Nah, you have a point. There are a bunch of “2D soulslikes” that get advertised as “Metroidvanias”, and I wish we had better language to split that difference, because there’s a big conceptual shift between the “parry and dodge” souls style and the genuine Metroid/Castlevania style of movement and aggression. It feels very different and honestly the last time something scratched that itch it was Bloodstained.

So yeah, Hollow Kinght is a very well made game, but it’s not what I’m looking for every time I fire up one of the DSvanias for yet another run.