As someone who is obsessed with super punishing Metroidvanias, I have an embarrassing confession to make.

I 99% almost all of them.

The fun part for me is the exploration, and the dopamine blast from getting past an impossible boss to unlock the next upgrade. It feels so good to open up new parts of a massive 2D world with new enemies and abilities waiting around each corner; new beautiful landscapes and artwork…

It takes so much patience and planning to figure out how to dodge and parry each different attack; to learn what makes the enemy tick and exploit it. I’m not a speed runner. Half the time I’ll pick up the controller and realize I’ve been standing there un-paused overnight anyway. I take as much time as I need to thoroughly explore each area and make note of stuff I’m locked out of so I can eventually come back and get all the loot. Or most of it anyway.

Final bosses just don’t do it for me. I’m not a masochist. There’s always a massive difficulty spike, so you might have to put days or weeks into figuring it out and then as a reward you get a 40 second cutscene and the credits roll. Unless there’s a hellish hard mode unlocked after the end, your last save is always right before that final boss anyway. You don’t have much to show for it aside from bragging rights. I’m literally the only person I know who even plays shit like this so who cares?

I think it’s kinda funny when Gamers™️ act like you’re a punk ass for not playing everything on nightmare mode. It’s the jacked up truck (and truck nuts) cybertruck of the gaming world.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get back into my Story Mode playthrough of 9 Sols with the difficulty cranked wayyy down 💁