i'd recommend trying the Knight Witch demo out its more of a faster paced deck builder bullet hell metroidvania its the one i played after beating Enderlilies, and one of the first metroidvania's that i played back on the Xbox 360 is Dust: An Elysian Tail cant remember much of the story but i know its a game i 100% that follows the standard metroidvania cycle abit more than The Knight Witch.

Hello, fellow Linux player and metroidvania connoisseur!

I haven't played Minoria yet (it is in my library though haha), but Momodora: RUtM, which is an earlier game from the same dev, is somewhat meets your criteria, so the answer is maybe.
https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/428550/Momodora_Reverie_Under_The_Moonlight/
- Atmosphere is not exactly similar, but somewhat comparable. It's about a priestess who comes to distant land in order to find a cure for the curse. Music is... I'm afraid almost nothing compares to the amazing soundtrack from Mili, but it's still good, and I feel that melancholic vibes too.
- The difficulty is exactly hard, but still doable.
- It has a metroidvania elements and potential for exploration, including some secrets.
- But the achievements are quite tricky, and three of them are clearly challenges that are almost impossible to get on the first playthrough.
- There is one small spider, but it's a secret merchant. You can kill it, though.
- Also, native Linux version is not so good, so it makes sense to force switch to the Proton version.

And from now on, I'm gonna only mention games I haven't played yet, because I'm just a humble beginner. But I believe these games attracts me for the same (or at least similar) reasons as ENDER LILIES and Hollow Knight. Well, yes, it's essentially my highly opinionated backlog, but it might be relevant, so why not. In a random order:

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/368620/Timespinner/
https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1701520/Afterimage/
https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1426490/LOST_EPIC/
https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1306630/Lost_Ruins/

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1772830/Rusted_Moss/
It seems to have a heavy platforming sections, but if you love Celeste, you might be fine with that, I guess...?


Hope this helps!

Thank you both, I've added almost all of them to my wishlist, will ask my partner tomorrow if our computer can handle them before I decide which one to buy first (it's 2.15 am here and I really need to go to sleep, lol)

It does feel funny how often the game description starts with "you lost your memories" lol. I get that's a great way to introduce the player to the world etc it's just funny how so many of them use it

You're welcome!

Originally posted by Dette:

It does feel funny how often the game description starts with "you lost your memories" lol. I get that's a great way to introduce the player to the world etc it's just funny how so many of them use it

Well, yeah, amnesia is an easy and versatile excuse for making an exposition of the game world, but it seems a bit overused. Sometimes it's even feels like a mini-game between authors and readers or players. "Let me guess: it's amnesia again?"

But I believe that in games in particular, it's used not only for storytelling but also for immersion. You know, for synchronize the player and character experience as closely as possible. We feel the same, knowing nothing about this world, but slowly unraveling its mystery!

It still has to be well written or at least well presented, though.

I've bought Afterimage, Lost ruins and Grime, and my boyfriend got me blasphemous. (Those last two were recommended on a yt video)

So far I'm really loving afterimage, the rest I haven't really played yet (only booted it up and played to the first checkpoint to see if everything worked) but they all looked good so far. Really excited to play them all. Thanks again!

But I believe that in games in particular, it's used not only for storytelling but also for immersion. You know, for synchronize the player and character experience as closely as possible. We feel the same, knowing nothing about this world, but slowly unraveling its mystery!

It still has to be well written or at least well presented, though.

Fair enough! As long as the gameplay is enthralling and the story is not the main focus I don't mind if the story is good or not. If the story is a huge chunk of the game I do mind it, but in general the story can be really bad and it can still be a 10/10 game for me

Nice! I'll take that as a recommendation for myself on what to play next after New Game+. So thank you, too!

Originally posted by Dette:

Fair enough! As long as the gameplay is enthralling and the story is not the main focus I don't mind if the story is good or not. If the story is a huge chunk of the game I do mind it, but in general the story can be really bad and it can still be a 10/10 game for me

Relatable! Of course, a story-centric game should have a good story, but in other cases it depends. I've come to the conclusion that I play games mainly for three things: to feel emotions, to immerse in the world and atmosphere and to challenge myself. And it surely could be achieved in a different ways, with or without a good story.

