Super Roboy review

Super Roboy is a passion project of solo developer Vincent Penning. Using his artistic talents as a tattoo artist and programming skills learned with his late father, Penning decided to pay tribute to his ancestor by creating a video game he felt they would enjoy making together. This led him to take his indie game to Kickstarter to earn additional money, playtesters and feedback to create the final product that fans can now try for themselves. All these elements together create Super Roboya hand-drawn Metroidvania adventure where the titular android character makes his way through a desolate world in search of his lost memories and father.

Directly, Super Roboy makes itself at home in several niche areas – as a Kickstarter-funded title, an indie game, a solo developer effort, a 2D drawn experience, and as a Metroidvania. These aspects of Penning's debut game make it quite unique in its own right, and it impresses in some areas while leaving a bit to be desired in others. Super Roboy delivers on its premise of inviting players into an experience where fans can explore and fight villains that would belong in the pages of a comic book in a satisfying way. But growing pains from trying to offer an open world with its own skill system can make or break the enjoyment Super Roboy offers fans who jump into the title without guides or previous experience playing Super Metroid.

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Super Roboy excels at all the things that fans will pick up the game for

Metroidvanias have arguably grown to stand on their own outside of the platformer genre, but players still explore similar titles expecting tight controls, movement systems, and intense combat. On the surface, it can be easy to get it wrong Super Roboy for a sweet introductory title to the subgenre, but it's built almost exclusively for those who love the genre and are looking for something new yet nostalgic. It opens really simplistically, with an AI guardian named Virgil telling Roboy that his memories have been wiped and they need to find his father. From there, Virgil serves to mark important points on Roboy's map, but beyond that, it's entirely up to the player to find their way and their upgrades.

The exploration i Super Roboy starts out this way, and it's easy enough to understand as players jump and shoot around platforms and enemies as expected, but soon enough they discover their first crystals and learn that their first skills are available. Instead of offering power-ups spread across the map as expected in games like Metroid, Super Roboy replacing them with the Enemy Skill system that requires beating a specific number of enemies and collecting crystals to unlock. At first, this doesn't hinder players much as there are plenty of enemies and green crystals (at least) aren't hard to come by, along with many of the first skills acting as optional upgrades.

Players get plenty of time to learn and understand what Super Roboy is roughly in the very first area, which is only enhanced by how amazing the game feels to control. Jumping, shooting, sliding and rolling are incredibly responsive, making these abilities a joy to use and their upgrades are ultimately satisfying once discovered. This goes well with exploration and platforming Super Roboy offers, which is one of the more liberating and player-driven adventures out there. But it works as both a blessing and a curse when it comes to the game at large. Once players are done with the tutorial, hardly anything to do next is clear, which can leave them confused.

The innovation in Super Roboy may hinder more than it excites

It could be argued that the best video games find a fine line between telling and showing. Metroidvanias in particular have always been known for allowing players to figure things out as they go along. Still, Super Roboy ends up shooting himself in the foot with his Enemy Skill system. When it comes to unlocking stat buffs and weak spots for specific enemy types, the Enemy Skill system works great, but there is a problem when necessary upgrades are locked within the same system. Moves like a double jump, wall jump, and underwater abilities are locked behind a specific number of enemies and bosses, with some necessary villains only found in one challenge room among four different areas. Just wanting to explore and missing one room in the entire maze can easily prevent players from finding the one ability they need to progress with only vague guidance and no proper tips on how to obtain it.

Beyond that, the application of a more open Metroidvania has been done before, and it seems that Super Roboy still shows how there is more work to do to blend both functions. Four areas that are almost completely accessible from the get-go with no direction as to which enemy skill is a necessary upgrade or not can cause people to find secret passages way too early. This issue may ease over time as fans get used to it, but the way all skills are poorly organized and managed can lead to unnecessary frustration when searching for missing enemies to unlock missing skills against a map that only shows players half of what they need to see.

