Top Down Action-Adventures - Zelda, Mana, Startropics, Terranigma, Alundra, CrossCode, Tunic and other takes on the formula.

[Sparky Lurker]

Here is a thread dedicated to the most "proto-genre" ever:

Sometimes called ARPGs, other times called Metroidvanias but most people classify them as Zelda-likes.
Originating on the 8-bits era, reaching its peak on the 16-bits era and vanishing on the 32-bits era just to re-appear years later with vastly different takes thanks to the indie scene.
Mostly associated with the East and its gameplay based on exploration and item progression, there were also a few western takes on the formula back on the day, like a licensed Addams Family game and Blood Omen:

During the 6th gen era of consols, the formula would be replaced by the mostly western Diablo-inspired ARPGs, while still lingering a bit on the GBA, with major examples being Shining Soul, Legacy of Goku, Boktai and Bomberman Tournament:

After the 6th gen the formula would be easily delegated to small time indie games like Oceanhorn, Anodyne and Ittle Dew, although there were a few hits that took the formula on different directions, like the shopping management game Recettear and the linear narration-based Bastion:

The revival of the formula would not come until the second half of the 2010s, it was spearheaded by two massive indie hits, Hyper Light Drifter and CrossCode:

Despite the revival, most of the takes on the formula would be encountered on the Roguelite realm, with major examples being: Moonlighter, Hades and Children of Morta.

On the early 2020s other two games would come that could be considered the "Hollow Knights" of the formula, the more streamlined Deaths Door and exploration based Tunic that attempted to reenact the original Legend of Zelda experience:

These 2 games could be considered the turning point of the formula, that until now wasn't popular as the sidescroller Metroidvanias and was made up most of 1:1 Zelda clones and roguelites.
Since then the formula got more varied, with most of examples coming on the last few years:
The combat focused Pipistrello and the Cursed YoYo, which might remind people of as a urban take of a certain old YoYo game:

The puzzle based Isles of Sea and Sky, which looks like a Sokoban take on Link's Awakening:

And Drova, a fully developed ARPG that tries to be a modern pixelated take on Gothic:

Even the most recent indie takes on the formula got games inspired on them, like Crypt Custodian which is inspired on Death's Door and Fountains with inspiration on Hyper Light Drifter and a bit of Dark Souls:

The formula also started branching with a focus on certain elements:
Co-op roguelite like with the cases of Ravenswatch and TMNT Splintered Fate:

Or base building games like Core Keeper and V Rising:

And finally there is some awaited games coming soon:
Mina the Hollower releasing by the end of this month (delayed):

The horror themed Kingdom of Night that is releasing after years in development:

The next game of CrossCode devs, Alabaster Dawn:

And the newly unveiled HD-2D game from Square Enix, The Adventures of Elliot:

 

[Asian tech support]

I've hawked Realm of Ink in the Hades 2 thread because it's a better Hades 2.

This is a better example of what it looks like now

It is in early access and it is anime but if that's not an impediment and Hades 2 is too niggered for your tastes, try this.
Interestingly, the game was almost pulled from Steam. The Chinese publisher engaged in review fuckery around the beginning of the year and their entire catalog was delisted, Realm of Ink included. The studio split from their publisher and got their game back up but for a few months it looked like the game was cooked as I couldn't find a single example of a game that was reinstated after being fucked for review manipulation.

I don't think I've ever seen The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing mentioned on this forum.

It plays like a Diablo clone but the game is more story driven than contemporaries like Diablo 3/4, PoE, Last Epoch, Grim Dawn, etc. and has a handful of systems at work that prevent it from being a complete lootathon with zero regards for anything else. The co-op was very fun but the servers were killed a few years ago. It kind of did its own thing which I appreciated.
The studio would later go on to make King Arthur: Knight's Tale which is a pretty alright crpg.

 

[Targeted Individual]

Mageseeker from Riot Games/League of Legends seems cool, I bought it on Steam's Winter Sale but haven't had much time to play it.

The only letdown is that you play as a magic communist.

 

[SirThomasMaloryII]

Mina the Hollower releasing by the end of this month:

As a fan of the OG Castlevania games, I definitely do want to try out this game. Gives off those same vibes.

