Metroidvania
noun, slang ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A (genre of) platform game with role-playing game elements and inventory items, involving more exploration than a traditional linear platform game, particularly revisiting previously explored areas. countable, informal, uncountable
"The Castlevania games share similarities with the Metroid series, in particular the free-roaming design in which new abilities allow access to different areas. Because of this, fans often refer to such games as “Metroidvania” in style."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The Castlevania games share similarities with the Metroid series, in particular the free-roaming design in which new abilities allow access to different areas. Because of this, fans often refer to such games as “Metroidvania” in style."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr Proto-Hellenic *mā́tēr Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr) Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- Proto-Hellenic *ptólis Ancient Greek πόλῐς (pólĭs) Ancient Greek μητρόπολις (mētrópolis)bor. Latin metropolis Latin mētropolītānuslbor. French métropolitain French métrobor. English metro Proto-Indo-European *h₂nḗr Proto-Hellenic *anḗr Ancient Greek ἀνήρ (anḗr) Proto-Indo-European *weyd-der. Ancient Greek εἶδος (eîdos) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek -ειδής (-eidḗs) Ancient Greek ἀνδροειδής (androeidḗs)bor. New Latin androideslbor. English android blend English Metroid Proto-Indo-European *ḱes-der. Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-tromder. Proto-Italic *kastrom Latin castrum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lum Latin castellumbor. Proto-West Germanic *kastell Old English castel Middle English castel English castle Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der. Proto-Italic *trānts Medieval Latin trāns Medieval Latin trans- Medieval Latin silva Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Medieval Latin -nus Medieval Latin silvānus Medieval Latin -ia ▲ Old Hungarian Erdeuelucalq. Medieval Latin Trānsylvānialbor. English Transylvania blend English Castlevania blend English Metroidvania Blend of Metroid + Castlevania, two influential games of this type.
Related phrases
More for "metroidvania"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.