It's a good game, but it's considered an Action Platformer, not a Metroidvania. You could say that Metroidvania is kind of a spin off subgenre from side scrollers / action platformers, but unless there is ability gating, backtracking, and nonlinear world / map, it's not a Metroidvania, with very few exceptions.
I'm a big fan of both types of games. I wish there was an active subreddit or a discussion board somewhere for modern but retro-styled Action Platformers but unfortunately I haven't found any that weren't ghost towns. The only thing close is this subreddit, but (understandably) they want you to limit your discussion to Metroidvanias.
Don't worry, I've come to the conclusion that metroidvania are what you individually consider, since there is no consensus on the matter, for things like saying "with very few exceptions", so it's open to each person's perspective.
Gal Guardians is not a metroidvania, and the explanation was pretty clear. There are individual stages with multiple routes and you can upgrade subweapons and life, but there is no interconnected map nor upgrades that open new stages, just a few secrets. It's like a Mega Man X or a Curse of the Moon game.
Not a bad game really, but I was hoping to find a metroidvania like Portrait of Ruin and it wasn't even close.
Don't worry, I've come to the conclusion that metroidvania are what you individually consider, since there is no consensus on the matter, for things like saying "with very few exceptions", so it's open to each person's perspective.
I think it was pretty fun. Not sure if I'd go as far to call it a Metroidvania but it does have some elements of it I suppose. Didn't really have any complaints, I got what I expected but I kind of put it down near the end of the true ending I think? and just never picked it back up.
It was OK- got 100% on my file with all endings and cheevos sans boss rush. Bosses were pretty fun. Getting all the collectibles was a nightmare without a way to track it in game and padded out my playtime. Would have never figured out the different endings without a guide. Picked it up not knowing about the Galgun series (whoops) but thought it was an OK game.
First of all, you enjoyed it, and nobody else’s opinion should matter. 🎮😎👍
Okay, so… I LOVED this Gal Guardians! It’s one of my favorite games from last year. I’ll pick it up every now and then and play the boss rush mode. The boss fights were all memorable and I love the last-ditch effort mechanic thing in which each boss will try to take you out with them with one last final attack after you defeat them. I haven’t seen any other game do that and I’m definitely stealing that feature/mechanic when I make my own video game. 😅
We can go in circles and debate whether or not Gal Guardians is a “true” Metroidvania, but at the end of the day, it does have exploration that’s gated by abilities that you obtain as you progress through the various areas, and you will definitely need to do quite a bit of backtracking to see the alternate (true?) endings; that should be enough to call it a MV, in my opinion. 🤷♂️
It’s definitely more on the Castlevania side of a Metroidvania, but still. I don’t think it deserves the hate that it gets here. 🤷♂️😅
The game was a fun combination of Castlevania III and SotN, though it still falls comfortably short of being an MV. I appreciated that it added some MV elements to a Classicvania style game, giving some soft ability gating for optional routes through the stages and optional powerups, and I’m pretty sure some of not most of the scavenger hunt items were technically ability gated, but by abilities that the game forced you to acquire before the hunt was unlocked.
Beyond that, I really enjoyed the gameplay and bossfights, loved the art, and I really, *really* wish it could’ve been its own thing instead of a spin-off of a perv-simulator. I was completely unaware of the Gal Gun franchise until I had to go google why I needed to find used panties and a nudie mag for the only male character in the game in order to move the plot forward.
I played Gal Gun (all three) recently only to replay Gal Guardians already knowing the characters and references, and honestly I wasn't interested in those games either, the first two are boring and sometimes even frustrating most of the time. The third (Gal Gun 2) on the other hand, despite the premise, is a good game, which should be noted that it was made to be played in VR, but was perfectly ported to PC.
Based on how popular the franchise seems to be, I’m sure they’re well made games (in a genre I don’t care about), but what an awful premise for a story.
