8 Non-Metroidvanias That Heavily Influenced the Genre

Metroidvanias are built around a philosophy rather than a perspective, which allows many video games to give the impression of belonging to the genre even when they don't actually do.

Skill-based progression, backtracking, respawn points, interconnected worlds... None of these elements are exclusive to this type of game, but they've become so closely associated with it that it feels as if they are.

From this blurred overlap, many video games throughout history have contributed to the genre's growth, even almost unconsciously, by naturally meshing with gameplay concepts present in other adventures.

Therefore, in order to acknowledge the ongoing feedback loop that has existed between the genre and others since the 1980s, I invite you to explore these eight non-Metroidvanias that heavily influenced the genre.

8 Batman: Arkham Asylum

Showcasing the Genre’s Prowess

Batman: Arkham Asylum Action Adventure Released August 25, 2009 ESRB T for Teen: Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence Developer(s) Rocksteady Studios Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Games Engine Unreal Engine 3 Genre(s) Action, Adventure

It's well known that, especially in the last couple of decades, the Metroidvania genre has been heavily dominated by the indie ecosystem, but Batman: Arkham Asylum proved the immense value of embracing its principles.

As one of the best titles of its generation and a contender for best superhero video game of all time, the feeling of gradually becoming the night's vigilante through acquiring gadgets remains among the highlights of the 2000s.

Without hand-drawn graphics, side-scrolling gameplay, or obtuse worldbuilding, but rather with the values usually attributed to large-scale productions, it possessed an understanding of progression that truly set it apart from all its contemporaries.

Batman: Arkham Asylum demonstrated the Metroidvania genre's prowess and, in the process, legitimized it. Having the backing of Metroid and Castlevania was surely enough to be there, though Rocksteady helped cement it for new generations.

7 Outer Wilds

Mentality over Materiality

Outer Wilds Adventure Released May 28, 2019 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference Developer(s) Mobius Digital Publisher(s) Annapurna Interactive Engine Unity Genre(s) Adventure

Metroidvanias have been philosophically linear since Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which established virtually all the genre's characteristics until the rise of Metroidbrainias, largely driven by games like Outer Wilds.

Instead of granting nominal upgrades with clear and concrete uses, Mobius Digital's masterpiece places campaign progress entirely in your mind, as advancement depends completely on the knowledge you've acquired about how its world works.

Titles like Tunic and Animal Well adhere to this fundamental principle despite including traditional progression methods, where the focus is on your discovery of its arbitrary universal laws rather than material upgrades.

It's not yet as widely explored a path as I'd like, but what I can say with absolute certainty is that no knowledge-based Metroidvania will attempt to create its own concept without first taking a look at Outer Wilds.

6 Super Mario Bros. 3

Altering Spaces

Super Mario Bros. 3 Platformer Released October 23, 1988 ESRB E For Everyone Developer(s) Nintendo R&D4 Publisher(s) Nintendo Genre(s) Platformer

Every video game with platforming mechanics is consciously or unconsciously influenced by Super Mario Bros. 3, so its inclusion on this list is simply a recognition of what belongs to Caesar.

What is probably the best 2D platforming game of all time completely revolutionized its conventions by making superb use of both movement and space, transforming both as the campaign progressed.

The presence of distinct biomes with their own mechanical gimmicks has been an essential constant in modern Metroidvanias, as has the inclusion of suit-based movement abilities that enable progression to higher levels.

These are elements we consider basic today, yet they were groundbreaking at the time, and no genre that makes such active use of platforming can be understood without appreciating the magnificent Super Mario Bros. 3's impact.

5 Mega Man

From Those Bosses, These Abilities

Mega Man Platformer Shooter Released December 17, 1987 ESRB e Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom Engine MT Framework Genre(s) Platformer, Shooter

Despite being one of the great forgotten franchises in this discussion, Mega Man has been vital to understanding some of the transformations that Metroidvanias have undergone over time.

The similarities are constant and general, but the IP's particular contribution from 1987 onward lies in obtaining new abilities after defeating bosses, a pioneering concept that even transcends the genre we're discussing.

