{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/metroidvania--family-group-16","type":"mechanic","id":"metroidvania--family-group-16","lang":"en","title":"Health, energy and the price of action","summary":"Health and energy limit available actions, healing and exploration between safe points.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/metroidvania--family-group-16/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/metroidvania--family-group-16.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/metroidvania--family-group-16.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Metroidvanias","Systems"],"sourceIds":["source-bac22fc4230e6976"],"sources":[{"id":"source-bac22fc4230e6976","title":"Hollow Knight","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Health and energy reserves limit the available actions and duration of exploration."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-group-16-variants\"></a>\n\n- Health and treatment. Rule: Damage brings defeat closer, and recovery requires a resource, time or position. <a id=\"variant-mv-175\"></a>\n- Shared resource for healing and attacking. Rule: Survival costs reduce the availability of offensive abilities. <a id=\"variant-mv-176\"></a>\n- Restoring resources through combat. Rule: Hitting, killing, or taking risks will return energy and health. <a id=\"variant-mv-177\"></a>\n- Focusing treatment. Rule: Recovery requires immobility or a sufficiently long safe window. <a id=\"variant-mv-178\"></a>\n- Endurance. Rule: Attacks, defenses and movement compete for the restored reserve. <a id=\"variant-mv-179\"></a>\n- Limited charges and consumables. Rule: The number of uses is limited until replenishment or rest. <a id=\"variant-mv-180\"></a>\n- Overcharging and overheating. Rule: Repeated action is limited by time or accumulation of load. <a id=\"variant-mv-181\"></a>\n- Temporary enhancement. Rule: A limited duration effect changes the power, defense, or availability of actions. <a id=\"variant-mv-182\"></a>\n- Temporary and restored health. Rule: Part of the defense lasts until it is lost or allows return with a counter attack. <a id=\"variant-mv-183\"></a>\n- Trading health for strength. Rule: Action expends health or increases risk for benefit. <a id=\"variant-mv-184\"></a>\n- Risk until the next shelter. Rule: Limited supplies force the assessment of continued exploration and return... <a id=\"variant-mv-185\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"The author's working taxonomy of mechanics, access rules, structural patterns and support systems. This is not an industry standard or a statement that every item is required or present in every game. Hybrids and support are highlighted separately. Any finite list is limited by the level of detail; combinations and new options remain open."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"metroidvania","id":"family-group-16","title":"Metroidvanias","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/metroidvania/#family-group-16","categoryIds":["section-4"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Health, energy and the price of action","description":"Health and energy limit available actions, healing and exploration between safe points.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/systems-hollow-knight-extra-00.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Hollow Knight","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/367520/ss_5384f9f8b96a0b9934b2bc35a4058376211636d2.1920x1080.jpg?t=1776125684","credit":"Team Cherry / Team Cherry","rights":"© Team Cherry / Team Cherry. All rights reserved.","caption":"Health masks and the Soul vessel in the screen corner","alt":"Health masks and the Soul vessel in the screen corner","markers":[{"x":15,"y":10,"label":"Health and Soul impose different constraints on the hero"}]},"tips":["Show an action’s cost before its resource is spent."],"examples":[{"title":"Hollow Knight","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/metroidvania"}}