The Ringer-Verse Metroidvania Draft, Spooky-Season Games, and 'Street Fighter' | Button Mash
Oct 15, 2026
Daniel Chin, a Ringer film and culture writer; Steve Watts, a GameSpot editor and Metroidvania specialist; and Matt James, a Ringer art director and game enthusiast, dive into GTA VI, the Ocarina of Time remake, and Halloween-ready games. They define and debate the Metroidvania label, review Belmont’s Curse, draft genre favorites, and deliver a spoiler-free verdict on the wild new Street Fighter film.
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Metroidvania Is Useful Jargon With An Insular Past
- The Metroidvania label emerged from forum culture and remains useful despite its disputed origin and awkward franchise mashup.
- Steve Watts argues that jargon-heavy terminology can make gaming culture feel insular, especially to people unfamiliar with the medium.
Metroidvania Overload Makes Innovation More Valuable
- Metroidvanias are now so prolific that players can feel fatigue from repeatedly starting the same ability-gated, side-scrolling formula.
- The genre’s magic increasingly depends on developers finding fresh variations within familiar structural constraints.
Belmont’s Curse Wins Through Total Metroidvania Execution
- Steve Watts gave Belmont’s Curse a 10 because it delivers exceptional combat, traversal, exploration, and progression as a unified whole.
- Its tarot system elegantly combines mission guidance, spells, characters, and mysteries without burying players in menus.