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Could a "Metroid Souls" work?

Barry Burton

Barry Burton

Member
NESpowerhouse said:
Sorry, just woke up. I'll explain a little more. While both series certainly do have exploration as a large focus, they implement it in different ways. Dark Souls is much slower-paced and has a lot of one-time secrets hidden that are immediately accessible once you find them(since you have essentially all of your movement options available from the start), while Metroid contains a multitude of hidden items that require you to obtain a certain weapon/mode of movement and usually require you to make a mental note and return to it later. Now if you were to combine these two formulas, you would end up with a game that, despite its overwhelming difficulty, would still have the gall to make you traverse across this incredibly dangerous land just to get a single item you were incapable of getting earlier. Hence, the game would lose one of its major focuses.
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It's implemented a bit differently in Dark Souls, but I'm not sure it's night and day or anything. I just played DS2:SotFS last month for the first time, so it's fresh in my mind, but there were a number of things that I had to keep a mental note of and come back to later (requiring a specific item or key). And then from time to time you'll come across a secret area that's just too difficult at your current level, and you'll have to come back to later. Despite the different implementation, there are a lot of similarities at a conceptual/design level.

And then there's the matter of shortcuts and save areas. Finding a new save room/bonfire is always a great feeling, same thing with shortcuts. While I definitely do a lot more backtracking for missed secrets in Metroid, I still do quite a bit of this in the Souls games; it's nowhere near as daunting once you've mastered a certain area.

In the hypothetical scenario where From would be making a Metroid game, they'd obviously have to adjust things here or there to better fit this particular series, but I've seen enough of their work now to feel confident in their ability to pull it off. And this is strictly speaking about where I feel Dark Souls and Metroid share a lot of similarities.
Gameplay-wise, sure, I wouldn't want a Metroid game that's purely a clone of the Souls games. It still has to be a platforming/shooting-type of game, first and foremost. Would I disqualify From Software on the basis that the games they've made recently play very differently from the Metroid series? No.

I know there's some skepticism in that regard, but just look at Retro Studios. Based on their track record, it was a lot more likely that Metroid Prime would end up being a disaster than one of the best games ever made. And they've seamlessly transitioned over to making excellent Donkey Kong Country games. Any great developer can adapt, and frankly I'm always intrigued to see an established studio go a bit outside their comfort zone. While my ultimate preference would still be to see a new Metroid Prime sequel, if for whatever reason the next Metroid game would be one helmed by From Software, I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat.
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
Crab said:
Isn't this already what Metroid is? I'm confused about what exactly this would entail beyond just getting a new Metroid game.
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Yes. The Souls games are quite Metroid-ish. Many people noted it earlier. Hell, look at Zero Punctuation's reviews of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Yahtzee hated Demon's, then during his Dark review, he suddenly realized how Symphony of the Night-ish, and Metroid Prime-like it was, and that's what made it click with him. So he became a Souls fan.

And also yes, we obviously need another Metroid-like Metroid game.
 
A

ActWan

Member
IDK. From specializes in entirely different things than the things present in the Metroid games. I'm talking specificaly about melee combat and traversing the environment.
 
LordKasual

LordKasual

Banned
Aesthetically speaking, yes

Exploration and lore, yes

Difficulty wise, no

Samus is significantly stronger than 95% of the enemies she comes across. Either way i'd love to see this happen
 
C

Cuningas de Häme

Member
NO.

I really hate this trend that every damn game needs to like the other. I'd rather have a Metroid game with unique gameplay.

Honestly, "game x should be like Souls" is a tired meme and needs to die.

Those games are not so good in the first place... (yeah, might be unpopular opinion, I know, just never liked them)
 
K

KnightimeX_Legacy

Banned
Imagine it now...

Health orbs would be considered OP so remove them.
Missiles from enemies would be OP so remove them.
Save stations recover health? lol NOPE!
Super missiles removed from game or do trash damage.
Super Bomb? doesn't exist (removed)
PvP would be main focus so ruin everything that made metroid fun like screw attack etc.

Yeah no.

Keep souls Faaaaaaaaaar away from Metroid.
It needs sales not more nails in to build the coffin.
 
F

FinalAres

Member
I would like to see a Metroid Gear Solid! Obviously similar to MGS1 rather than any of the others.

I think the claustrophobic story-telling, claustrophobic world, and dark atmosphere would work really well with Metroid. My issue with more modern Metroids is that whilst they are amazing, they don't feel like Alien, which was the appeal of the earlier games. Of course it would be totally different to what people know, which would be a huge issue. I just think it would work so well.
 
M

Mass Effect

Member
So you want Metroid then... because Souls already borrows heavily from it (and Castlevania).

Alex_Mexico said:
Jesus, GAF. Not every game has to be turned into a Souls game.

The only thing I think Metroid would benefit from the Souls blueprint it's its attention to detail and atmosphere but it shouldn't play as one.

