Rabi-Ribi

This is a strange game to recommend because it has a presentation style that can easily turn people away in a sea of Metroidvanias that won't concern you with getting weird looks. If you can look past that, what you end up with is one of the most thrilling collections of boss battles I've ever experienced. An absolute plethora of unique, interesting and just spectacular patterns with plenty of difficulty tuning that you really feel (it's not just 'oh, this does more damage', but more 'oh, I was comfortable with dodging this and now it's making me work for every bit of positive momentum'). It's a game that will beat you down into submission until you finally accomplish something you never thought you had in you.

No one talks about this game because it's anime bunny girls or whatever but Rabi-Ribi is genuinely one of the very few "metroidvania" games that understands what makes metroid and castlevania fun from a gameplay perspective. Bought it back in 2017 on my ps4 completely on a whim and it's been one of my favorite games ever since.

I no longer care about the future of Metroid, stupid franchise for losers. I LOVE BUNNIES.
Banger bosses, even if they are all bullet hell with no real variety, the attack patters are different enough to all be enjoyable. Great sequence breaking potential with tons of content and extra modes. It has hentai artist in the credits so you know the game is good. Erina would be a great mother of 10, maybe more.
If there is a second game I will be there day 1 naked.

Metroidvania, but with a cute anime bunny girl—and platforming, bullet-hell bosses, and anime hijinks that bite back.

Usually I don't reviews without having achieved at least 80 percent of what a game has to offer but since this example is so vast in its potential content, I'd surely need hundreds of hours to get each achievement. So for those, who have more playtime than myself, the review might not do it justice.
I have played quite a lot of games from all kinds of genres, including the original Tomb Raider, Dark Souls, as well as pretty tight platformers such as Crash Bandicoot. So, while certainly not even being close to others in terms of sheer reflexes or brain power, I think I am valid to say that I need to have a bit of persistence to have finished or even completed said games.
Rabi-Ribi so far has the potential to be one of the hardest games I have had the pleasure of playing so far. So if you are walking into this, expecting a cute and laid-back platformer with metroidvania elements, it certainly is not. Rather, the game is a Boss Rush game that has platforming and metroidvania elements to give you some room to breathe, with the main gimmick that the attacks of said bosses strongly resemble bullet hell genre attacks.
This does make the game not only chaotic at times, but requires precise movement and memorization to prevail, especially at higher difficulties. Therefore, I can understand people, who are not accustomed to these kind of obstacles, perhaps simply for the fact, that it is unique in how these genres are forged into a singular experience.
Does it make the game unfair? I am willing to bet, that it does not.
So far, each attack could have been avoided, as long as you have seen it once before and pay attention to how it behaves. Even if it couldn't have been, you get an amulet early on, that grants you the ability to become invincible for a couple of seconds, so I find this aspect frustrating, but in a good way, the same way you'd need to invest brain power into learning to drive, to draw, or anything that requires precision really. With the ability to choose from various difficulties, I think people need to appreciate the level of care the devs have put into making this a game, even a beginner of these genres can pick up and learn.
The music I find super fitting and some tracks are really striking a nerve, in a good way mind you. M.R. has got to be my personal favorite, though there are a couple that come close. I would say more, but the job is just nicely done here, no complaints.
The platforming was really hard to get into at the start. What I don't like is that there are special moves like a hidden walljump or reverse wall kick, that can make the starting hours until you've gotten your whole moveset - as is tradition in metroidvanias - unnecessarily unpleasant if not found out about. I almost put the game off, until I read of those moves and it really made a monotonous task an enjoyable exploration of "Can I get up there yet? How cool would it be if I could reach this now with a precise move?" rewarding experiments.
Lots of saves and teleporters to traverse the big maps make it hustle-free for the player to return to each spot previously blocked off. Important to note, some areas are a dead end, in a way, that you must load a save to get out of them without some upgrades. I noticed this two to three times, and could see it be a hindrance to some people more short-tempered than me.
Why I haven't addressed the fan service yet? Because it is subjective, could be a deal breaker to some and is the art decision of a developer, that I find fitting for what the game wants to represent. If you find bunny girls, succubi and little ladies only wearing thin clothing something disgusting, that is not for me to judge. All I can say is that it didn't break my enjoyment of the game. And I am willing to bet, that this game has more to offer than a discussion about preferences in presentation.
Such a long review, but in my eyes, the game deserves it for its abundance of items to collect, game modes, forgiving difficulty settings as well as a combination of genres, I have not yet seen done so exceptionally well.
Thank you for reading.

When I first bought this game way back near release in 2016, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting. A new metroidvania with a pixelated style? I love me a good metroidvania. On the surface, this game looks like standard weeb anime fare. But the more I played it, the more it became apparent that this was anything but.
It really warms my heart that there still exists a few devs that absolutely put their heart and soul into creating a truly amazing product, and that is what Rabi Ribi is to me. It is the most charming, beautiful, well put together game, that has probably the best map and exploration mechanics of any metroidvania to date. It's also one of the most soul-crushingly difficult games I've ever played, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Beat me until I get better.
There's so much to do and see. The visuals, though pixelated, are strikingly good. The ost is still one I go back and listen to from time to time and is incredible. The controls are very tight. If you get hit and killed, you can seldom blame the controls. Each boss fight is unique, almost like a puzzle to figure out what works and what doesn't. There is a ton of content to be had here. And the difficulty, as mentioned earlier, is quite punishing, but not in a bad way. Some games have you just smash your head up against a wall until it breaks. That's not good difficulty. Rabi Ribi is a game that forces you to adapt and get better, and you won't succeed until you do, which is how it should be.
This game is easily a top 5 for me and deservedly so. You can tell the devs did everything they could to deliver a stellar game that I still come back to from time to time, just to do it all over again. The devs most assuredly have my confidence and respect for giving me and many others a truly wonderful experience.
Eagerly looking forward to your future endeavors.

This is what you get when a game is made with care and passion. The exploration around the map is perfect, the music are just pure bangers, the bosses are insanely fun to beat. Even after 10 years this game is as good as always.