Metroidvania Still Feels Like A Niche Genre That Deserves Better

The original Metroid and Castlevania both turn 40 years old this fall. As the two series most responsible for creating the “metroidvania,” we’re taking this occasion to take a comprehensive view of the popular genre. This is Metroidvania Week. Within the vast and overcrowded Steam store, there are over 3,100 titles with the “metroidvania” tag. Last year, Hollow Knight: Silksong accomplished a rare feat for an indie game, crashing storefronts upon its launch. And later this year, one of the genre’s namesakes is making a comeback in the form of the 2D action game Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. And yet, 40 years after the release of the original Metroid and Castlevania games, the genre influenced by those two beloved franchises still feels relatively obscure. The metroidvania or “search-action” genre has long felt like a middle child among the wider family of (arguably arbitrary) game classifications. For whatever reason, much of the gaming industry--particularly at the AAA level--seem hesitant to try their hands with entries to the metroidvania canon the same way they do with other budding genres. The "metroidvania" tag on Steam is packed Pick any time period in the history of games …