How Long to Beat Nine Sols: 20-25 Hours + 100%
Nine Sols takes most players 20-25 hours to beat. Full completion, chasing lore and every hidden area, pushes past 30.
The Blog
Field notes from a breaking timeline
Guides to the Time Keys, the lore behind the broken oath, and where KUTO: The Lock of Time sits among time-bending action adventures.
Best Time Loop Metroidvania Games to Play in 2026
Where the time loop meets the connected map. The games that blend resets, rewinds, and era-hopping with Metroidvania design — sorted honestly by how they do it.
Games Like Deathloop: 8 Loops, Heists, and Immersive Sims
Deathloop is a heist puzzle wearing a shooter's clothes. These eight games share a piece of it — the loop, the freeform levels, or the plan that finally comes together.
Is Nine Sols Worth It? An Honest 2026 Verdict
Nine Sols has some of the best boss fights in the Metroidvania genre and a story that actually lands. Whether it's worth it comes down to how you feel about parry-or-die combat.
Game Manuals Had Better Lore Than Most Cutscenes
A stapled booklet, a hand-drawn map, three pages of history the game never mentions again. A love letter to the instruction manual — and what happened to all that lore when the booklet died.
Games Like Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps ran out eventually. These eight games share its focus on movement, its emotional weight, or both.
Is Rogue Legacy 2 Worth It?
Rogue Legacy 2 hands you 20 to 40 hours of castle-crawling for a fair price, and every failed run still makes you stronger. Here's who it's actually for.
Why KUTO Only Lets You Carry Two Time Keys
Five Time Keys exist in KUTO. You will never hold more than two. Here's the design argument behind the limit — the versions we tried, and the ones we threw away.
Blasphemous Story Explained: the Miracle & Endings
Blasphemous tells its story in fragments, item lore, and imagery. Here's the throughline — the Miracle, the Penitent One, and the true ending that leads into Blasphemous 2 — laid out plainly.
Games Like Braid: 8 Time-Bending Puzzle Picks
Loved Braid's mix of gorgeous art and time-warping puzzles? These eight games hit the same notes — some through clever puzzle design, some by making time itself the mechanic.
Games Like Katana Zero: 8 Fast, Lethal Picks
Loved Katana Zero's one-hit-kill flow and slow-motion combat? These eight share the speed, the lethality, or the die-and-retry rhythm that makes a perfect run feel like a dance.
Greek Mythology Games: 8 Myths Worth Playing
The games that put you inside Greek myth — fighting the Olympians, escaping the underworld, hunting monsters out of Homer. Eight worth your time, from blockbusters to hidden gems.
Is Animal Well Worth It in 2026?
Animal Well is one of the most inventive Metroidvanias in years — but its puzzle-first, near-combat-free design isn't for everyone.
MECCHA CHAMELEON: Why the Hiding Game Blew Up
A $5.99 game where you paint yourself to disappear into a wall just became one of Steam's biggest surprise hits ever. Here's what MECCHA CHAMELEON actually is, and why it took off.
Games Like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Loved The Lost Crown's parry combat, dense map, and time tricks? Six Metroidvanias that hit the same notes — including two built around stopping and rewinding time — plus one on the way.
Games Like Superhot
The games that scratch the Superhot itch — minimalist, stylish, and over the moment your plan slips. Five that come closest, plus an upcoming time-bending Metroidvania.