The Batman: Arkham series was influenced by Metroidvanias. Great series IMHO.

Yes, the one that shoots a laser beam that, if you haven't yet had a chance to level up at that point, will likely kill you in a couple hits or so.

Also, don't forget spikes stunlocking you to death. (Stunlocking, when it happens to the player, is never a fun mechanic; there's a reason it's common for action games to make you briefly invincible after being hit.)

Good point. They don't retain the side-view that is characteristically associated with most platformers we think of, but there's no denying you have a free-roam large map where you open more paths as you earn new abilities, which is for me the main characteristic of a metroidvania.

I am not going to call it a metroidvania tho, because it would spark a discussion of "does it have to be a platformer to be a metroidvania?"

Yeah, SOTN has some heavy hitter enemies. That beam skeleton is one of them

Yes, this is a good one. You hardly even notice the backtracking.

So much so, I forgot they were 3D Metroidvanias. If you're interested in the concept, but dislike (most of) the execution, try the Batman: Arkham series.

I agree with a lot of the folks here that exploration, remembering previous locations, and backtracking are key, core, features of the genre -- and that if you don't like them, you probably won't like the genre. (BTW, most earlier Zelda games are also "metroidvanias", just with an overhead perspective instead of platforming perspective, if you think about it!)

That said, some games are only bordering in the genre and have them to lesser degrees.

Hollow Knight, for instance, early on you can go anywhere and get to something. It's very well-crafted that way that there's always somewhere to go. But, by the end, you have to be thorough about going everywhere and filling in the holes. You can go pretty long and deep without backtracking and is super non-linear. But, in the end, you do have to hit the points and do a lot of backtracking to areas once you start exhausting your areas you could get to without unlocks.

Let me make an odd recommendation here Epistory. It's a Zelda-ish game with an abstract story that uses typing as its combat resolution in novel ways. It's a really good, often overlooked game. Why does it come up here? It hits a little on the "metroidvania" elements of making mental notes "when I can burn down logs, I should come back here" and so on. The world is a joy to explore. It's pretty quick to get around (even faster later when you get teleports -- something else usual to the "metroidvania" genre). Additionally, a lot of the story-progress map unlocks are "points" based, and you can get points in a lot of ways.

There is a Batman Arkham game, subtitled Blackgate, that is a sidescroller, making it a "true" metroidvania.

Welcome to Souldiers

shorturl.at/gtwFX

Metroidvania that focuses on fighting. You're one of these soldiers, and you're not the hero. You're just a little military man.
Fight for your freedom in a sprawling fantasy world trapped between the living and the fallen. Hone your skills in an old epic featuring puzzle game, Metroidvania exploration and soul-like fighting. While fighting for the glory of your kingdom, you and your fellow soldiers are transported away to Terragaya #, a mysterious land on the edges of the afterlife. Your mission is to locate Guardian and move to the next world. Bump? You and your countrymen didn't actually die. Fight your way to the heart of mystery: Overwhelm crafty enemies, solve nefarious mysteries, upgrade your personality and explore every corner of the dazzling and complex 16-bit world. Souldiers is an old, handmade epic for ages.