By day, Robin Eyre works at Iron Gate Studio as a self-described "generalist artist," preparing assets for Valheim's Ashlands biome. But like many talented developers, Eyre burns the midnight oil by pursuing passion project in the form of a Metroidvania game. Van-14 borrows from the classic Super Metroid formula—right down to a power-armored heroine facing seemingly insurmountable odds with universal stakes—and also takes some cues from Team Cherry's modern masterpiece, Hollow Knight. Eyre's indie title promises hardcore challenge, an immersive world to explore, and lots of bosses.

Game ZXC recently caught up with Eyre to hear about the development of Van-14, what it borrows from its famous spiritual-predecessors, and what elements are required to make a memorable Metroidvania. Even though Van-14 doesn't have a release date yet, fans of classical, 2D exploration titles will want to keep an eye on this Valheim veteran's rapidly evolving work.

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A Guiding Star

On Van-14's dev blog, Eyre acknowledges that his passion project is entering a competitive genre, filled with "poor to amazing Metroidvanias." When it comes to stand-out titles though, Eyre has eyes for only one influence:

"In recent years, Hollow Knight is a masterpiece. That’s the only one that I look to as a guiding star."

While there are dozens of excellent modern Metroidvanias available, including Ender Lilies and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, it makes sense that Eyre would single out Hollow Knight as an exceptional example to follow. The game has pixel-perfect controls, a haunting original world filled with mystery, humor, sorrow, and hope, and some of the most challenging 2D boss fights in all of video games. It's difficult to single out the qualities that set Hollow Knight apart from its peers because the game is so cohesive it feels utterly seamless.

Eyre also mentioned that he is eagerly anticipating Team Cherry's long-awaited follow-up to Hollow Knight, Silksong, and added that Crowsworn—another title clearly influenced by Hollow Knight—also looks promising. However, Van-14 seems to owe a greater creative debt to the Super Nintendo classic, Super Metroid, bringing the much-riffed upon genre full circle.

Metroidvania Must-Haves

Super Metroid and Hollow Knight have distinguished themselves as two of the most influential platformers of all time, and even though each game has a very distinct and pronounced identity, they have some elements in common that match Eyre's top three criteria for great Metroidvanias:

"You need gameplay first. Always gameplay first. How does it feel to traverse the platforms? You need lovely art that you can be invested in looking at for several hours. But you also need a mystery. The mystery, for me, is probably the biggest reason to continue playing."

Both Hollow Knight and Super Metroid feel great to play, thanks to a beautiful harmony between the player character's evolving abilities, and the ingeniously laid-out levels that are chock-a-block with secrets. And while both games have very distinct art styles, they represent master classes of their respective aesthetic styles. Hollow Knight's fluid, painterly style is perfect for it's haunting insectoid world, while Super Metroid's meticulous pixel art still holds up to this day, despite three decades of innovations since its release.

Ultimately, each game's mystery is what sets them apart from the rest of their pack. Hollow Knight's tale of an infected, fallen kingdom always presents players with more questions than answers in the grand tradition of the soulslike's genres environmental storytelling. Super Metroid's story is more straightforward and minimalistic, but the game's haunting environment of planet Zebes is so arresting and ever-changing that the relatively simple premise—track down the last Metroid—is sufficient context and motivation for exploration.

Keeping Things Lonely

Another distinct quality that both Super Metroid and Hollow Knight have in common is isolation. There are almost no characters aside from enemies in Super Metroid, and while Hollow Knight has a charming and intriguing supporting cast, the characters are so spread out over the game's expansive world that players will never completely escape the desolate tone of the title. Van-14's story is very much in flux, but Eyre has stated that maintaining a sense of isolated exploration is very important to him with this project.

Van-14 is currently in development. A release window has yet to be announced.