Slice to kill.
The problem with the term ‘Metroidvania’ is that it’s a far broader genre classification than some give it credit for. Depending on where they fall on the spectrum between the exploration-heavy Metroid series and the combat-centric Castlevania series, it’s possible for two games to both be considered Metroidvanias while playing, looking, and sounding nothing alike. Neither extreme is more valid than the other. What’s important is understanding which portions of the genre a given title is committed to, and whether it’s successful.
It’s not enough to simply call Blade Chimera a great Metroidvania and leave it at that. What Team Ladybug (Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, Drainus) has cooked up here is a game that is impressively clear-eyed in identifying its priorities — which just so happen to mirror many of the tenets of Konami’s legendary vampire hunting series — and executing on them to incredible effect. It doesn’t do everything one might expect a Metroidvania to do, but its particular bright spots are blinding to behold.
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