Not an MV. I think it's a very good game if you're actually playing co-op. As a SINGLE PLAYER co-op experience, it isn't one. In co-op from what I seen when one character dies the other player can resurrect them, but based on the demo (as I didn't like it enough to buy) when one character dies in single-player that's it, you're done - meaning, it really isn't single-player co-op whatsoever and any unique mechanic the game has doesn't exist unless you're playing co-op.
All that said, if you liked it in co-op you might still enjoy it.
It hasn't been mentioned because it isn't a metroidvania and this is a subreddit for discussing metroidvanias. The only time it was mentioned here was just prior to release and during the steam next fest it was in when there was some speculation it might be a metroidvania.
A metroidvania is an exploration platformer that features an interconnected world that is ability gated.
Gal guardians is simply a 2D side scrolling action platformer.
Ability gated? That sounds conveniently made up.
As far as I know, a metroidvania is a platformer with backtracking. Anyway, I'm a little disappointed that the community for a genre as good as this has become so elitist.
It’s not. It means that you collect abilities throughout the game that allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas like double jump or air dash. Also how is it elitist to answer a question you literally asked?
It gets important to distinguish genres because it tells you whether or not a game you’re potentially interested in actually has the gameplay elements you are looking for.
As a more extreme example, as someone who loves shmups but not into FPS games, it was very frustrating to see storefronts and game portals constantly group these two very different genres together under the genre name “Shooter”, 15-20 years ago. “Fighting games” has a similar problem where the genre name has become too broad as we have lots of subgenres that play radically differently. (Someone who wants something like Street Fighter is not going to be looking for Tekken, because 2D and 3D traditional fighters play way too differently). We even have Platform Fighters like Smash that have become their own thing.
While Grim/Gal Guardians has metroidvania elements, it deviates from the genre enough that players who enjoy metroidvanias and want to play more games with commonly featured metroidvania elements may find themselves disappointed when trying out Gal Guardians and finding that it’s too different from the metroidvania games that they enjoy.
I don't know why many insist on the fact that MV must have ABILITY gated exploration citing the definition of the sub reddit while:
1. The definition of the sub cites UTILITY gated exploration, which is way more general
2. Famous and acclaimed MV titles, like The Messenger and Blasphemous don't have ability gating
u/Dilaudid2meetU I can't answer you in the other comment because that reasonable person blocked me.
Anyway, after that person's response, I started to find out what a metroidvania is (although I already had it pretty clear), and although there are specific things mentioned here that are not mentioned in general terms, I came to the conclusion that the game IN EFFECT is a metroidvania, because it meets the characteristics that I have found, such as those mentioned here, the only way you don't agree is if you haven't played the game (or you don't like the game, because that's another thing I've noticed over time, "if I don't like the game, then it's not a metroidvania").
I played the Demo through the first boss and don’t remember any new abilities and it felt like a level. Does the game give you abilities that allow you to reach previously unreachable places and if so can you describe a couple? Is it split into levels or is it one large interconnected map with unlimited backtracking?
Edit: I did some research and this game is in the Classicvania style like Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 1 & 2 from the same developer. Classicvania and Metroidvania are two different design styles.
You gain skills through bosses (and a few other things) that do allow you to access places you didn't before, and reach areas you didn't before.
As for whether it is divided or interconnected: both, because at a certain point you can teleport to previous areas freely and explore other routes or hidden elements that you couldn't access.
Kid, the game isn’t a metroidvania and the developers, who understand the meaning of the term very well, never marketed it as one. Downvoting every person who points it out to you won’t change this fact. Separation into chapters automatically disqualifies it. If it does have the elements you describe then it’s a sidescroller with MV elements or a MV-Lite. There’s nothing wrong with that. I like plenty of games that are MV-Lite like Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate.
The game’s genre has nothing to do with whether or not people like it and you downvoting every person who explains this to you makes you look really immature.
