Metroidvania
/ˌmɛtɹɔɪdˈveɪni.ə/
Metroidvania noun: a (genre of) platform game with role-playing game elements and inventory items, involving more exploration than a traditional linear platform game, particularly revisiting previously explored areas.
Noun
Metroidvania (countable and uncountable, plural Metroidvanias)
- A (genre of) platform game with role-playing game elements and inventory items, involving more exploration than a traditional linear platform game, particularly revisiting previously explored areas.
- The Castlevania games share similarities with the Metroid series, in particular the free-roaming design in which new abilities allow access to different areas. Because of this, fans often refer to such games as “Metroidvania” in style.2008, “Metroid”, in Craig Glenday, editor, Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, London: Guinness World Records, →ISBN, page 65, column Trivia
- It's got Metroidvania elements - it's structured like one, I guess, in that it's lots of exploration with a fair bit of backtracking and getting new abilities that unlock previously unopened areas and that sort of thing.2009 September 1, Chris Whitworth, “Batman Arkham Asylum 24.99”, in uk.games.video.misc (Usenet), message-ID <slrnh9qqa3.giu.usenet.chris@parm.vs.topper.me.uk>
Examples of Metroidvania in a sentence
- Pure Metroidvania... with 3D in-engine cutscenes.2009 September 14, Jonah Falcon, “Shadow Complex Great Game”, in alt.games.video.xbox (Usenet), message-ID...
- Metroidvanias are an inherently clever genre, and the cleverness can sometimes sap a little of the energy.2019 June 18, Christian Donlan, “Gato Roboto review - a pet-sized Metroidvania filled with delights”, in Eurogamer:
Forms of Metroidvania
| plural | Metroidvanias |
|---|
Origin of Metroidvania
Blend of Metroid + Castlevania, two influential games of this type.
Words formed from Metroidvania
Questions about Metroidvania
- What does Metroidvania mean?
- Metroidvania means a (genre of) platform game with role-playing game elements and inventory items, involving more exploration than a traditional linear platform game, particularly revisiting previously explored areas.
- How do you use Metroidvania in a sentence?
- Pure Metroidvania... with 3D in-engine cutscenes.
- What part of speech is Metroidvania?
- Metroidvania is a noun.
- How do you pronounce Metroidvania?
- Metroidvania is pronounced /ˌmɛtɹɔɪdˈveɪni.ə/.
- What is the plural of Metroidvania?
- The plural of Metroidvania is Metroidvanias.
Words near Metroidvania in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Metroidvania (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Metroidvania.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/metroidvania. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.