u/Forsaken-Quality-46

I just watched a new trailer and it is looking ambitious. Odyssey explored the world, got some new abilities and now backtracking home. Very metroidvaney.

I feel like this sub sometimes limits the idea of metroidvanias too much to “2D sidescroller with double jump”.

Some of the strongest metroidvania feelings I’ve ever had came from games that technically aren’t even called metroidvanias.

Prey 2017 is probably my favorite game ever made and it scratches the exact same itch for me. Huge interconnected world, constant backtracking, ability gating, remembering places for later, gradually mastering the map, finding shortcuts, unlocking new ways through old areas.

Outer Wilds is basically a knowledge-gated metroidvania. You revisit the same planets over and over and your “upgrade” is understanding how the world works. Entire paths open because you changed, not your stats.

Control is basically SCP metroidvania. Giant interconnected building, ability-gated progression, secret rooms everywhere, looping back through old sectors with new powers.

Deathloop also gave me that feeling in a weird way. At first the districts feel confusing and fragmented, but over time you learn routes, shortcuts, hidden paths, timings, secrets. Progression comes from understanding the space better and better with each loop.

Gloomwood is very structured like a metroidvania in first person. Interconnected map, looping paths, shortcuts that fold the world back on itself, and progress often comes from unlocking new routes rather than pushing forward.

Now, Hark the Ghoul (demo). That game absolutely understands the feeling of interconnected exploration. Every time I opened a shortcut or realized how areas wrapped around each other I got the exact same feeling I get from great MVs.

I honestly think immersive sims and metroidvanias are way closer than people realize. They both care about interconnected worlds, exploration, revisiting old places in new ways, environmental storytelling, secrets, player discovery, that feeling of “wait I can go there now?”

There’s a whole world of MV-adjacent games outside the usual recommendations if people are willing to look for them.

Would love more recommendations like this.

Hi. I am new to the genre and the games i liked for exploration and secrets are Dusk, modern Doom series and Selaco. Outside of the genre my favorites are basically every popular metroidvania (think Hollow Knight) and immersive sims (Gloomwood, Prey, Fallen aces, Dishonored etc), for the same reasons!

You can recommend games from other genres too, if you think they have solid exploration and secret hunting!

Do i start from half life 1 on steam? Or black mesa? Then i move to half life 2 also on steam? Is steam version of half life 2 an anniversary edition? Do i need to install any mods to have better graphics? What is blue shift and should i play it? Any good mods i should play? I am interested in entropy zero 1 and 2. What would be you recommended order? Sorry, i am noob, and thanks for help.

I am a delusional first-person purist, that havent played videogames for the last 10 years and just getting started.

I like games like Dishonored, Bioshock, Elder scrolls, Fallout series.

Games that i am going to play next:

Prey, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Gloomwood, Tainted grail, Cyberpunk 2077, Kingdom come deliverance, new Doom games, Oblivion remastered, Skin deep, Dread delusion, Subnautica.

I prefer games that have a good balance between gameplay and exploration. I dont plan to play pure puzzle games (yet), like Outer wilds. Thank you!

My favorite first-person game ever is Glomwood, and i am dying to play Thief games (dark mod especially), but my only gaming device is a handheld (Legion Go 2).

Any other recommendations? Dishonored is good, but Gloomwood is something special. I gonna try Filcher and Thick as Thieves that releases soon. Hark the Ghoul demo is closest i felt to Gloomwood. I also loved Prey, Bioshock series and new Indiana game.