But I believe that a good presentation is significant. It's a rather subjective thing, though... But remember, when Lily shakes her head a bit frightened and with sorrow, when Umbral Knight asked her if she remembers what happened to that kingdom? At that point, we know almost nothing about this story, but feel these emotions already. This is a good presentation in my opinion!

If you're into metroidvanias and/or don't have a super modern PC, i can wholeheartedly recommend you the Steamworld franchise.

Steamworld 1+2 are both metroidvanias for that matter, while #1 is a bit short, but introduces you to the whole world and overarcing story. #2 is really great.

Steamworld Heist 1+2 aren't metroidvanias but very adorable turn-based sidescrolling combat a-la XCom.

Steamworld Hand of Gilgamesh is a Deckbuilding adventure, not too hard but also very adorable.

Originally posted by Weltall:

If you're into metroidvanias and/or don't have a super modern PC, i can wholeheartedly recommend you the Steamworld franchise.

Steamworld 1+2 are both metroidvanias for that matter, while #1 is a bit short, but introduces you to the whole world and overarcing story. #2 is really great.

Steamworld Heist 1+2 aren't metroidvanias but very adorable turn-based sidescrolling combat a-la XCom.

Steamworld Hand of Gilgamesh is a Deckbuilding adventure, not too hard but also very adorable.

Sorry for the late reply, but apparently my boyfriend has steamworld dig 1 and 2 in his library so will play them with family sharing. Will try them out today, really curious, the things I saw were really compelling!

Originally posted by Hinori:

Nice! I'll take that as a recommendation for myself on what to play next after New Game+. So thank you, too!

I changed my mind about almost all of these so wanted to tell you that. I'm gonna say my issues with them so you can see for yourself if that's something that bothers you or no

- Lost ruins. I didn't play very long so this may change (although negative reviews mentioned the same thing) but my main gripe was how the movement felt - really heavy. Also you don't have much health which is fine, but it doesn't get replenished when you save so you need to use disposable items to update your health. The savepoints can be used only once and when you die you need to recollect everything you did after that point. For me this just was not enjoyable

- Grime. Played for an hour or so. What I didn't like is that dodging and sword attacks go from your stamina bar, so if you're a melee player you can become very vulnerable. This is definitely a me-problem since there's a great parry system in this game, I just don't really like being on the defensive side and just like attacking and dodging.

- Afterimage. This one I played the longest (15 hours or so) and that speaks volumes about how I really want to like this game but just don't.
So most importantly when you open a new game you can choose between normal difficulty and advanced. The game literally tells you that first playthroughs should be played on normal, so I chose that. But I only died once so far because I didn't pay attention, it's way too easy to the point I get bored out of my mind playing. I never feel relieved to find a save space, like I did in ender lilies at times (I sometimes walked into new rooms of Ender Lilies praying it was a respite room, lol) and I often walk into boss arenas without full health because even the more challenging bosses are just easy to face tank. I've heard the game is so much better on the advanced difficulty but don't really feel like trying it, maybe later.

Some other minor gripes for me were how busy both the background and the foreground can be. Yeah the artstyle is amazing but if you place a tree in the foreground that takes up 1/10 of the screen that's just bad, made me miss many enemies. There are also some "jumpscare" enemies that seemingly come out of nowhere and make a loud sound and I don't like that.
You don't have iframes while dodging and I feel like the game definitely would have improved with that. Especially when platforming and getting shot at from beyond the screen, a iframe dodge would've made traversing better. All of these are not game breaking but just annoying, they never kill me it's just a nuisance at this point to travel the map.
I wasn't a fan of the story and it's really story focused so that just didn't help my enjoyment.
Last but definitely not least I don't mind that a game doesn't hold my hand but this game doesn't tell you anything. I have no idea what I'm doing half the time but not in an enjoyable way like I had with Hollow Knight or Ender lilies. I found things out way later than intended and I'm sure there are still loads of things I haven't found out yet.

I did like the platforming, the artstlye, and in general I do think it's a pretty solid game, just for me all these things added together just take away the joy out of gaming and make it a chore.
So if you want to try this one I'd definitely advise playing on advanced because from what I've heard that makes the game way better.

