator system but i liked it as it felt very coherent with the setting. I just wish loading screens were a bit shorter so this was less of an issue. Swarm rooms were also a bit hectic some times but it reminded me of sundered eldritch edition in a good way. I had fun with it personally. Finally i want to talk about a few ones that i really would not recommend: - Rebel transmute is at this moment my 2nd least liked metroidvania and genuinly a game i would not recommend. However it seems a HUGE patch is coming soon which looks to adress a lot of my issues with the game. I have no desire to revisit the game but maybe it is worth a shot after this patch. - Monster boy and the cursed kingdom is my absolute least liked metroidvania and among my least favorite games period. It's just so clunky and unfun to play that i used cheats to beat it as i was already past steam's refund window unfortunately. I beat it out of spite, not enjoyment and i would not recommend it to anyone, not even for free - Mars 2120 is a very clunky and unpolished metroidvania that is too ambitious for its own good. It's a bit of a slog and not worth playing imo - Geno panic is a very fun game but it's not a good metroidvania and unlike the aforementioned neva and sheepy a short adventure, not one that's good enough to play regardless of this.

BIOGUN got my vote for 9 out of 11 catagories on steam.... if ya havent played it yet, i feel sad for you. BIOGUN is my #2 fave game of all time

This is a great list. I have been looking around trying find some gems and this really is the best collection of titles so far, with some I havent seen yet 👍

The Devil Within Satgat, Awaken Astral Blade, Frontier Hunter Erza’s Wheel of Fortune - unfortunately these are not on the list ❄️

Moonlight Pulse was my most anticipated MV of the year, having played the demo a bunch of Steam Next Fests ago. I played it Day 1, and it did not disappoint. It is hands down, the best. I need to get back to PoP, Zau, Ultros, Rebel Transmute, and play Gestalt and BioGun (I played the demos for both of these 2). Of your list, I also played and beat, Biomorph Nine Sols, Bo and VoidWrought. You're in for a treat with Biomorpth and Nine Sols. I'll trust you and give Venture to the Vile a shot next year. I really didn't vibe with the demo. Anima Flux demo didn't work for me, and I'm cagey about minishoot adventures, because I am quite bad at bullet hell games. great list, hope you have a wonderful New Year, and and looking forward to more videos in the future.

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE LOST CROWN IS THE BEST METROIDVANIA & GREATEST GAME EVER MADE !!

Awesome vid 🎉

Excellent list! Glad you shouted out Biomorph and Mobius Machine. I did not play alot of MVs this year, but those two were for sure great!

I played Bio-Gun, Voidwrought, Gestalt, and the new Blasphemous 2 DLC. Blasphemous and Voidwrought got multiple playthroughs out of me. Ender Magnolia and Deviator are on my list for when they leave early access (Ender's coming next month!) Gotta fill that void until Silksong finally comes out (next year hopefully! *clown honks*)

Loved the vid. Your outro needs some help imo tho

Hey @Soulsbourne Seeker! Thanks for shining your lanterns on this one, I decided to find it after your review of it. I KIND of like this one? To address the elephant in the room, my biggest problem with the game are its bosses. They have way, WAY too much health, and their patterns are too sporadic and some are absurdly fast, giving you next to no time to act and/or heal, and its a big issue, and not a skill-based one, Im afraid. As is with most encounters in general. And this is another one of those "nah, we're not gonna make you feel powerful at all, you want power? Crawl, worm, crawl!" kind of games, and that just feels downright bad. Im all for finding new gear and weapons, but when the next best sword you find does +2 or...+5 more damage, considering how tanky most enemies get, at least give me a unique passive ability to negate the next-to-nothing damage increase, I dont want to be able to one-shot everything, but you really do have to work for everything, and it never feels all too rewarding, imo. That said, exploration I thought was quite fun, though I didnt find the map all that useful and instead relied on memory, since most individual areas arent overly large and some have a landmark or two, traversal feels pretty good, and I mean, I like the way the game looks and feels, but maybe a re-tuning to the weapons/armor is in order. Like, atm, I have the dull crystal sword, grappling hook, lantern, I got the master fishing rod; can't beat the kraken boss for the life of me, and same with the desert temple boss - though I came somewhat close once. It is a pretty addictive game otherwise, and I appreciate that it doesnt have a death counter or I wouldnt have thought twice to not even send a glance its way. My final thoughts are; its not bad, but begs for improvement, and maybe could recommend

None of the metroidvanias released this year captured my attention. The only one I played was Gestalt, and it was just good. I might give Nine Sols a shot, but it doesn't vibe with me, really. For me, 2023 was better thanks to Blasphemous II and The Last Faith.

