Among dyed-in-the-wool Metroidvania fans, Migami Games is a well-known name. The French studio has long been producing fan games based on theCastlevaniaseries, with bothCastlevania: The Lecarde Chroniclesand its sequel frequently cited as two of the best unofficial games set in the universe responsible for one half of the Metroidvania portmanteau. Migami took its experience making fan games and produced its first original action platformer,Wallachia: Reign of Dracula, back in 2020, and has now followed it up with its first original Metroidvania,Chronicles of the Wolf. In keeping with the spirit of what the studio has done best throughout the years,Chronicles of the Wolfis an unmistakable homage to old-school Metroidvania design. It’s clunky, occasionally obtuse, and there’s an ever-present layer of jank throughout the whole experience. I loved every second of it.
At its core,Chronicles of the Wolfis an obvious continuation of the “Igavania” style ofCastlevaniagame design, following closely in the footsteps ofCastlevania: Symphony of the Nightand the myriad of Game Boy Advance andNintendo DS titlesproduced by longtime series shepherd Koji Igarashi. But there’s also a surprising inclusion of some proto-Metroidvania game design inChronicles of the Wolfthat is both entirely unexpected and incredibly welcome. LongtimeCastlevaniafans will immediately be able to pick up on just how muchCastlevania 2: Simon’s QuestDNA is present inChroniclesof the Wolf, and it’s a double-edged sword.
Chroniclesmay have the sprawling, interconnected map, RPG-style progression and upgrades, and multiple endings of the Igavania lineage, but it also packs in plenty of daunting puzzles, stiff movement, occasionally sharp difficulty spikes, and a general lack of clear direction that arbitrarily lengthens the experience. As someone who’s devoured everyMetroidvaniaI can get my hands on since before the term was coined, I couldn’t putChronicles of the Wolfdown, but it is unabashedly old-school in a way that might turn off newer Metroidvania fans used to games likeHollow Knightand its ilk.
Chronicles of the Wolf Feels Like a Natural Successor to Castlevania’s Golden Era
The setup forChronicles of the Wolfis appropriately gothic, given its obviousCastlevaniainspirations, and incredibly well done for a genre not always known for its strong narrative pull. Based on the real-life events centered around the “Wolf of Gevaudan” and the mysterious slayings that plagued that region of France for several years (the very same historical inspirations for the filmBrotherhood of the Wolf),Chronicles of the Wolfgoes to some truly interesting places with its supernatural take on occurrences grounded in reality. But as good as the story is, most Metroidvania fans come to the genre for its gameplay, and it’s an area in whichChronicles of the Wolfshines.
While Migami’s previous game,Wallachia: Reign of Dracula, was a traditional linear action-platformer,Chronicles of the Wolfis a pure Metroidvania. The twin pillars of the genre, combat and exploration, are at the center of the experience, and they’re each appropriately satisfying for anyone who holdsSymphony of the Nightand similarCastlevaniatitlesnear and dear to their hearts. Players will start with a limited set of areas to explore, gradually uncovering new abilities and equipment that open up new avenues for exploration, give way to greater combat challenges, and present the occasional puzzle or stumbling block for players to overcome through either character progression, questing, or new ability upgrades.
In other words,Chronicles of the Wolfis a spiritual successor to the golden age ofCastlevaniain every sense. The closest comparison you could make isSymphony of the Night, and it does an admirable job replicating the general gameplay loop and atmosphere of one of the most beloved and important titles in theMetroidvania genre. All the standard abilities you’d expect to see are front and center — a double jump, air dashing, the ability to breathe underwater, and so on — but there are also some new twists that Migami puts on the formula that make it feel like a loving homage rather than an outright imitation. In particular, the slide ability is a standout that’s perhaps even more useful in combat (both regular enemies and boss encounters) than it is in getting through tight gaps in the environment. Plus, sliding through the map — while a bit immersion-breaking — never gets old as the fastest way to get from point A to point B.
Migami’s Adherence to Old-School Metroidvania Design in Chronicles of the Wolf is a Sword That Cuts Both Ways
IfChronicles of the Wolf’s combat and character progression constitute the “Igavania” portions of itsCastlevaniainfluence, its exploration component is undoubtedly indebted toCastlevania 2: Simon’s Quest. And as anyone who’s playedSimon’s Questin recent memory can attest, that homage brings just as many frustrations as it does old-school charm. The Metroidvania genre is built on the twin pillars of combat and exploration, with rewarding character progression serving as the glue that binds them together. But at the time when proto-Metroidvanias likeSimon’s Questwere being made (which took influence from games likeXanaduandThe Maze of Galious), that formula was still in its infancy, lacking many of the modern flourishes that make it more palatable as the genre evolved.
Chronicles of the Wolfis admirable, and occasionally comforting, in its old-school homage to the genre’s origins, but it also isn’t without its fair share of pain points. Movement is an area whereChronicles' old-school influence sometimes hurts it, as controlling protagonist Mateo regularly feels stiff and unresponsive. It’s one thing to lose a fight against a challenging boss because you’re underleveled, but it’s another entirely to lose because the animations and input lag prevent your on-screen avatar from responding in time. Outside of combat, platforming can be a bit janky, which ultimately comes to a head near the end of the game. After hours of minimal platforming, it becomes a central component of traversal, and there’s even a major platforming challenge to overcome before getting some hugely important upgrades that make attempting 100% substantially easier.
Perhaps the most polarizing aspect ofChronicles of the Wolf’s old-school, proto-Metroidvania homage, though, is the way the game handles puzzles and quests. Players will acquire a substantial amount of upgrades throughoutChronicles of the Wolf, each of which is practically essential in clearing some ability-gated progression block or completing a quest leading to the game’s “true” ending. But like inCastlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, the guidance you’re given for these missions is bare minimum, leading to a fair amount of frustration as you ping-pong across the map looking for something you may have missed or an NPC to talk to again to get clarification. It doesn’t help that the map lacks any semblance of the modern quality-of-life features that Metroidvania fans have come to expect,meaning you may’t bank on leaving markers pointing to specific areas of question that may lead to progress.
Players Are in For a Sizable Experience With Chronicles of the Wolf That Mostly Delivers
But in spite of the frustrations thatChronicles of the Wolf’s old-school approach presents, it’s still undeniably an incredibleMetroidvania. Especially for fans of the genre who cut their teeth on the portmanteau’s origins —Super MetroidandCastlevania: Symphony of the Night — Chronicles of the Wolffeels like a glorious homecoming. To say that games like this simply aren’t made anymore is an understatement, andChronicles of the Wolfpacks a surprising amount of content in its runtime.
To truly dive intoChronicles of the Wolfand get the full experience, I opted for a longer playthrough where I was able to unlock all the game’s multiple endings and eventually see the “best” ending that requires reaching 100% completion. Doing so took just under 10 hours.
Chronicles of the Wolfis not for everybody. It’s not even for all Metroidvania fans. But for those that it clicks with, it very well may be the best game in the genre you’ve played this year. It’s not without its fair share of frustrations as far as its mechanics and gameplay go, but the elegance of its design and the obvious passion that Migami poured into it make those frustrations worth bearing. If you can look past a little bit of jank and forgiveChronicles of the Wolffor its old-school sentimentality, what you’ll find is one of the year’sbest Metroidvaniason par with the best of what the genre has offered in 2025.
