Avoidvania

Not every review on this site covers a fresh release, and Avoidvania is a good example of why checking a Steam page's actual history matters. Its listed Release Date reads 1 August 2026 — recent enough to look like a new arrival. This review checked further before treating it that way, and found the real story: Avoidvania entered Early Access on 25 September 2021, nearly five years ago, and what happened on 1 August wasn't a launch. It's the developer, RED STUDIO, releasing the existing build permanently free after funding for its planned fuller version didn't come through.

What actually happened here

The developer's own words, from a 17 July 2026 announcement, are worth quoting directly rather than paraphrasing: "Avoidvania is going permanently free on Steam by the end of July! The game will remain as it is: unfortunately, funding didn't come through. If you purchased it recently, Steam refunds are still available. Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you on future projects!" That's a quiet, honest ending to a small Early Access project — not an abandonment, and not a scam, but a developer choosing to give away what exists rather than leave it locked behind a price tag with no further updates coming.

This review read the complete 12-review sample the game has accumulated across both eras — a cluster of French reviews from its original 2021 Early Access debut, and a small new wave of English and Simplified Chinese reviews from the first days of August 2026 — and every single one is positive.

A metroidvania with no way to fight back

The core idea is small but genuinely distinct. You play a cat drawn into a castle by an irresistible smell, trapped in a non-linear maze of corridors, traps, and hostile creatures — and you have no way to fight any of it. Survival depends entirely on speed and reading danger ahead of time. One detailed Simplified Chinese review from this year, translated, captures the loop concisely: "A top-down runner plus metroidvania — a cat breaks into a castle labyrinth, and the core is all about avoiding — dodging traps, dodging monsters, dodging mechanisms. Run fast to survive, stop and you die. The map is non-linear, you find your own way, and travelers you meet along the road tell you the backstory." A new English-language review sums up the result plainly: "It's not very long and a different style of Metroidvania game... trying to avoid enemies, traps, and other hazards is simplistic but still offers some challenge."

The older French reviews, from when the game was still a paid Early Access title, praise much the same things with more time invested. "Discovered via Twitter thanks to MisterFlech, the game is really a good surprise," reads one, translated, going on to praise the visuals, the humour, "multiple hidden references to various universes," and thoughtfully designed levels. Another describes putting in real time even in that early build: "count around 3 hours to complete these first two levels," while a third specifically praises the challenge/replay structure: "Possibility to train and progress in the 'challenge' levels... fairly long levels, which lets you really enjoy the game even in Early Access."

What's realistic to expect now

The newer reviews are shorter, both in length and in reported playtime, which lines up honestly with what the game now is: a small, finished-as-is experience rather than the larger game once planned. More than one recent Chinese-language reviewer explicitly and warmly thanks the developer for making it free while also asking for Chinese localization — a request this review has no reason to expect will be fulfilled, given the developer's own statement that the game will remain as it is. Only French and English are currently supported. One reviewer notes the achievement list is "really tough" to fully clear, giving completionists at least one reason to stick around past the main path.

Final verdict

Avoidvania isn't pretending to be more than it is anymore, and that's worth respecting rather than marking down. What's here is a small, genuinely distinctive no-combat metroidvania with real craft in its level design and a distinct hook, now available at zero risk to try. The Early Access promise of a bigger game didn't happen, and this review won't pretend that's not a real loss for anyone who backed it hoping for more — but a developer choosing transparency and a free release over silently abandoning the project is a better outcome than most unfunded Early Access titles get.

Worth a look specifically because it costs nothing and offers something few other games do; just know going in that what you're playing is the whole story now, not a preview of something larger to come.

Players who want that same sense of a small, honest idea worth exploring, backed by a world that keeps growing rather than settling into its final form, may also want to look at Wanderer.