Blasphemous is great, it's really hard but that's not a bad thing, it's a great git gud game. Have played a few hours so far and do enjoy this (maybe I'm a masochist, lol)

Death's door (3D metroidvania I guess,

There are no "3D Metroidvanias." Death's Door is a top-down Zelda clone.

I'd agree with the mentions of Momodora and Timespinner above. Both pretty cool games. Personally I wasn't interested in the Steamworld games since they're procedurally generated. That's a dealbreaker for me.

I'll throw out some suggestions:
https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/393520/Iconoclasts/
Looks great, fun gameplay, and has some challenge but nothing too hard. Plot seems simple and throwaway at first but gets pretty dark and deep as you go. I was pretty impressed with it by the end.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1330470/FIST_Forged_In_Shadow_Torch/
Has a decent plot though a bit cliched but the gameplay and exploration is fun and it'll scratch that Metroid itch. Achievements are all doable as it doesn't even require you do the bonus fights for them.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1436590/Phoenotopia_Awakening/
This is not really a Metroidvania and is more of a "Zelda 2 clone" but it's a huge world with tons of things to do and keep track of. It's rare an indie game takes me about a month. Decent challenge but nothing too hard. I guess a drawback is the Speed-run and low-level achievements are kind of annoying (I did both at once) but that shouldn't keep you from this awesome game.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1046400/Astalon_Tears_of_the_Earth/
Really cool Metroid clone with different character you switch to as you play. Has more emphasis on losing progress on death but it just means you value save points a lot more when you get to them. Despite that I didn't find it too hard but some might.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/449610/Monster_Boy_and_the_Cursed_Kingdom/
At a glance, this looks like a game for kids but it's creative and fun to explore with a lot of tools and abilities to unlock stuff. Decent challenge with some of the platforming but nothing too hard. Achievements are all pretty easy if you just get 100%.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/334940/Yokus_Island_Express/
A combination of pinball and Metroidvania. Yes, you read that right. A very fun game and really creative, especially if you don't mind some pinball elements. Light on challenge and easy on achievements. I really enjoyed this one.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/368340/CrossCode/
CROSSCOOODE! This is a true top-down Zelda-clone and it's fantastic. Plot is really creative (you're a character in an MMO but the game itself is not an MMO), there's tons and tons to explore and there's a lot of content and secrets and it's another title that I spent over a month on since it has so much content. Challenge is quite reasonable and it's easy to get OP. Achievements are very easy to get but there's a an "in-game achievement" list that is more extensive.

Also, Blaster Master Zero 1-3. All are Metroid-ish and pretty fun without too much challenge. Try out the first then get the sequels if you like it.

Originally posted by Hotel Security:

There are no "3D Metroidvanias."

Metroid Prime

^Why is that called a "Vania?" It has nothing to do with Castlevania. It's just a Metroid game. And Metroid invented that level design, not Castlevania.

Originally posted by Dette:

I changed my mind about almost all of these so wanted to tell you that. I'm gonna say my issues with them so you can see for yourself if that's something that bothers you or no

Oh, sorry about that. I probably shouldn't blindly recommend games I haven't played yet. In fact, I need these recommendations too.

And thank you for the detailed commentary, I appreciate that! I'm surely will be playing Afterimage on advanced then.

Originally posted by Hinori:

Oh, sorry about that. I probably shouldn't blindly recommend games I haven't played yet. In fact, I need these recommendations too.

And thank you for the detailed commentary, I appreciate that! I'm surely will be playing Afterimage on advanced then.

No worries, you were really clear about not having played them yet so it was at my own risk. But even if you had played them and recommended them, it doesn't mean the game is bad (in most cases) it just means the game is not for me. And that's okay, I love discovering new games and figuring out what I like and what I don't like.

I bought a few other games during the steam sale, will come back to say if I like them or not.

So far I've played Guacameelee the most (super turbo championship edition) and can say it is fun but the controls are not very responsive so that can be frustrating at times, and make combat feel unfair. But that may be just me sucking at the game and blaming the controls, lol, was planning on asking in that game forum if people recognize it and if anyone has tips in that regard

Originally posted by Hotel Security:

^Why is that called a "Vania?" It has nothing to do with Castlevania. It's just a Metroid game. And Metroid invented that level design, not Castlevania.

"Metroid-Vania". Think a bit on it.