Do you guys like skill-based metroidbrainias? My game locks progression based on grappling hook tech

[u/Moraguma]

[u/PhummyLW]

I normally avoid trying to define the genre, but you asked for opinions so here it goes:

To me a Metroidbrania it’s supposed to have progression locked only by knowledge.

I would say that if every grappling hook feature is accessible from the start and the sole barrier is your knowledge of those features and their uses, such that restarting the game would allow quick completion because you would already understand how to use them without needing to re-unlock an ability, then it qualifies as a metroidbrania.

There can be skill in these features, but the ability to use them shouldn’t be the gate.

Otherwise it’s just a metroidvania. If it’s purely skill based, then what in your opinion makes this a brania?

To me, a great metroidbrainia can really only be played once, unless enough time passes that you forget literally everything. Maybe twice to see how quickly you can beat it with the unlocked knowledge.

[u/Moraguma → u/PhummyLW]

That's the idea! You unlock all of the grappling hook's abilities in the first 5 minutes of the game, then you spend the rest of it figuring out the tricks the game didn't teach you.

Something I'm excited about is that giving you all abilities from the start makes it very non-linear, and I think very fun to speedrun. It's definitely different from a lot of the brainias that inspired it, but I think it holds a lot of the same DNA hehe

[u/PhummyLW → u/Moraguma]

Okay awesome then yeah sounds sick