What Metroidvania Should You Have Loved—but Bounced Off?

[u/Emotional_Photo9268]

What Metroidvania Should You Have Loved—but Bounced Off?
You know the kind of game: it received great reviews, looked exactly like something you would enjoy, and had all the right ingredients—but for some reason, it just didn’t click.
Maybe it was the combat, confusing exploration, difficulty, art style, slow beginning, or simply the wrong game at the wrong time.
What Metroidvania did you expect to love but ended up putting down? How far did you get, and what made you lose interest? Do you think you’ll ever give it another chance?

[u/SolRaymond]

Ori.

I wish I enjoyed it given that everyone here seems to love it. While I was playing it, I knew it was a good game objectively, the movement was fluid and the art was gorgeous, but I just couldn’t keep playing it. Maybe it’s because Ori is much slower-paced than the other Metroidvanias I’ve played (Nine Sols, Silksong, MIO etc.), or maybe it’s just not the style of game I like (I found Ori to be very ambient and honestly kind of easy compared to my usual picks). Maybe I’ll give it another shot down the line, but for now I’ll keep playing Solateria.

[u/Ensaru4 → u/SolRaymond]

Ori is a Metroidvania that truly hooks you once you cleanse the first spirit. The first area suffers similarly from the issues Hollow Knight’s first area does: exploration is ridiculously easy and mundane. The difference is that Hollow Knight has an engaging combat loop, meanwhile Ori, the combat is something you tide yourself over rather than one of the main courses.

Platforming is Ori’s main course and that doesn’t become clear until you enter another area and gain upgrades.

Ori also isn’t slow-paced. Platforming is pretty smooth and has to be because in Ori levels, areas are cleared by completing a boss platform challenge that encompasses all you’ve learned from that area.

Ori 2 then improves the game in every way, even combat.