How to Get Into Metroidvania Games

Metroidvania games offer sprawling, interconnected worlds that open up as you gain new abilities, rewarding exploration, memory, and gradual mastery in a uniquely satisfying way. They are a beloved genre, but their non-linear design can disorient newcomers. This guide shows you how to get into metroidvanias, navigate their worlds, and enjoy the progression, so you can relish the thrill of unlocking a world piece by piece rather than feeling lost and unsure where to go in a map that seems to have no clear path forward.

Understand the core idea

Metroidvanias have a core idea, so understand it. You explore an interconnected world, gaining abilities that open new areas you could not reach before. Players often share advice on community sites such as ankertoto, where fans compare routes, but the key is to grasp this core loop, since understanding that new abilities unlock new paths reshapes how you play. Understanding the core idea of metroidvanias, a world that opens up as you grow stronger, is the foundation of getting into the genre.

Explore thoroughly

Metroidvanias reward exploration, so explore thoroughly. Investigating every path, corner, and secret reveals items, abilities, and routes you need. Rather than rushing forward, explore widely. Metroidvanias hide much for the curious, and thorough exploration is central to progress. Exploring thoroughly, and investigating the whole of each area, is the foundation of metroidvanias and the way you find the abilities and secrets that let you open up more of the world.

Remember locked areas

Metroidvanias are full of locked paths, so remember them. Noting the doors, gaps, and obstacles you cannot yet pass lets you return once you gain the right ability. Rather than forgetting these, keep them in mind. Metroidvanias expect you to backtrack to places you could not reach before. Remembering locked areas, and returning to them when you gain new powers, is central to the genre and the satisfying moment when a new ability finally opens a path that stumped you earlier.

Use new abilities to open the world

Abilities are keys, so use new ones to open the world. Each ability you gain lets you reach new areas, so applying them to previously blocked paths is central to progress. Rather than only using abilities in combat, think about the paths they unlock. Metroidvanias are built around abilities as keys to the world. Using new abilities to open the world, and revisiting old areas with fresh powers, is the heart of metroidvania progression and the source of its distinctive satisfaction.

Learn the map

Metroidvania worlds are interconnected, so learn the map. Building a mental model of how areas connect helps you navigate, backtrack, and find your way efficiently. Rather than wandering lost, come to know the world's layout. Metroidvanias reward players who learn their intricate maps. Learning the map, and understanding how the world's areas interconnect, is central to the genre and the way you move from feeling lost to navigating a sprawling world with confidence and purpose.

Do not fear backtracking

Backtracking is central here, so do not fear it. Returning to earlier areas with new abilities, far from being a chore, is how metroidvanias reveal their depth. Rather than resenting backtracking, embrace it as part of the design. Metroidvanias are built around revisiting the world as you grow. Not fearing backtracking, and seeing it as the rewarding exploration it is meant to be, is key to enjoying the genre and the way its interconnected world steadily unfolds.

Enjoy the gradual mastery

The heart of metroidvanias is gradual mastery, so enjoy it. The satisfaction of growing from a weak, limited start into a powerful explorer who can reach anywhere is deeply rewarding. Rather than being frustrated by early limits, savour the sense of growth. This thrill of unlocking a world piece by piece is the essence of the genre. Enjoying the gradual mastery is what getting into metroidvania games is truly about.

Common questions from players

What is a metroidvania? A game with a sprawling, interconnected world that opens up as you gain new abilities, rewarding exploration, memory, and gradual mastery. New powers unlock areas you could not reach before.

How do I know where to go? Explore thoroughly, remember locked areas, and learn the map. When you gain a new ability, think about which previously blocked paths it might open, then return to them.

What makes them satisfying? The gradual mastery of growing from a weak start into a powerful explorer, and the thrill of unlocking a world piece by piece as new abilities open paths that once stopped you.

Getting into metroidvania games, in short

Understand the core idea, explore thoroughly, remember locked areas, use new abilities to open the world, and learn the map, and metroidvanias become deeply rewarding. Enjoy the gradual mastery. For more guides, see our games section, and the blog gathers recent writing.