I just finished Dark Souls 1/2/3 100%, so as a pallet cleanser, I’m back to metroidvanias with Dust.

I’m guessing you tried a joke that just didn’t land, but just in case… It may help to think of it like this: this person is looking for a suggestion. What kind of suggestion? A software suggestion

You mean San Franstinktown!

They definitely leaned into the vania side of the genre. If it helps, my approach to bosses is to go in completely defensive at first. That is, don’t even try to attack. Learn the moveset, dodge, and eventually you’ll start to see where you can squeeze in an attack (or two or three). Don’t get greedy and stick to the attack windows that work for you. It can be rewarding, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

There is a (something like 50 round) pantheon at the end where you fight every boss/mini-boss in the game plus a unique boss for the final round. It’s literally like 45 minutes. I made it to the final round, but I will never finish it. It’s just too much for me and I wasn’t having fun.

As a pretty old dude, I feel you on the lack of time. That’s part of why I don’t mind looking at maps. I need to be efficient with my time. You do get items that help with survivability and a fair number of checkpoints. As with any media, you should never feel guilty if you’re just not feeling it.

The Ori games were beautiful and quite well done too. Best escape sequences ever.

Hollow Knight is great. The bosses are tough, but manageable. IIRC, the only really tough platforming section is optional. I’ve been picking Metroidvanias from this list lately and been pretty happy. He also has some good maps for them. https://demajen.co.uk/tierlist.html

Ones mind boggles.

I always heard, “Walk it by the fire and throw it on a plate.”

If you are in a noisy environment, you can use earplugs with your bone conduction headphones. That’s what I do on the treadmill and while mowing the grass.