Receiving weapons and tools based on the type of enemy defeated to progress to the areas they guard is very common today, though not so much in a decade when many of the action and platforming genres' fundamentals as we know them today hadn't even been invented yet.

If we add to that its emphasis on wall-jumping mechanics, the only reason not to consider Mega Man among the genre's influences would be its linearity, because beyond that, they share a great deal of DNA.

4 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Item-Based Progression

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Action Adventure 9.5/10Released November 21, 1998 ESRB E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes Developer(s) Nintendo Publisher(s) Nintendo Engine Zelda 64 Engine Genre(s) Action, Adventure

The history of video games in the 21st century is the story of discovering which part of your interactive work originated from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a game so holistically timeless and significant that no one can escape the clutches of its legacy.

While both early Metroid games and Link's appearances in 2D already featured item-based progression, it was his leap into 3D that brought with it a massive focus on the mechanics that would serve as a blueprint for decades to come.

Being thrown into a vast and easily accessible world, unable to delve into virtually any of its branches until you acquire the right item, is a permanent feature that practically no Metroidvania chooses to ignore.

Learning to swim, gliding to specific areas, seeing hidden walls, shooting distant objects... The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time anticipated it all, and everything that came after was merely a remix.

3 Resident Evil 2

An Authentic Mapping

Resident Evil 2 Survival Horror Released January 21, 1998 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom Engine RE Engine Genre(s) Survival Horror

No Metroidvania game truly represents the genre if its map doesn't play a prominent role in the mechanics and isn't meticulously crafted, which brings us to Resident Evil 2.

Since the series' first entry, endlessly revisiting the same locations while gradually unlocking previously inaccessible areas by obtaining new items has been key, though the second installment perfected it.

Spatial awareness is essential for Metroidvanias, and using a map in Resident Evil 2 is equally crucial for navigating the environment, recognizing which areas are still blocked, and focusing efforts on those that can be traversed.

The game gave meaning to the map beyond the flat, information-poor grids of the genre's biggest influences, helping to add greater complexity to the environments by providing clearer and more specific information about them through the menus.

2 Cave Story

The Mold of Modernity

Cave Story Indie Games Shooter Metroidvania Released December 20, 2004 ESRB e Engine Proprietary Engine Genre(s) Indie Games, Shooter, Metroidvania

Following the line of influences that we often forget due to its linearity, the history of indie games cannot be understood without Daisuke Amaya, just as the history of Metroidvanias cannot be understood without Cave Story.

Even though it doesn't strictly belong to the genre, it's a game that helped define its horizons through its melancholic atmosphere, its leaning towards retro aesthetics and philosophy, its premise based on action and platforming, and the wealth of secrets hidden behind emphatic doses of exploration.

However, all these elements can be found in various separate sources, except for the particular detail that binds them all together: it was created by a single person, motivating countless independent developers to embrace the desire to make their own Metroidvanias.

Cave Story sparked a passion for indie development that didn't exist before, and this has been far more important for the Metroidvania genre than absolutely any mechanic or design decision you could imagine.

1 Dark Souls

A Permanent Pattern

Dark Souls Action RPG Soulslike Adventure FX Wiki Wiki Released September 22, 2011 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence Developer(s) From Software Publisher(s) Namco Bandai Engine Havok Genre(s) Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure

Looking at the ideas in Dark Souls helps us understand, with an almost absurd degree of precision, many of the design decisions in modern Metroidvanias, as it single-handedly changed the genre's entire landscape.

Dropping your resources upon death, save points that allow you to level up and manage your equipment, challenging bosses based on pattern recognition, cohesively interconnected worlds, fragmented and obtuse narratives...

I'm sure that, if I sat down to think about it more carefully, I could draw even more parallels between Dark Souls and Metroidvanias of the last couple of decades, but the previous paragraph alone includes more similarities than any other game on the list.

Interestingly, it's one of the bidirectional cases where FromSoftware's own title benefited from the genre's philosophies, with backtracking and shortcuts playing a central role, demonstrating the symbiosis between the two.

Be that as it may, at least for now, I don't think there is any non-Metroidvania that has had a greater impact on the genre than Dark Souls, which is logical considering that it's probably the most influential game in the last 20 years.