Colorways

An artistic exploration of the Metroidvania genre, through the lens of a speedrunning challenge.

WASD for movement, Space to jump, E to activate.

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How far can you strip down a Metroidvania before it stops being interesting? Do you need splashy boss battles? A sprawling world map? An immersive atmosphere?

Do you need weapons at all?

Enemies? Hazards?

What about mobility enhancements?

Story?

Colorways focuses on showcasing the exploratory elements of the genre in a world with a simplistic visual style. A lock and key system gates progress in the way a new weapon or mobility option might. Inhibited vertical movement means that backtracking can be controlled by well-placed cliffs. The challenge of survival is supplanted with the challenge of speed.

Even within this limited medium, the principles of good Metroidvania design can hopefully still be seen, and even the prospect of environmental storytelling aspect can still be found within the tiny vocabulary it affords.

I’ve had a blast building this and designing my own Metroidvania levels, and I sincerely hope you will too.