Happy New Year for you, and have a nice 2025 ❤🎉 i love your videos!

Thank you for the excellent and informative video. I like that you didn't only offer your own opinions, but gave a summary of each game's general reception and the breakdown of gamers' takes on it. I always find that really useful when looking into new MVs. :)

I honestly think Nine Sols is better than Hollow Knight

Prince of Persia TLC, Nine sols, The devil within satgat and BIOMORPH were my top games & metroidvanias of this year Can't wait for more good stuff next year!

Nine sols, crypt custodian and Voidwrought are my top 3

Prince of Persia Lost Crown might be one of my favorite metroidvania's of all time. Runners up this year for me are 9 sols followed by Animal Well.

Man, 2024 was full of great MVs! The Lost Crown has to be on of the best MVs I have ever played, while Animal Well's puzzles and ideas impressed me! It's cool to see so many new and different ideas being implemented into the genre, like Nine Sols' Sekiro-like combat, Ultros' time loop and psychedelic artstyle, Laika Aged Through Blood's motorvania concept, Crypt Custodian's top-down perspective etc. Great video as usual!

Great list! It was a pretty good year for MVs, with Nine Sols and The Lost Crown being the best by far. It kinda sucks how Turbo Kid flew under the radar tho

some would consider legacy of kain: soul reaver, to be a metroidvania, and the remaster is pretty cool

I liked this year: nine souls, gestalt steam and cinder, the devil within, wordless (although it's not a metroidvania), momodora, Bo....lotus, animal well (I'm not exactly thrilled, it's not exactly my preference, but I can't help but admit the style, mechanics, gameplay features, all of this is compactly placed with retro vibes, and also gives a certain feeling rain world although the games have different mechanics). I'm waiting for next year, there are several metroidvanias in development that look very interesting, they've been in development for a long time and I hope for a release next year. I congratulate the author on the upcoming year and wish him a happy new year, so that next year there will be even more interesting metroidvanias.

What were your favorite metroidvanias of the year?

One of few games I didn't actually finish this year sadly Later bosses were such damage sponges with very annoying attacks or kept spamming ads And varienty of regular enemies was questionable and combat become repetative after a while too For some unknown reason I didn't unlock fast travel yet and just abandoned it about 2/3 through I enjoyed sci-fi themed zones more than forests though Great review otherwise!

the blob boss (rhamos I think) is by far the worst *imo* He has an attack in blob form where he jabs a spear at you which is telegraphed by a slight shake before he does it. sometimes it just shoots out and theres absolutely no sign, taking half my health and then giving me a false chance to heal because he immediately launches into his attack "pattern", it doesn't help that he has a huge health pool AND heals itself. I also find it strange the things that are tied to magic and things that are tied to stamina. I feel like the dash ring should obviously be stamina as its a physical attack and movement. just my opinion. I really like the game, but like you said, it has inconsistency to combat that leaves a sour taste in my mouth because I feel like im only going beat it by sheer luck or a gamebreaking item (flaming halo *cough*)

Chronicles of the Wolf

As soon as you mentioned the death penalties and difficulty i decided this game wasn't for me. A shame since it gives of abit of HLD vibes but in a fantasy setting instead of scifi. Like i mentioned a few times i finally played hyper light drifter this year and it's my favorite game i played so far in 2024. It's a game known for being hard but i found it to be incredibly easy to pick up. I went from being destroyed in seconds to clearing whole rooms without taking damage. And from bosses killing me in one combo to feeling like i could do them hitless within an hour of practice. What's most appealing about HLD though was the fact that there was no real death penalty. And because of that i LOVED HLD, it wanted me to get better and persevere. These soulslike mechanics that are ever present nowadays feel like they want to beat you down and punish you for trying. I like a challenging game but only if it's fair and not overly punishing. Blasphemous for example had a form of death penalty but never one that felt like it was painful. Or death's gambit, same deal. Anyways i'm not picking this up but i'll add it to my playlist of playthroughs to watchon my morning commute. Nice review seeker, as informative as always!

I seriously love this game! I bought it on launch and only have 3 bosses left, but damn i get lost so easy! I love the world though!!