Metroidvania is a beloved and classic genre of games. The 2D adventure platformer has been a staple of the gaming industry since it began, with titles like Pitfall helping to define the way the action worked. The Metroidvania genre developed out of this concept, putting more emphasis on defeating enemies and solving puzzles and less on simply being able to run and jump. The games also reward you with power-ups for your character and a more-or-less satisfying story.
The name is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania, two of the best early examples of the genre. This genre endures because it's a great formula. Unfortunately, it's also an easy formula to mess up. Here are the ten worst examples of the genre in recent years.
10 Johnny Impossible (Metascore 48)
It's nice to start a list like this with a game that we can say good things about because many of the games on this list have nothing to recommend them. Johnny Impossible combines stealth mechanisms with the basic Metroidvania formula, and it makes for some interesting dynamics.
You try to sneak around without being detected and use your stun gun to disable watch robots, because, if you're detected, it often means swift death. This feels like a classic NES game, and, with decent graphics for its release on December 27, 2012, this feels like it almost made it.
9 Rush' N Attack Ex-Patriot (Metascore 47)
This is another almost-ran. Not exactly an update to the classic NES game, which was more true to its title. This game also includes a stealth mechanism, which was a popular way to try to add more textured gameplay for platformers at the time of this game's release in early 2011. The game also combines the classic Metroidvania formula with some basic elements of a 2D fighter game.
Unfortunately, the gameplay is too repetitive, and the graphics, while quality, aren't used to help the game feel more immersive. To be fair, though critics savaged this game, many users found it enjoyable.
8 Yogi Bear (Metascore 46)
And now we're starting to enter IP hell. Abandon all hope ye who play these games. One of the problems with many of the Metroidvania games on this list is that the basic 2D platformer is so easy to make that it's commonly targeted by licensing agents who want to try to capitalize on a game tie-in, but without actually investing in the game itself. This game is one of the worst examples that almost escapes this list because it tries to glom together so many different elements that it almost doesn't fit the category.
In part of the game, for example, you're taking pictures of animals a la Pokémon Snap, but we would be remiss if we didn't warn you against this one, which ranges from boring, generic gameplay to nightmare-inducing cut screens.
7 Cortex Command (Metascore 44)
This game is a refreshing palate cleanser after the poisoned pic-a-nic basket of the previous entry. Cortex Command has everything you want from a Metroidvania game: ambitious scope, innovative gameplay, and beautiful graphics.
Yet, when the game released on September 28, 2012, after more than a decade of development, critics found it to be an unfinished, buggy mess—something that they really hate. Nonetheless, many players found this game, which lets you switch between different disposable bodies, to be an enjoyable blast, in part because of the fully destructible environment and the turn-based strategy mode.
6 The Smurfs 2 (Metascore 42)
Another licensed IPOS, this game could have been so much more. It was developed by WayForward, who knows how to make a really good Metroidvania game (A Boy and His Blob) and can handle IPs with sensitivity (Bloodrayne: Betrayal may not have been everyone's cup of blood, but it was a decent game).
This title shows just how low even quality developers can stoop when they are just looking to collect the paycheck for a licensed game. Repetitive level design keeps this game from offering any joy beyond the basic attraction of playing as your favorite Smurf.
5 Page Chronica (Metascore 40)
Another reminder that it isn't just mass-market licensed games that are terrible, boring, and disappointing, Page Chronica could have been good. You play as Topez, librarian of dreams, who has to recapture the Lord of Nightmares. To do this, you spell your words of power.
As a writer, I want to love this game, but you can't just put a spelling bee in the middle of a Metroidvania game and expect to keep the tension high, and the platformer elements of the game are just too generic to save it from being a snore-fest.
4 Putty Squad (Metascore 38)
Putty Squad is a clever game that looks and feels like a product of its time: the mid-1990s, when it was developed and not released. If it had never seen wide release, it might have been remembered as one of the great games that kids in a parallel universe got to enjoy, but we didn't.
However, when it did see wide release in March 11, 2014, with very little updating, it feels like a criminally primitive mess. Game dynamics that were innovative 20 years ago tend to feel tired and stale these days. Even with all the trolls giving this game a 10/10, it still only manages an overall score user of 3.0.
3 Wreck-It Ralph (Metascore 35)
If any IP deserved a decent tie-in game, it's Wreck-It Ralph. The movie itself is so insightful, funny, and wise about the mechanics of game design that you'd like to believe that could translate into an innovative, clever game.
But, despite the charm that the platformer borrows from the movie via voicework, this game squanders all that potential. It does it the way most tie-ins do: they didn't put enough effort into making the game good. It's boring, unimaginative, and repetitive. Even making allowances for a deliberately retro feel and the limitations of the DS, this game could have been much more.
2 Anima: Ark of Sinners (Metascore 32)
If you're trying to sell a mediocre RPG or platformer, one of the cheapest tricks is to make the protagonist a scantily-clad female. Then, hopefully, you can count on suckering in enough teen boys to make your game a success. Anima: Ark of Sinners obviously tried this trick, but it wasn't enough to redeem the game from its numerous drawbacks.
The slow, plodding story, unimaginative design, and boring gameplay all drag down this game. Perhaps with both wings, this game might have been able to soar, but as is it's just a drag.
1 Thundercats (Metascore 28)
It's appropriate that this list ends with another lackluster IP game. The truth is that Thundercats, like many entries on this list, could've been a great game. There's a reason why the cartoon is so beloved: it's an imaginative world with well-designed heroes and villains, both full of personality.
However, the game ultimately suffers from the same flaws that brought down the series: repetition. In the Thundercats DS game, there are very few different dynamics utilized, so the game, while not terrible looking (if it were released in the 90s) becomes just a stale grind that you can only take for so long before the monotony drives you to seek out a more amusing way to pass your time, like homework or tax returns.