Many modern metroidvanias minus exploration?

I started playing Axiom Verge and though it plays well. Looks cool and has great sound Im not about to sketch a map on notebook paper. I bounce between games and quit playing games for an extended enough period that it makes it difficult to ever pick up games like this again. They are so cheap to buy I keep on wasting money.

So the question is: which modern Metroidvanias have me just going right, with no backtracking?

Uh, Mega Man X, I suppose.

Anyway, while we're on the topic, I would like someone to suggest me a few first person puzzle games without any puzzles and maybe some menu-driven walking simulators, Edith Finch and Gone Home type stuff.

@justin258: kind of feel the snark. I’d say Tacoma if you want a first person walk simulator with no stupid puzzles. It’s kind of like Murder on the Orient express because there is more mystery (1 mystery doesn’t necessary qualify as multiple pluzzles). It’s also a walking simulator with a very menu driven story.

Being funny on the internet. Feels good?

...a little bit, yes, though honestly I should have suggested Metroid Fusion. EDIT: My suggestion of Metroid Fusion was also meant to be a cheeky jab at Fusion's linearity. /EDIT.

But really, exploration is sorta the point of a Metroidvania game. Wandering around, finding goodies, discovering how to make it through the game, finding bosses, etc. If you want to take the exploration out of a Metroid game, you get a 2D sidescrolling action game... so Mega Man X. I suppose you're trying to get people to "think outside the box" about what a Metroidvania is or something, but the term "Metroidvania" - for all the derision it gets - is a fairly well-established, relatively easily-defined genre. And that definition involves figuring out how to navigate the game world, no matter how you slice it.

Or you're just trolling.

At the risk of being a Genre Dick: yeah you're kind of asking for an oxymoron here. Metroidvanias are also occasionally known as "search action," so if you're just going right, you're not really searching. You want an action platformer. Might I suggest Mega Man X?

Alternatively, you could go with a rougelite like Flinthook. Since each run (an hour or three?) starts anew, you don't run the risk of getting lost in the map when you come back to it.

As a legit suggestion, I'd recommend some of the roguelites which adopted gentle Metroidvania trappings. Neon Abyss, Enter the Gungeon, Dead Cells, Flinthook as previously mentioned, Rogue Legacy 1 and 2 all have "search and explore" downtime between the battles, but the maps are procedurally generated so you get the satisfaction of revealing and clearing a map but none of the hassle of getting lost. These personally aren't for me but they might scratch the exploration itch without being overwhelming.

Y'all being very generous and I'm waiting on the declaration of how these patient answers are Incorrect, not what I'm looking for.

@the_nubster: Thanks for the legitimate answer. All others *crickets*. I dont think i like roguelites/or likes. I resisted that Hollow Knight Switch sale because I imagine i'm going to have to go back and find some random turnip. Can you list the not-rogues. I don't like procedurally generated because i like coming back to a game years later and having memory recall for the exact same experience. It's why i probably won't allow myself to like Hades.

Also, the link feature is pretty nice.

@sometingbanuble: The suggestion of Metroid Fusion is a very good one, actually, if you're looking for a proper Metroidvania. Metroid Fusion or Metroid Dread are very good at making clear where you need to go next without entirely robbing the satisfaction of exploration.

@efesell: Looks like you fished your wish.

@peezmachine: i didnt get what i;m looking for because the presumption that i'm going to fish out a device that can play metroid fusion (now if it's on nintendo switch online then thanks... but i highly doubt it so something on the complete opposite end of the spectrum of thanks in that case.. it is on the Wii-u eshop so i guess i retract some of it but NOW YOU KNOW going forward expectations) isn't helpful, unless i have a time machine. The most helpful, and only, answers i'm looking for are for games that i can buy on current consoles right now with a credit card and start playing as soon as the download finishes. For future reference.

Even the title has many MODERN metroidvanias. I can't debate the word modern because someone somewhere is going to say DaVinci is modern. In order to expand your mind you have to occassionally stretch.

https://my.nintendo.com/rewards/2acdb1a0d9150f31?lang=en-US Phew, almost bought a bunch of games so i could get my 60 gold coins just so i could get metroid fusion. Just so i could beat this game. Just so i could actually turn a negative attitude and an attempt to attack me into a good, free, thing. Of course the offer has expired. Just like the validity of proposing metroid fusion, kinda.

So... you're looking for a side scroller with a level up system?

Although it's not a 2D platforming one of these, I think Batman: Arkham Asylum would be kind of what OP suggests. Even though it's structured like a metroidvania it is also very linear, with the game always pointing you towards where you need to go, even when you have to revisit earlier zones to advance the plot. Apart from full completion's sake, there is little use for going out of your way exploring.

And even if you do go for all collectibles like the Riddler trophies, the game gives you a map for each zone that tells you exactly where to find everything.

Hmm.. perhaps Ori & the blind forest? That game doesn't have all that much backtracking and makes it pretty obvious when you're done with an area and where to go next. Haven't played the 2nd one, so i don't know if it's similar in that regard. I remember the Guacamelee games also being pretty light on the backtracking.

While y’all are suggesting Metroid Fusion, I’d also throw Metroid Dread on the list, since design-wise it may as well be Fusion 2. It railroads you forward pretty often, and I hesitate to call what you do in Fusion/Dread anything close to “exploring” since you really don’t go very far in any direction before hitting dead ends, and Dread especially often locks you out of backtracking by having passages close off behind you or you fall down something and can’t go back up.

If you know how to abuse some of the cheeky movement options in Metroid it’s a little more “open” than you might think, but for the average player that game is very linear unless you want to backtrack a bunch to pointlessly add 20 to your max missile count.

Am I the only one that legitimately reads "I'm not looking for Metroidvanias. I want an old-school platformer."?

It's not a Metroidvania without backtracking. That's like asking for a Rogue like where you don't have random dungeons.

Since we're trying to find non-metroidvanias, I'll suggest Maize as a non-puzzle game. It's a first-person adventure game with fun writing and very simple puzzles; I think I remember some Steam reviews complaining that they're basically non-existent. Just pick up objects and put them in the one place they can go.

I was joking about how silly it is to ask for a Metroidvania without the core ingredient of Metroidvanias.

You should try metroid. or Castlevania

I know, but since people were trying to answer anyway, I wanted to give your joke question an answer.

I love when my threads go somewhere. Maybe I’m looking for a Megamania. The Castlevania advance collection games were brilliant until I needed a strategy guide. I’m not using a strategy guide. Mega man really doesn’t have the RPG elements (think art with dialogue and a continuing story). I think Guacamelee is kind of what I’m looking for but that also has a bunch of backtracking that made me quit too. I think Castlevania IV was prettt straight up go right. I hate where that series has gone though I think Bloodstained might be the go right I’m looking for. It’s hard to know from trailers and reviews because much like all of my beloved posters hear they use the term metroidvania for everything when there is nuance to it. So for the people that skipped the title and are confused by my distillation of a misused phrase in metroidvania… last call for the metroidvanias without the backtracking. So Castlevanias that aren’t modern Castlevanias. Shovel Knight?

In other news I hope that top for the giant bomb sports bottle is found. These message boards are for that. Pro that.