Tips for Playing Metroidvania Games

Metroidvanias are built around exploring a large, interconnected world, gaining new abilities, and using them to reach places that were previously blocked, gradually opening up the map. They offer a uniquely satisfying sense of growth and discovery, but their backtracking and interconnected design can confuse newcomers. These tips will help you explore, use your abilities, and enjoy unlocking the world piece by piece, so you can appreciate the clever design at the heart of the genre rather than feeling lost in a sprawling, locked-up map.

Explore thoroughly

Metroidvanias reward exploration, so explore thoroughly. Searching the world, trying every path, and noting where you cannot yet go is central to the genre. Players often share tips on community sites such as ankertoto, where fans discuss metroidvanias, but the key habit is thorough exploration, since the genre is built around discovering a large, interconnected world. Exploring widely and carefully, and paying attention to what the map holds, is the foundation of playing metroidvanias well and enjoying the sense of discovery they offer.

Remember where you cannot go yet

Metroidvanias block paths until you have the right ability, so remember where you cannot go yet. Noting the obstacles and locked areas you encounter lets you return once you gain the ability to pass them. Rather than forgetting these spots, keep them in mind. This habit of remembering blocked paths is central to the genre, where returning to previously inaccessible areas with new abilities is a core part of progress. Keeping track of where you could not go, so you can return later, is key to unlocking a metroidvania's world.

Use your new abilities

Abilities are the key to progress, so use your new ones to open up the world. Each ability you gain lets you reach places and overcome obstacles that were previously blocked, so thinking about where a new ability lets you go is central to the genre. Rather than forgetting an ability once you have it, consider how it changes what you can access. This use of new abilities to unlock the world, and the backtracking it enables, is the heart of metroidvania design and key to progressing through these interconnected games.

Backtrack with purpose

Backtracking is core to the genre, so do it with purpose. Returning to earlier areas with new abilities, to reach what you could not before, is how a metroidvania opens up. Rather than seeing backtracking as a chore, embrace it as a satisfying part of progress. When you gain an ability, think about where it lets you return to and what it unlocks. This purposeful backtracking, revisiting the world as you grow more capable, is central to metroidvanias and a large part of their distinctive, rewarding sense of gradual progress.

Learn the map

Metroidvania worlds are interconnected, so learn the map. Understanding how areas connect, and building a mental or in-game picture of the world, helps you navigate and plan your exploration. Rather than wandering lost, pay attention to the map and how it links together. Many metroidvanias provide a map; use it to orient yourself and plan where to go. Learning the layout of the interconnected world, and how its parts relate, is key to navigating a metroidvania and making sense of its sprawling, satisfying design.

Do not be afraid to get lost

Getting a little lost is part of metroidvanias, so do not fear it. Wandering, exploring, and sometimes not knowing exactly where to go is natural in these interconnected worlds, and finding your way is part of the pleasure. Rather than being frustrated when unsure, embrace the exploration. If you get stuck, explore for new paths or abilities you may have missed. Accepting that getting a little lost is part of the experience, and enjoying the process of finding your way, keeps metroidvanias rewarding rather than frustrating.

Enjoy unlocking the world

The heart of metroidvanias is unlocking the world piece by piece, so savour it. The satisfying sense of growth, of gaining abilities and watching the map open up before you, is deeply rewarding and the essence of the genre. Rather than rushing, enjoy the gradual opening of the interconnected world. This feeling of steady progress and discovery, of becoming more capable and reaching new places, is what makes metroidvanias so beloved. Enjoying the gradual unlocking of the world is what getting the most from the genre is about.

Common questions from players

What is a metroidvania? A game built around exploring a large, interconnected world, gaining abilities, and using them to reach previously blocked areas, gradually opening up the map.

Why do I keep hitting dead ends? Many paths are blocked until you gain the right ability. Remember where you could not go, and return once you have the ability to pass those obstacles.

What if I get lost? Getting a little lost is part of the genre. Explore for new paths or abilities, use the map, and embrace finding your way as part of the rewarding experience.

Playing metroidvania games, in short

Explore thoroughly, remember blocked paths, use your new abilities, backtrack with purpose, and learn the map, and metroidvanias become deeply rewarding. Unlock the world. For more guides, see our games section, with common questions on the questions page.