Highlights
- Hollow Knight brought metroidvanias to the forefront, inspiring an abundance of indie metroidvanias.
- Lone Fungus offers precise platforming and robust combat with an expansive badge system.
- Unsighted's unique time limit mechanic adds tension and depth to its solid and combat-focused gameplay.
Although metroidvanias were around long before games like Hollow Knight, and some indie titles indeed had a crack at the genre before Team Cherry got their hands on it. Hollow Knight brought the genre to the forefront of indie games, and could arguably be blamed for the abundance of indie metroidvanias that were released over the following years. Now, indie metroidvanias are a dime a dozen, and it can be hard to find the diamonds among the rough.
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Exploring the interconnected worlds of games built on the template laid out for them back in the 90s by Metroid and Castlevania is one of the most notable joys of the metroidvania genre and one of its most iconic hallmarks. Great metroidvanias have unique and interesting worlds that are fun to explore, often littered with memorable NPCs, boss fights, enemies, and locations, and held together by solid movement controls and combat.
1 Lone Fungus – A Versatile Game With Precise Platforming
Steam User Rating: 89%
As its title suggests, Lone Fungus is a mushroom-themed platforming game with precise movement controls that make its tougher platforming sections much less frustrating than a certain bug-themed metroidvania. Although Lone Fungus does include some difficult platforming sections that require mastery of the game's movement controls, these sections are largely optional, freeing up players to explore and progress through the game without frustration.
The combat of Lone Fungus is simple but robust, featuring a parry system and an in-depth, expansive badge system that lets players collect and equip various "emblems" to create powerful builds. This adds a great deal of depth and strategy to the game's combat, despite its simplistic nature.
2 Haiku, The Robot – A Solid Metroidvania With Game Boy-Inspired Visuals
Steam User Rating: 91%
At first glance, Haiku, The Robot is arguably most impressive for its standout pixel art and color work, with simple yet highly readable environments detailed in broad strokes, and some truly charming character design. However, under the hood, Haiku, The Robot is also an extremely competent metroidvania.
Surrounded by corrupt, robotic enemies, and plopped down in a mechanical world, players must hack and slash their way through the game's various distinct locations, fighting bosses and overcoming platforming challenges along the way. Its gameplay loop is nothing innovative, but Haiku, The Robot shines with its retro Game Boy-style pixel art and unique world.
3 Unsighted – An Action-Packed Metroidvania Played To A Time Limit
Steam User Rating: 94%
This unique metroidvania features a top-down perspective, a pixel art aesthetic, and a timer that's constantly ticking. It's the latter that makes Unsighted so unique, and although players may be initially put off by the mention of something so limited as a timer, Unsighted does allow players to disable it. However, players should consider soldiering through the initial weirdness and embracing Unsighted's time limit, as it's arguably its most ingenious design choice.
In Unsighted, NPCs and the player alike have a thematic lifespan that can run out. This means that as the player progresses through the game, NPCs will eventually begin to die off, and if the player takes too long, their timer will run out. Thankfully, there are ways of extending timers throughout the game, and although this time limit may sound appropriately limiting, the tension that it provides is astronomical, and it does a great job of making players care. Outside this unique mechanic, Unsighted is a solid and combat-focused metroidvania with a strong focus on parrying, and its world is varied in its environments and fun to explore.
4 The Messenger – A Love Letter To Old-School Platformers With A Metroidvania Twist
Steam User Rating: 93%
Although The Messenger may deceive with its opening sections that allude to an action-adventure game in the style of old-school platformers, it quickly reveals itself to be an innovative and visually stunning metroidvania.
The Messenger is perhaps most notable for its dual-style pixel art, featuring both 8-bit and 16-bit styles that represent the game's alternate time periods. These two time periods give areas dual purposes and a great deal of visual variety. Besides this neat gimmick, however, The Messenger is a solid action platformer with a focus on precision platforming through its intricate and surprisingly innovative movement controls.
5 Guacamelee – A Colorful Metroidvania Brawler
Steam User Rating: 93%
Set in a fantastical world that takes inspiration from stereotypical Mexican culture, primarily in its visuals, Guacamelee is a bright, colorful, and vibrant game that remains a visual treat throughout the entire experience.
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Guacamelee is a brawler at heart, with fast and punchy combat that has a real weight to it, but the game's world is also fun to explore, with a dimension-swapping twist that allows players to uncover new zones and secrets alike. Guacamelee's metroidvania elements may be simplistic, especially when compared to other games here, but its streamlined experience, visual flair, and the addition of local co-op make it a fun and rewarding experience throughout.
6 Axiom Verge – An Intricate, Labyrinthine World
Steam User Rating: 91%
This wonderfully nostalgic pixel-art platformer features an old-school aesthetic, an abundance of great bosses, and plenty of weapons and abilities that allow for some classic metroidvania progression.
8 Best Sci-Fi Metroidvania Games, Ranked
These Metroidvania games have continued a long legacy of great sci-fi games in the Metroidvania genre.
Despite Axiom Verge's competent combat systems and crunchy pixel art, the game's world is tremendously alien. The science fiction environments, while varied, are labyrinthine by design, actively working to make the player feel lost. While the environments of Axiom Verge aren't as memorable or distinct as some other games, the exotic and alien atmosphere that they provide suits the game's narrative and aesthetic brilliantly.
7 Hollow Knight – A Modern Classic
Steam User Rating: 97%
This iconic, bug-themed metroidvania game may be the obvious choice, but it's obvious for a reason. Hollow Knight is a highly polished metroidvania with a beautifully visualized, well-crafted world that's brimming with charm. Exploring the nooks and crannies of Hallownest is made a joy through the game's various, incredibly distinct environments, solid combat system, and memorable NPC encounters.
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Hollow Knight isn't just a visually stunning game with great exploration but also features competent world-building and well-written characters that help to drive the game, and its vague narrative, forward. The variety of upgrades and new abilities that players acquire throughout the game are both fun and varied, and the game's bosses are mostly challenging and memorable. Overall, while many metroidvania fans may have already played Hollow Knight, it serves as an iconic and masterfully crafted example of the genre.