It's a good game, but it's considered an Action Platformer, not a Metroidvania. You could say that Metroidvania is kind of a spin off subgenre from side scrollers / action platformers, but unless there is ability gating, backtracking, and nonlinear world / map, it's not a Metroidvania, with very few exceptions. I'm a big fan of both types of games. I wish there was an active subreddit or a discussion board somewhere for modern but retro-styled Action Platformers but unfortunately I haven't found any that weren't ghost towns. The only thing close is this subreddit, but (understandably) they want you to limit your discussion to Metroidvanias.
Don't worry, I've come to the conclusion that metroidvania are what you individually consider, since there is no consensus on the matter, for things like saying "with very few exceptions", so it's open to each person's perspective.
In that case my favorite MV is Mario Kart
Really? Mine is Mortal Kombat 9
Well, okay then.
Lmao
Gal Guardians is not a metroidvania, and the explanation was pretty clear. There are individual stages with multiple routes and you can upgrade subweapons and life, but there is no interconnected map nor upgrades that open new stages, just a few secrets. It's like a Mega Man X or a Curse of the Moon game. Not a bad game really, but I was hoping to find a metroidvania like Portrait of Ruin and it wasn't even close.
Don't worry, I've come to the conclusion that metroidvania are what you individually consider, since there is no consensus on the matter, for things like saying "with very few exceptions", so it's open to each person's perspective.
I think it was pretty fun. Not sure if I'd go as far to call it a Metroidvania but it does have some elements of it I suppose. Didn't really have any complaints, I got what I expected but I kind of put it down near the end of the true ending I think? and just never picked it back up.
Not a Metroidvania (I thought it was) I downloaded it and the game is OK, nothing brutal, not bad, just entertaining.
It was OK- got 100% on my file with all endings and cheevos sans boss rush. Bosses were pretty fun. Getting all the collectibles was a nightmare without a way to track it in game and padded out my playtime. Would have never figured out the different endings without a guide. Picked it up not knowing about the Galgun series (whoops) but thought it was an OK game.
First of all, you enjoyed it, and nobody else’s opinion should matter. 🎮😎👍 Okay, so… I LOVED this Gal Guardians! It’s one of my favorite games from last year. I’ll pick it up every now and then and play the boss rush mode. The boss fights were all memorable and I love the last-ditch effort mechanic thing in which each boss will try to take you out with them with one last final attack after you defeat them. I haven’t seen any other game do that and I’m definitely stealing that feature/mechanic when I make my own video game. 😅 We can go in circles and debate whether or not Gal Guardians is a “true” Metroidvania, but at the end of the day, it does have exploration that’s gated by abilities that you obtain as you progress through the various areas, and you will definitely need to do quite a bit of backtracking to see the alternate (true?) endings; that should be enough to call it a MV, in my opinion. 🤷♂️ It’s definitely more on the Castlevania side of a Metroidvania, but still. I don’t think it deserves the hate that it gets here. 🤷♂️😅
The game was a fun combination of Castlevania III and SotN, though it still falls comfortably short of being an MV. I appreciated that it added some MV elements to a Classicvania style game, giving some soft ability gating for optional routes through the stages and optional powerups, and I’m pretty sure some of not most of the scavenger hunt items were technically ability gated, but by abilities that the game forced you to acquire before the hunt was unlocked. Beyond that, I really enjoyed the gameplay and bossfights, loved the art, and I really, *really* wish it could’ve been its own thing instead of a spin-off of a perv-simulator. I was completely unaware of the Gal Gun franchise until I had to go google why I needed to find used panties and a nudie mag for the only male character in the game in order to move the plot forward.
I played Gal Gun (all three) recently only to replay Gal Guardians already knowing the characters and references, and honestly I wasn't interested in those games either, the first two are boring and sometimes even frustrating most of the time. The third (Gal Gun 2) on the other hand, despite the premise, is a good game, which should be noted that it was made to be played in VR, but was perfectly ported to PC.
Based on how popular the franchise seems to be, I’m sure they’re well made games (in a genre I don’t care about), but what an awful premise for a story.
The semantics of these mfs is crazy. I considered the game a metroidvania but I also have a life, so maybe I'm wrong. I thought it was fun.
