Super Roboy Review
A great Metroidvania will tease things to come. Maybe it is a ledge just off-screen that you glimpse when jumping or you find a secret path but it ends with a locked door. As you progress through the game, unlocked abilities allow for revisiting earlier areas to clear those sections you mentally noted had to wait. Sometimes, you might even discover new secrets that were hiding in plain sight. Execution is also key. On one hand, you can have no hand-holding whatsoever but then you risk alienating the casual player. Too much assistance though and the game becomes a bore. Last but not least is a quality story to drive this vehicle. Well, today (or whenever you read this) is your lucky day as I have a game that checks all those boxes.
Developed by Vincent Penning, Super Roboy is a hand-drawn Metroidvania. You play as the titular Roboy, and with the help of your companion, Virgil, you begin your search for your family. Did I mention you lost your memory?
Note: As Metroidvanias are all about exploring, we tried our very best to not spoil anything in-game. Story is easy to avoid but some mechanics need to be discussed as they are integral to the core facets of the game.
Roboy begins the game with a Mega Man-like skillset. He can run, jump, shoot, and slide. Later on, you gain access to two kinds of special shots. One charges just by shooting any enemy and you release a larger attack when you see fit—the other one charges up as you shoot at a specific enemy. Once filled, you can trigger an explosion. As you progress further into the game, Roboy gains access to different elements (fire, shock, etc.) for his weapons, which alters the explosion. It is also used to solve many puzzles found throughout the various zones.
As he explores, Roboy is not given the red-carpet treatment so he has no choice but to defend himself. Killing enemies grants essence which is used to level up. Three areas can be upgraded, all at increasing costs at each level: Vitality, Power, and Targeting. Vitality increases your total health points, Power increases Roboy’s overall power (your weapon and your abilities), and Targeting allows for faster targeting of enemies and increased rate of charge for your special shot.
So where do you go? Good old Virgil will help you out, sort of. In the most Metroidvania way possible, Virgil will mark your map with the next objective. The problem is, that you have to find the map for each zone. Until then, you just have a X on a blank slate. Super helpful, right?
Gee, thanks.
As you move around the map, areas are uncovered but until you find the actual map, you can only see what you have actually visited. If you do manage to find a map early on in a zone, you will be able to see the entire layout but it will remain grayed out until you move to it/through it. The map also only shows the exterior shape of each room and not the specific layout. Luckily, you can mark the map up to five (5) times if you need to revisit an area for any reason. This is a Metroidvania though. If you reach a fork in the road and the objective is to the right, you obviously head left. The same goes for Super Roboy. I moved towards Virgil’s mark but…
If you choose not to wander though, you may miss out on some of the cooler aspects of the game. Character progression is a bit unorthodox in Super Roboy. Yes, you have your standard level-up procedure as mentioned above with spending essences. As far as abilities go, Roboy learns them from his enemies. These are actual skills used by the enemies against you. Some abilities only require 1 kill (usually boss fights) but others may require multiple kills of 2 or 3 different enemies. Provided you explored and found the appropriate color crystal, you can buy your new skill immediately. Generally speaking though, you will have unlocked far more skills than you can afford in a short amount of time. With close to 100 abilities, Roboy ends up with quite the arsenal by the time the game reaches its conclusion. Many of the abilities found are completely optional unlocks and there are even achievements for reaching certain parts of the game without unlocking said ability. On a personal note, I managed to unlock one of those achievements and when I was revisiting that particular area with the skill I did not have during my first visit, it almost made things trivial. Granted, I was a much higher level but it was one of those “ohhhhh!” moments that come with every Metroidvania.
All games have their flaws and this one is no different. Flaws might be a strong word though. Let us call these two things, gripes. They are my gripes but they may be yours as well so maybe I am doing a public service. L3 (pressing in on the left stick) triggers Roboy’s special shot. Do yourself a favor and rebind this (I suggest swapping it with R3). There were so many times that I pressed L3, Roboy turned around and I fired into a wall. The other flaw/issue/gripe/whathaveyou is needing to use a claw grip (IYKYK) on the controller at times. Pressing L2 allows you to plant Roboy and just fire around him without moving. It is useful when trying to hit some enemies perched on a ceiling or wall. The shot that charges up is triggered by L1. I will give you a minute but go hold a controller and hold L2 like you would normally. Now, try to press L1. Perhaps I have been gaming for way too long but holding a controller so that I can press both L1 and L2 simultaneously feels super weird. Again, maybe this is a me thing but it was something I wish could be changed (I could not bring myself to completely shuffle keybinds for this so you are on your own here). In the grand scheme of these things, these are so minor but the more you know…
Super Roboy is a fantastic Metroidvania. The hand-drawn art is a treat to behold over 10 biomes and nearly 100 different enemy designs. There is plenty of challenges to undertake from in-game puzzles to well-crafted boss fights. Achievements exist for both finishing the game in under 6 hours or for over 15 hours so the game can provide as much or as little as each player wants to take from it (I was just under 17 hours with 100% completion). Additionally, there are speedrunning challenges that unlock even more for players to experience. Super Roboy is a game to watch in 2025 and one you can play starting on January 20 when it launches on Steam.
