I'm going to get a lot of flack for this, and believe me when I say I already have Slack at work, but Metroidvanias don't do anything for me. I'm a big Castlevania fan, but mostly before they became Metroidvanias. I also don't consider this to be an attack on the subgenre; Actually, it's all the backtracking to previously explored places that loses my interest.
Anyway, I finally found one that I actually want to play with, and not just to impress my coworkers. Although anyone who knows me won't be surprised by the Metroidvania that finally got me interested in Metroidvanias – Kong: Survivor Instinct, an official Monsterverse entry that takes place directly after the events of the excellent 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong.
For clarity, Kong: Survivor Instinct just came out today and I haven't had a chance to play it so I can't say if it's any good, but it looks great! Visually, there's a lot going on, from the detailed depictions of the famous kaiju to the debris-laden environments bathed in moonlight and clouds. I think it looks great, but again, all I've seen are screenshots and therefore I can't guarantee how everything looks/works in motion.
Developer 7Levels describes the game as a 2.5D action-adventure game with “realistic platforming, challenging combat, and metroidvania-style exploration during a thrilling survival quest worthy of the Monsterverse franchise.” The story sounds pretty basic, but quite useful, starring an oil rig worker named David who searches for his missing daughter in the midst of the absolute chaos that follows a war between titans. David also has to deal with the Hyenas, a group of mercenaries with a new evil plan that resurfaces after the events of the 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
I'm pretty much sold on everything about this game, aside from the “Metroidvania-style exploration,” which almost certainly foreshadows a tight backtrack through levels I've already seen. But hey, if it takes an official Monsterverse game to open me up to a genre with so many beloved games, it might not be so bad.
Kong: Survivor Instinct is now available for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
I guess it might be time to choose something from our list of best metroidvania games.