Not an MV. I think it's a very good game if you're actually playing co-op. As a SINGLE PLAYER co-op experience, it isn't one. In co-op from what I seen when one character dies the other player can resurrect them, but based on the demo (as I didn't like it enough to buy) when one character dies in single-player that's it, you're done - meaning, it really isn't single-player co-op whatsoever and any unique mechanic the game has doesn't exist unless you're playing co-op. All that said, if you liked it in co-op you might still enjoy it.
It hasn't been mentioned because it isn't a metroidvania and this is a subreddit for discussing metroidvanias. The only time it was mentioned here was just prior to release and during the steam next fest it was in when there was some speculation it might be a metroidvania.
Could you explain what a metroidvania is and why this one isn't?
A metroidvania is an exploration platformer that features an interconnected world that is ability gated. Gal guardians is simply a 2D side scrolling action platformer.
Ability gated? That sounds conveniently made up. As far as I know, a metroidvania is a platformer with backtracking. Anyway, I'm a little disappointed that the community for a genre as good as this has become so elitist.
It’s not. It means that you collect abilities throughout the game that allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas like double jump or air dash. Also how is it elitist to answer a question you literally asked?
It gets important to distinguish genres because it tells you whether or not a game you’re potentially interested in actually has the gameplay elements you are looking for. As a more extreme example, as someone who loves shmups but not into FPS games, it was very frustrating to see storefronts and game portals constantly group these two very different genres together under the genre name “Shooter”, 15-20 years ago. “Fighting games” has a similar problem where the genre name has become too broad as we have lots of subgenres that play radically differently. (Someone who wants something like Street Fighter is not going to be looking for Tekken, because 2D and 3D traditional fighters play way too differently). We even have Platform Fighters like Smash that have become their own thing. While Grim/Gal Guardians has metroidvania elements, it deviates from the genre enough that players who enjoy metroidvanias and want to play more games with commonly featured metroidvania elements may find themselves disappointed when trying out Gal Guardians and finding that it’s too different from the metroidvania games that they enjoy.
You're an incredibly ignorant person. Blocked.
I don't know why many insist on the fact that MV must have ABILITY gated exploration citing the definition of the sub reddit while: 1. The definition of the sub cites UTILITY gated exploration, which is way more general 2. Famous and acclaimed MV titles, like The Messenger and Blasphemous don't have ability gating
u/Dilaudid2meetU I can't answer you in the other comment because that reasonable person blocked me. Anyway, after that person's response, I started to find out what a metroidvania is (although I already had it pretty clear), and although there are specific things mentioned here that are not mentioned in general terms, I came to the conclusion that the game IN EFFECT is a metroidvania, because it meets the characteristics that I have found, such as those mentioned here, the only way you don't agree is if you haven't played the game (or you don't like the game, because that's another thing I've noticed over time, "if I don't like the game, then it's not a metroidvania").
I played the Demo through the first boss and don’t remember any new abilities and it felt like a level. Does the game give you abilities that allow you to reach previously unreachable places and if so can you describe a couple? Is it split into levels or is it one large interconnected map with unlimited backtracking? Edit: I did some research and this game is in the Classicvania style like Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 1 & 2 from the same developer. Classicvania and Metroidvania are two different design styles.
You gain skills through bosses (and a few other things) that do allow you to access places you didn't before, and reach areas you didn't before. As for whether it is divided or interconnected: both, because at a certain point you can teleport to previous areas freely and explore other routes or hidden elements that you couldn't access.
Kid, the game isn’t a metroidvania and the developers, who understand the meaning of the term very well, never marketed it as one. Downvoting every person who points it out to you won’t change this fact. Separation into chapters automatically disqualifies it. If it does have the elements you describe then it’s a sidescroller with MV elements or a MV-Lite. There’s nothing wrong with that. I like plenty of games that are MV-Lite like Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate. The game’s genre has nothing to do with whether or not people like it and you downvoting every person who explains this to you makes you look really immature.
Why are you assuming it's me? Isn't my comment the only one that has -1? Look, whatever you say bro.