Ah, finally, a name for my favorite type of game. With a LONG list of suggestions to play. I love the potential of 'i could beat this in a short amount of time if I had a clue wtf I was doing'
this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2025
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There's a great video of the Outer Wilds devs watching someone speedrun their game, and at the end of it one of them jokes, "We made a very short game"
This article is about to make my steam wishlist a good chunk longer, I think
Outstanding article! Gosh, I love reading this kind of stuff. Thanks for sharing!
I hate it, I think it's silly, and will potentially confuse anyone who's not familiar with it, but if it makes it easier for people to find these games eventually then eh 🤷♂️
I hate "character action games" too but I use that tag regularly to find new games.
I wish we go back to just layering descriptors though… more room for nuance this way.
nonlinear + puzzle + first-person = The Witness
action + long combos + style meter + third-person = Bayonetta
I understand a shorthand tag is convenient, but it also adds confusion.
The name is a little stupid, but I find it makes a lot of sense too. Metroidvanias are games where you explore and slowly unlock the means to reach new areas and explore more. Metroidbranias are the same idea but you need knowledge to progress rather than collecting items
There's already a term for progress gated by knowledge: mystery. All of these games are about discovering facts that lead you further along.
You can have mysteries where progress and knowledge aren't tied to each other. For example in Professor Layton games, there is an overarching "mystery", but it's a linear game you progress by solving effectively random (and mostly disconnected) puzzles.
Honestly I see your point. I was sceptical at first because I like the clever wordplay of the terms but I think you're right. Using existing terms like mystery might make genres more accessible again. Just imagine someone who's not into gaming reading all the random ads terms and beeing completely lost.
With mystery games (at least some of the time) the player character needs to learn the details too.
Yeah, but the tag makes it sound like these games have more similarities with metroidvanias than just gated areas.
Imagine someone clicking on the tag because they recognized Metroid only to find The Witness…