We have a lot of metroidvanias and soulslikes suggestions for you to round out your gaming week

It’s the first weekend of 2025, which means that there’s very little that’s come out since last December; but fear not, I still bring you video games. This week, we’re going to cover games that caught the attention of a few of my fellow Blizzard Watch writers and two games that I bought during the Steam Sale as well, just in case you’re looking for something to play that maybe you didn’t get during Christmas.

Onward!

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, a story-rich metroidvania

When the Blizzard Watch team was asked about their 2024 Game of the Year options, Christian Thoma brought of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU — a metroidvania I had never heard of. With my GOTY pick being Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown I found myself interested — and wow, what a colorful, beautiful game. You play as Zau, a boy who reads a Bantu tale written by his late father, who uses shamanistic powers to bargain with the God of Death to bring his father back to life. Manipulate time, shoot fiery spears, and unlock other abilities to get finish your bargain — but is it worth it?

Get Tales of Kenzera: ZAU for $10 on Epic Games (or $20 on Steam).

Asterigos: Curse of the Stars brings Soulslike action

Liz Patt and I were having a conversation the other night about video games — specifically Souls-likes — and she brought Asterigos: Curse of the Stars to my attention. Asterigos should probably have skipped the Souls-like genre and just gone for straight action, but the setting is wonderful: you play as Hilda, a warrior from the Northwind Region who heads to a cursed city to save her lost father. Asterigos‘s story is based on Greek and Roman mythology, and the developers claim that all of your choices matter to the plot.

Get Asterigos: Curse of the Stars for $15 on Fanatical (also get Backpack Hero, thank me later!) for Steam.

Chris’s Souls-like pick: GRIME

GRIME is an extremely interesting game; it’s a 2D Souls-like Metroidvania that may both have some of the most beautiful art I’ve ever seen in one of these 2D games, but also has some of the ugliest art at the same time. Your character is birthed into existence at the start of the game with a black hole for a head, and you’ll use that black hole to absorb the souls of your enemies. If I were to describe the world of GRIME with one word, the only thing that comes to mind is “surreal”. Perhaps even better, the development team has put out some major free patches, adding new bosses, new traits and more.

Get GRIME: Definitive Edition for $11.50 on Fanatical (for Steam) but also check your Epic account as it’s been given out for free there previously.

Chris’s RPG pick: Drova – Forsaken Kin

Drova has been considered by some a Gothic-like, and that’s certainly some inspiration here. For those uninitiated, Gothic was an RPG where when you started, the entire world was a hostile place; there were no low level mobs to grind on for quick skill ups, you could wander into an area where you get absolutely destroyed by higher level enemies with little warning, and you earned every inch you made. Drova has many of the same qualities: the world is hostile, you’re on your own to decide where to go, and the NPCs you’ll encounter actually live their lives on schedules which you’ll need to deal with. Exploration is the king here, and it feels like something is always just off the beaten path: a stone that gives you skill points, a bandit ambush that gives you a powerful weapon, a treasure chest buried deep within a cave — these are the things that will keep you playing for just a few more minutes. Drova is a work of love, and the hand-drawn 2D sprites look fantastic.

Get Drova – Forsaken Kin for $25 on Steam.