Many of Super Roboys changes to the formula feel like they work great on paper, but not so well in practice. Important skills almost require them to be turned into regular unlocks instead of being hidden behind basic enemies, and making the important Floater collectibles invisible on the map without a skill while locking the rarest crystals behind them feels more like an annoyance than a reward. Some Floaters needed for Yellow Crystals are even locked behind optional side quests, making the hunt for Yellow Crystals difficult in the long run. Even with necessary skills locked behind unpredictable requirements and collectibles confusingly kept within reach at times, the movement system and how well the basics of Super Roboy feel will keep players moving just to bounce around the world and see what's around them. I managed to find the solution to puzzles that were preventing me from progressing just by testing a clue or two to see what sticks, but that shouldn't be the answer to every roadblock in Super Roboy. Especially not when players are left to figure out key information, like the bounce skill that allows players to jump on deadly bombs, that aren't explained right away.

Just some useful changes could avoid unnecessary running around, like marking boss rooms on the map, but also more conversations with Virgil and Roboy that have content would have worked great to provide more guidance than just some notes scattered on the map. As for the story, it's certainly not one of the draws Super Roboyas the characters hardly get a chance to interact throughout the adventure. While Super Roboy trying to create a world that aims to take cues from Hollow Knight's Hallownest through letters and journal entries, it fails to capture the same intrigue and charm.

Super Roboy is a Metroidvania Purely for a Love for the Genre

It's not bad at all Super Roboy however, zooms in on its exploration, movement and combat mechanics. In fact, these aspects are completely where this indie game shines. Even aimless exploration rewards players for hitting repeated enemies with Essence, helping level Roboy up to take on bosses and later enemies with ease. The skill system even manages to impress with the inclusion of four elemental upgrades and status ailments that add depth to what could have been an otherwise basic combat system. Super Roboy even takes notes from a number of RPGs to add a bestiary of enemies, where players can see enemy weaknesses in a simple but disorganized menu.

The elemental weapons and status ailments stop being incredibly prominent against Super Roboy's bosses, where the right combination can make quick work of challenging bosses satisfactorily. Fighting Mutant King Minos felt great at first, but once I used some excess crystals to upgrade my biological resistance and add poison to him, as well as keeping his attack pattern in mind, he didn't take much effort. These skills will certainly matter on higher difficulties, as hard mode makes health particles scarce and increases health levels significantly compared to the other two settings. The penultimate part of the game – once players reach the power plant – pulls no punches and is sure to test players on all difficulties, making Super Roboy surprisingly challenging to watch until the end.

Breaking the mold isn't required for Super Roboy to be a worthy Metroidvania

Video game design is similar to many other mediums in that during the journey it takes to create something, usually a core value must stand out as its message and purpose. When it comes to Super Roboyits main purpose was to be a hand-drawn Metroidvania experience, and in that respect it really hits its mark. The movement system makes it incredibly fun to explore even at times when the objective may not be clear, bosses are challenging with patterns that require detailed observation to master, and almost every area has collectibles to visit with unlocked upgrades. This is only enhanced by the adorable and charming art style that persists throughout Super Roboywith sprite animations and some well-made backgrounds that hold many surprises. Super Roboy may have flaws, but it also shows some impressive potential for other 2D animated games from the same developer.

Super Roboy is a nice and simple Metroidvania for its target audience of genre fanatics, though it may be hard to recommend for newcomers to the platforming subgenre. Those who have already made it through Hallownest or even made it through one Mega man the game will easily find itself at home in the game's short but challenging play time. Super Roboy delivers on its promises in a way that is unique to itself, and which makes it worth exploring.

super roboy cover



Reviewed on PC

Released

January 20, 2025

Developer

Vincent Penning

Publisher

VP game

Pro

  • Well drawn 2D artwork
  • Fun movement and great exploration
  • Challenging boss battles
  • Elemental weapons, status effects add depth
Disadvantages

  • Lack of direction at times
  • Side missions are a job
  • Roboy's story takes a back seat to the action

Super Roboy is now available for PC. Game Rant received a PC code for this review.

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