So I'm looking for a short game to tide me over before EOW comes out next week and I'm in the mood for a Metroidvania. Anything up to 8 hours that's available on Switch. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be very grateful .
I have a few in my backlog like Aggelos, but not sure how long that is. Also already have Castlevania Advance Collection but again don't know if they'd be too long or not. Just want a manageable game that I can beat or get a majority of the way through before Zelda next week .
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and SteamWorld Dig are both pretty short and seem to be on sale right now. Been a while since I played either of them but I remember liking them.
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Metroid Dread - Doesn't need an introduction. Fantastic game, but probably a bit more than 8 hours.
Ori and the Blind Forest / Ori and the Will of the Wisps - All-around great games, great controls and platforming, great atmosphere. The sequel is IMO much better than the original (which is still a good game), but from my experience it had some performance hiccups in handheld mode. The sequel is also definitely above the 10 hours threshold.
Guacamelee! (and Guacamelee! 2) - Fun, lighthearted, simple but it doesn't get stale, very much action-oriented.
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Very much inspired by Castlevania SOTN, based on the Record of Lodoss War franchise but, from my experience, the gameplay alone is more than good enough to make it worth playing.
Iconoclasts - A bit longer (around 10 hours), it has a much bigger focus on story and characters. Really good controls and physics, but it focuses a bit more on puzzles than on platforming IMO.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap - It shows that it's based on an "old" game in some moments where it's a bit frustrating or cryptic, but if you like wrestling with those things a bit you'll love the game. I know I did.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse - Fun, accessible, colorful, great music.
More short 2D platformers that aren't metroidvanias but that you might be interested in:
Katana Zero: An absolute must if you like hack-n-slash games
Pepper Grinder: Few simple mechanics used in brilliant ways, feels nice to control
Cave Story: I don't know if it can be considered a metroidvania or not, but it's an absolute classic for many reasons. Very short, but you'll end up wanting to play it over and over.
“The story so far:
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I'm with @Laurenzio on Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. Good game. Feel the same on Tails Adventure on Sonic Origins (and whatever else it's on). Surprisingly neat Metroidvania.
Edit: Also, another short, non-metroidvania I would recommend is Oneshot World Machine Edition. It's a top-down/computer style puzzle and narrative game that's under 10 hours. It's really good and really emotional. Although honestly, if it has the same effect on you it had on me, you might want to be careful when you play it. It took me a week to recover from that game.
Would love to suggest one that I haven't seen anyone give any love to.
Foregone - A very good metroidvania with some minor roguelike aspects. Picked it up on PC at launch because it was giving me Dead Cells vibes and ended up loving it so much that I 100%'d it and picked it up on Switch too just to support the devs. Short and sweet, 7-10 hours, and only $20. https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/foregone-switch/
Sheepo is only about 3-5 hours and it's a pretty adorable little metroidvania with the main gimmick (besides being a sheep) is that there is no actual combat even though there are power-ups, bosses, etc. A little basic, but makes up for it by being cute.
Another thought is ElecHead which is more of a puzzle platformer than full metroidvania but it lines up the puzzles fluidly rather than segregated into levels and is organized like a mini-metroidvania. It's 2-4 hours long and quite good.
Edit: (I keep thinking of more).
Although very linear for a Metroidvania, Owlboy is a great game (rated 9/10 on NL). It is about 8 hours assuming you don't try to 100% it.
@AStupidID Xeodrifter is 3-4 hours to 100% per HowLongToBeat. It's from Atooi, so do with that knowledge what you will.
Yoku's Island Express is inventive in that the traversal mechanic is pinball, but it's a 5.5 hour Metroidvania per HLTB.
Disney Illusion Island is pretty breezy and a lot of fun. It's a bit pricey for being so short though.
Carrion is pretty short and unique, but I found the combat to eventually be pretty difficult. Its length is even shorter if you can navigate more easily than I did.
The Mummy Demastered is 7 hours completionist, and it's a WayForward game, so it's pretty good.
The Castlevanias on GBA and DS are grindy if you are a completionist, so those might go over your time budget. But then some are so engrossing that you might delay EOW a day or two, haha.
Thanks everyone so many added to my list there . I have already played Xeodrifter and Steamworld Dig 1 and 2. I'm gonna have a look what's on sale rn and pick one
Not sure if you've already played these but the Blaster Master Zero games are pretty short. Roughly around 8 to 10 hours for each game. All three games are pretty good.
@aatupidid have you tried Blasphemous. I would put it just outside the range of "short", but it's the first souls like I've actually.... Liked. Oh, and it's a metroidvania of course.
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Topic: Short Metroidvanias on Switch
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