 

[Lords Greatsword]

I remember playing this as a kid, cool game

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Recent releases:
Outrider Mako:

The Girl from Arkanya:

Shrine Legacy:

Spindle:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

This week releases:
Lone Soul:

The Lonesome Guild:

Demos:
Varthos Heir to the Throne:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3065870/Varthos__Heir_to_the_Throne/

Philna Fantasy:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2591150/Philna_Fantasy/

 

[Celebrate Nite]

>Startropics
My parents and I spent -literal- HOURS playing this fucking game trying to get as far as we could. We even had neighbors across the street from our old apartment play this game trying to get far too while we shared tips/secrets with each other.

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Pale Coins release:

 

[Illumithotty]

Take No Prisoners, one of the lesser known Raven games for the PC. Explore a substantial post-apocalyptic cityscape map, going through different gang territories, to retrieve the 5-piece MacGuffin. Really cool not just for the breadth of weapons available but also for how completing different objectives will unlock new features and routes through maps, and a relatively open-ended approach to how you go through the game.

 

[Lurkerish Kandor]

Take No Prisoners

YOU FUCKING BASTARD, you beat me to it.
I second this recommendation, I'm currently playing TNP myself in between the other 10 games I'm playing and it's a really good fucking time. Feels like Metroid and Duke3D mixed together with a healthy amount of reading "Links" (text logs, etc).

Currently fucking around in HookStar Nuclear Facility trying to open up the "River Walk".

I will say though: It's not so much the macguffin is in 5 pieces, but that you need 5 powerful items to pull off the ridiculous heist at the end to  get the macguffin (anti-rad shield, hover belt, and I can't remember the other 3 right now)

 

[BiggestKai]

I don't think I've ever seen The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing mentioned on this forum

Not the same devs but I really liked Victor Vran too. It's a bit more arcadey/beat em up/adventure game than Diablo clone and I really liked it for that.

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Loulan the Cursed Sand announcement:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Into Evil release:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Damon and Baby announcement:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Green Ember release:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Retrace the Light release:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Kingdom of Night release:

 

[Sparky Lurker]

Angeline Era release:

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Kingdom of Night release:

Well.

This is one of those games where it's really heartbreaking to write a negative review, as it's clearly made by passionate people with a strong sense for 80s nostalgia, but ultimately, this is just not a game I would recommend, or at least not without a very long list of "yes, but..." caveats.

This game feels like a group of friends came together, they all had some cool ideas, and threw them together, but never stopped to ask "does this work?". There are so many conflicting design decisions that combat each other, that it creates a game that feels incredibly clunky and makes you wonder "why?" on so many occasions. It feels like someone read somewhere that "good game design uses friction to create tension to create interesting decisions", but never took the time to check if the friction implemented actually leads to anything that adds to the game, or is just there for the sake of it.

A great example of all of this is the combat system: To enter combat, you need to lock onto an enemy. This will draw your weapon, which takes around a full second to do. This creates multiple problems:

* First, the lock-on is very clunky. Want to switch to the next enemy right beside the one you're currently targeting? Good luck, chances are some random other enemy will get selected.
* Second, this gives combat this weird, disconnected feeling of "run up to an enemy, lock on, kill them, sheath weapon, run to the next enemy, rinse and repeat". This disconnect is exacerbated by the existence of quite a lot of ranged enemies, that force you to either go through the total of 2 seconds of disengaging and locking onto them again, or hobble over to them at half-speed, dodging their attacks. Which is again made worse by the fact that stamina regenerates incredibly slowly (yes, you can put points in the Guts stat, but the whole stats in the "skill tree" and on equipment is a whole other series of issues I don't want to get into for the sake of brevity). Top this off with the fact that the game loves to have you fight dozens of enemies at the same time, and this system just feels like it is constantly fighting itself.

There are many other issues like this (health items needing to be found, but not scaling with player health; the start of the game having you decide on your first gear item and giving you your first weapon *before* you select your class, putting you at a disadvantage right from the start, etc.), but all of those just come down to what I initially wrote: a whole lot of systems at odds with each other that create a very disconnected feeling game.

To still end on a positive note: I actually quite liked the story, music and atmosphere, and the pixel art style is quite nice. So, for the "general (action) RPG player", I cannot recommend this game, unless you have a very high tolerance for clunkiness.