Now there's a genre I never thought I'd like. I recently beated my first metroidvania game: Metroid: Zero Mission. I liked it so much that I beated again a couple of days later! And I already started my third run.
I really don't mind the backtracking at all. I think it's fun to explore this 2D world and look for secrets I might have missed on a previous run.
Also, funny how in my first run, I thought Mother Brain was the most unfair video game boss I had ever come across and died multiple times. But in my second playthrough... I defeated her first try!
Anyway, if anyone is more experienced than me in this genre, I'd love to know what I should play next.