One franchise I do think would benefit from turning into a Souls game is Castlevania. Just look st Bloodborne and tell me you don't see it.
Click to expand...

So Castlevania (post-SOTN) then...
 
Barry Burton

Barry Burton

Member
Leondexter said:
Yes. The Souls games are quite Metroid-ish. Many people noted it earlier. Hell, look at Zero Punctuation's reviews of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Yahtzee hated Demon's, then during his Dark review, he suddenly realized how Symphony of the Night-ish, and Metroid Prime-like it was, and that's what made it click with him. So he became a Souls fan.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much how I'm looking at it. Not like, "just turn Metroid into Dark Souls" but rather, "which developer would I most like to see make a new Metroid game if not Retro?" Based on their work, From would be high on my list.
 
G

Guevara

Member
If you wanted to make a 3D Metroidvania game with swords, it would probably look like Dark Souls 1.

I'd love for the Souls games to retain a little more of the Metroidvania formula (short cuts, verticality, sequence breaks and freedom)
 
H

heringer

Member
To people saying "that's what Metroid already is" (which I don't particularly agree), the emphasis should be more in the fact From Software would be developing it. As far as I know, there are 0 Metroid games made by From.
 
M

mavo

Banned
I dont know whats worse, Metroid open world or Metroid Souls.

Nintendo is Metroid's hangman and savior at the same time.
 
zenspider

zenspider

Member
heringer said:
Where are all of these Souls games people are mentioning?

Seems like people claiming "I'm sick of the Souls formula" are people who never liked the Souls games to begin with, because we really didn't get all that many games that are similar or with the same quality.
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It's one of those things. For me and many, Demons' and Dark Souls ruined us for other games. I just don't find velvet rope guided tour single player experiencrs very engaging anymore without significant mechanical depth.

I don't think there's a formula you plug in other franchises into like Musou. It's more about atmosphere, respecting players intellegence, challenge, and a sense of confidence and self-respect regarding decisions and mechanics. For me anyway.
 
L

LegendofLex

Member
I don't think Metroid should use the Souls formula.

I think Souls borrows a lot from the Metroid formula, and that I'd be interested in seeing FROM do a more direct take on the Metroid formula.
 
C

cyress8

Banned
What exactly can a souls type game bring to Metroid? Metroid already does everything a souls game bring to the table minus quick deaths. I guess we can lose the reserve tanks to make it a little bit more difficult.

Other than that, level design, mob design, atmosphere, are already top notch.
 
E

emag

Member
heringer said:
To people saying "that's what Metroid already is" (which I don't particularly agree), the emphasis should be more in the fact From Software would be developing it. As far as I know, there are 0 Metroid games made by From.
Click to expand...

A From Software Metroid would make Other M look good by comparison. At least that game wasn't a technically janky mess.
 
J

Japanmanx3

Member
DIs3hMC.jpg

tenor.gif


Just give her a beam arm, switch the Katana to the leftside of the body, implement visors, implement different beam guns, etc.
 
B

BRSxIgnition

Member
Assuming by this you mean it's a darker or grittier Metroid Prime-like game by From Software then I'd be cautiously optimistic.

Honestly though I rather just let Retro Studious have free reign on a Prime game again.
 
D

Death Penalty

Member
What could Metroid even gain from Souls that it wasn't already doing way before Souls showed up? The combat is a terrible fit for anything with heavy emphasis on ranged fighting, and Metroid already does the atmosphere and exploration thing. Doesn't seem like a well thought-out​ idea to me beyond continuing to jerk off the Souls series.
 
R

RuhRo

Member
Wamb0wneD said:
Are you kidding or did you just never play a Metroid game? The fuck.
Click to expand...

I knew a lot of people would say that. I've only ever played Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1 and 2. And to me those games (especially the Primes) emphasized backtracking through areas you've already seen to get to an item, rather than the "aha!" moments of "I can't believe this area connects to that area" that you get in, say, Bloodborne.

There's overlap in what these series try to achieve in terms of exploration - I just connect with Souls' execution of it much more, I guess.
 
D

DragonGirl

Member
Dark Souls is already Metroid. At least in the world design. It follows the same Maze World design philosophy as Metroid, just with less segmentation. As soon as I played Dark Souls, I picked up a Metroid vibe from it. "Metroid Souls" would just be third person Metroid.

RuhRo said:
I knew a lot of people would say that. I've only ever played Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1 and 2. And to me those games (especially the Primes) emphasized backtracking through areas you've already seen to get to an item, rather than the "aha!" moments of "I can't believe this area connects to that area" that you get in, say, Bloodborne.

There's overlap in what these series try to achieve in terms of exploration - I just connect with Souls' execution of it much more, I guess.
Click to expand...

