Part 3 (Apr 2025) · #2 of 17 in that tierWatch the moment (0:01:46)
A Robot Named Fight!
- Developed by
- Morningstar Game Studio
- Published by
- Morningstar Game Studio
$12.99
A Robot Named Fight is a Metroidvania roguelike focused on exploration and item collection. Explore a different, procedurally-generated labyrinth each time you play and discover randomized power-ups to traverse obstacles, find secrets and explode meat beasts.
Consensus
B72.1/100
Steam players88% positiveVery Positive897 reviews
Metacritic ↗71/100Users: 7.5/10
OpenCritic ↗73/100
VG Insights estimate ↗≈14.9K copies · ≈$113K gross
What creators say
What players say
A Super Metroid-inspired metroidvania roguelite by solo dev Matt Bitner (Morningstar Game Studio) in which you explore a freshly generated labyrinth each run, collect randomized weapons and items, and blow up fleshy Megabeast monsters.
Players rate it Very Positive on Steam (about 88% of 897 reviews), and its core appeal is a faithful Super Metroid feel combined with a run-based item-synergy loop. Critics were warmer than lukewarm but less enthusiastic than fans: Metacritic 71 on Switch from 9 critic reviews (user 7.5 from 33 ratings), OpenCritic 73 Top Critic Average from 18 reviews, with scores ranging from 6/10 to 9/10. The recurring caveats are a bland presentation, inconsistent procedural level design, and a roguelike reset that clashes with metroidvania exploration. Launched on Steam in Sept 2017 and on Switch in April 2018 (published by Hitcents); the dev is solo and has been inactive on new content for years, yet recent 2025-26 Steam reviews still call it an underrated gem and ask for a sequel.
Players love
- Movement and shooting feel very close to Super Metroid, which Metroid fans treat as the main draw
- Huge pool of randomized weapons, items and synergies makes each run and build feel different
- Strong 'one more run' loop once the slow opening minutes of a run are past; some players report hundreds of hours
- Procedural maps are still gated by ability checks, so it keeps a sense of metroidvania exploration and secret hunting
- Lots of secrets, multiple endings and final bosses, plus unlocks that keep replays fresh
- Local co-op and full controller support
- Chunky, gross enemy and boss designs are called out as a highlight even by lukewarm critics
Common complaints
- Presentation is seen as generic or bland, lacking the moody atmosphere of the game it imitates
- Procedural level design is inconsistent; generator can occasionally produce awkward or dead-end layouts
- Some runs do not give enough upgrades to handle later bosses, making RNG swingy
- Breakable secret walls are unmarked, so players feel they must shoot every surface; walls and enemies respawn and undo opened passages
- Difficulty is uneven: early bosses are considered too easy for a roguelite while later ones require long runs to reach
- Reviewers flagged very long item-pickup fanfare and some platforming precision issues on tight gaps
- Story is minimal and voice acting is heavily processed and hard to understand
- A few bugs and annoyances remain and the game is no longer actively updated
- Some later enemy groups with lock-on projectiles can cause cheap, instant-feeling deaths (Metacritic user complaints)
Can feel tedious
- Early minutes of every run feel slow while you only have weak starting weapons and limited movement
- Restarting after every death becomes repetitive, especially for players who want metroidvania-style persistent progress
- Constantly shooting walls to find secret passages, then re-breaking walls that respawn
- Reaching the harder late bosses can take an hour or more, so failed attempts are costly
- Learning what items do requires many runs and some outside research
- Co-op camera system is a turn-off for some players
What's unique
- Grafts a roguelike run structure directly onto a Super Metroid skeleton, rather than following the Dead Cells or Rogue Legacy action model
- Slower, more old-school pace than typical action roguelites, emphasising verticality and wall-jumping
- Procedurally generated maps still use gated upgrades, so runs feel like miniature metroidvanias
- Machine-god shrines with number-based offerings add a cryptic meta layer
- Multiple endings, final bosses and a lore-heavy hard mode behind repeated completions
- Couch co-op on a Metroid-style game, which is rare in the subgenre
Players want
- Allow rebinding movement abilities such as slide, which is tied to a two-key combo on keyboard and easy to misfire
- Give some form of persistence or run-saving so death does not always mean restarting from the very beginning
- Make breakable walls telegraphed and stop them from respawning instantly
- More consistent boss counts per region, and fewer reused bosses; give the final region an alternate variant and treat the hard mode as a proper mode with achievements
- Larger, more intricate environments and more enemy, boss and biome variety (a sequel is frequently requested)
- Explain the cryptic shrine and offering system in-game instead of requiring outside guides
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
MetroidvaniaRoguevaniaAction RoguelikeActionRogue-liteIndieGoreViolentPixel GraphicsProcedural Generation
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Tier list Part 3 (2025)
A Robot Named Fight is a Metroidvania roguelike that openly imitates classic Metroid, with randomized levels, enemies and bosses each run. He considers it the best attempt at fusing the two genres, since they conflict by nature. He enjoyed it and finds it unique, but it is slow to get going each run and works better as a Metroidvania than a roguelike. He places it as a solid B tier.
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