There was a lot more of that "aha-ness" in Super Metroid. There are a lot of those kinds of big hidden areas in that game that Dark Souls falls right in line with. Years later I'm still finding them. Not so much in the Prime games which are pretty straight forward.
 
H

heringer

Member
DragonGirl said:
Dark Souls is already Metroid. At least in the world design. It follows the same Maze World design philosophy as Metroid, just with less segmentation. As soon as I played Dark Souls, I picked up a Metroid vibe from it. "Metroid Souls" would just be third person Metroid.



There was a lot more of that "aha-ness" in Super Metroid. There are a lot of those kinds of big hidden areas in that game that Dark Souls falls right in line with. Years later I'm still finding them. Not so much in the Prime games which are pretty straight forward.
Click to expand...

What about the RPG elements? What about the vast, diverse loot? The deep combat mechanics?

I'm not saying they should just shoehorn this elements into Metroid, and some of them would be challenging to adapt, but it baffles me that people really think Metroid and the Souls game share the same design to a T. The interconnectedness of the world in the Souls game isn't even that emphasized, it's much more subtle as you don't do nearly as much backtracking. It's purpose is much more to make the world feel cohesive, but there is not as much impact in the gameplay loop as in Metroid, since you can even fast travel from place to place.
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
TheBigG753 said:
That's pretty much how I'm looking at it. Not like, "just turn Metroid into Dark Souls" but rather, "which developer would I most like to see make a new Metroid game if not Retro?" Based on their work, From would be high on my list.
Click to expand...

They do have that one Achille's heel, and that's performance. I'd hate to go from the 60fps perfection of the Prime games to a 30fps game with dips, stuttering, etc. And I'm lucky enough that those things don't even bother me that much - tearing is my no-can-do issue.

GAF would tear a hole in the universe if a Metroid game ran like a Souls game.
 
L

Lindsaymv

Member
If the idea was to literally combine Souls and Metroid i would do it like this :

You have a hostile alien environment, Zebes or whatever planet. You pretty much take the desolate lonely Metroid aesthetic and maybe darken it a little but I think it's already a match. You make it third person ala Resident Evil 4 onwards, with an aiming reticule that follows your view. You have to make it bullet based as far as combat, but I think you have a lot of big, imposing alien enemies who want to get up and personal (melee) like Souls, so dodge rolls and the like becoming crucial for getting away. You make the combat very methodical and timing based, with maybe an emphasis on charged beams (and enemies with lots of shielding so you're looking to dodge around then and exploit their weakspots). Maybe you give Samus a little melee capacity but keep it limited - just back stabs or desperation moves. I think in this sense you could adapt the feeling of Souls combat to a blaster/beam based combat system and the rest of it could fall into place. I'd probably prefer a standalone scifi Souls, but I definitely think they could pull this off if this were to happen. The environmental storytelling and a lot of things could carry over pretty one-to-one.
 
H

heringer

Member
Leondexter said:
They do have that one Achille's heel, and that's performance. I'd hate to go from the 60fps perfection of the Prime games to a 30fps game with dips, stuttering, etc. And I'm lucky enough that those things don't even bother me that much - tearing is my no-can-do issue.

GAF would tear a hole in the universe if a Metroid game ran like a Souls game.
Click to expand...

That's true, though I'm sure Nintendo could help with the performance.
 
V

Vincent Grayson

Member
That sounds like the worst fucking thing.

We get it, people like Dark Souls. Stop trying to suggest that making other series more like it would improve them, because it really wouldn't.

Octavianus said:
I just want another Metroidvania Metroid, is that too much to ask?

Just give me this:
syoq6riywvbm9g6lwsqw.jpg

in HD.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY. I just want another good 2D Metroid game. No weird story-focused shit, no 3D FPS shit.
 
P

PSqueak

Banned
My only souls game is Bloodborne, and playing that, isn't that exactly how metroid already works?

Save stations, interconnected world, finding upgrades/weapons hidden in the world, isolation. What else you want to make it more "souls"? Item store?
 
H

heringer

Member
PSqueak said:
My only souls game is Bloodborne, and playing that, isn't that exactly how metroid already works?

Save stations, interconnected world, finding upgrades/weapons hidden in the world, isolation. What else you want to make it more "souls"? Item store?
Click to expand...

FROM Software doing it, deep RPG elements, diverse loot that changes how you play, darker atmosphere, deep combat mechanics, focus on building up your character and honing your skills to overcome difficult enemies that can easily kill you...

Souls games don't even put that much emphasis on the interconnectedness of the world. The main gameplay loop of Metroid is getting new powers to reach previously inaccessible areas. Where do you find that in Souls games?

It wouldn't necessarily make Metroid better, just different. The formulas are much different than people are making out to be. I don't even consider myself part of the Souls fanbase, but I can see how it could be interesting to see FROM Software applying it's DNA to the Metroid franchise.
 
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