Best Metroidvania Games

Why it's here: The pick that defines the list. Hollow Knight drops you into Hallownest, a hand-drawn underground that keeps folding open the longer you explore, gating each new region behind a fresh movement ability. Player reviews single out the discovery and the boss design; the common complaint is how little the game holds your hand with fast travel or map markers. If you want the deepest, densest metroidvania on PlayStation, start here.

Why it's here: The event release the genre has been waiting on. Silksong swaps the Knight for Hornet and rebuilds the combat around speed, pouncing, healing and dashing through a vertical new kingdom instead of trudging it. Reviewers single out the music and the movement; the caveat they keep raising is a harsher difficulty curve than the original, with boss fights that run long. Play Hollow Knight first, then come here for the tougher, faster sequel.

Why it's here: The metroidvania for players who love a roguelike. Dead Cells threads permadeath through a shifting castle: die and you restart, but you keep the movement tech and weapon knowledge that make each run faster and meaner. Its combat is the fluid high point of the list, and player reviews call out the endless build variety, while the recurring complaint is that the loop can feel repetitive once the map stops surprising you. If you want a metroidvania you replay for hundreds of hours rather than finish once, start here.

Why it's here: The atmosphere pick. Ender Lilies casts you as a priestess purifying a rain-soaked, ruined kingdom, and its twist is that every boss you cleanse becomes a spirit you summon, so assembling your ghostly moveset is the real progression. Player reviews single out the watercolor art and the piano score; the reservation they raise most is a map that can be confusing to navigate. If you want a metroidvania that trades bravado for melancholy and mood, start here.

Why it's here: The most refined atmospheric metroidvania here. Ender Magnolia moves from rain to rust, a poisoned industrial world where you repair broken automatons and fight beside them, keeping the summon-swap combat of Ender Lilies but adding clearer navigation and difficulty options. Player reviews rate its craft among the highest on this list, though several note the story carries less weight than the original. If you found Ender Lilies too obtuse or too hard, start with this one instead.

Why it's here: The origin pick. Castlevania Requiem packages Symphony of the Night, the 1997 game that effectively named the metroidvania by welding RPG loot and spells onto a castle that flips upside down, alongside the classic Rondo of Blood. It is the historical anchor of everything else on this list. The honest caveat is age: these are preserved 90s games with dated menus and no modern quality-of-life additions, and the collection stays exclusive to PlayStation. If you want to play the blueprint the genre still copies, start here.

Why it's here: The pick for lapsed Castlevania fans. Bloodstained comes from Symphony of the Night's own producer and rebuilds that template on modern hardware: a gothic castle, deep gear customization and a shard system that turns every slain demon into a new power. Player reviews love the build variety, though the recurring complaint is that it can feel dated, with inconsistent hitboxes and a thin story. If you have been waiting for a true new Castlevania, this is the closest you will get.

Why it's here: The challenge pick. Blasphemous sends a silent penitent through a land of Spanish Catholic nightmare, all writhing pixel-art horror and gory execution animations, with progression buried behind cryptic quests and merciless platforming. Player reviews praise the art and the atmosphere and call the combat satisfying once it clicks, but the recurring complaint is clunky movement and steep difficulty spikes. Come here for a metroidvania that plays almost like a soulslike, and start somewhere gentler on this list if it is your first.

Why it's here: The best on-ramp for newcomers. The Lost Crown is Ubisoft's slick metroidvania, sending the warrior Sargon through a time-bent mountain with acrobatic combat, difficulty presets and a smart tool that pins map screenshots so you never lose a locked door. Player reviews praise the movement and combat; the friction they raise most is Ubisoft Connect account hassle and a few sharp platforming spikes. If Hollow Knight sounds intimidating, start here and work up to the harder picks.

Why it's here: The thinking player's pick. Animal Well throws out combat entirely and hands you a glowing labyrinth and a few humble tools, then trusts you to discover the strange, lateral ways they solve its puzzles. Built almost single-handedly, it hides secrets the community is still uncovering. Player reviews single out the atmosphere and discovery, while the caveat they raise is opaque puzzles and backtracking that can stall you. If you play metroidvanias for mysteries rather than boss fights, start here.

Why it's here: The retro sci-fi pick. Axiom Verge, built mostly by one person, drops a scientist into a glitching alien world and hands him a genuinely strange arsenal, including a weapon that corrupts enemies and exposes secret passages by exploiting the game's own bugs. Player reviews praise the atmosphere, the synth score and the arsenal, while the caveat they keep raising is soft boss fights and heavy backtracking. If you want a weird, dense, unmistakably 80s-flavored metroidvania, start here.

Why it's here: The combat pick. Nine Sols brings Sekiro-style deflection to 2D, so instead of dodging you parry attacks on the beat, turning every fight into a rhythm of timed counters, all wrapped in a striking Taopunk world of Chinese myth and rotten sci-fi. It carries the most character-driven story on this list. The honest caveat is its skill ceiling: the parry-first design is demanding and unforgiving by the genre's standards. If you loved Sekiro and want that feel in a metroidvania, start here.

Why it's here: The 3D pick, and the outlier here. Fallen Order takes the metroidvania's ability-gated world into three dimensions: interconnected planets you revisit as new Force and traversal powers open old dead ends, with deliberate, parry-driven lightsaber combat. Player reviews praise the combat and the worlds, while the complaints center on bugs and backtracking made tedious by thin fast travel. If you want the genre's structure with a blockbuster Star Wars budget instead of pixel art, start here.

Why it's here: The wildcard, and the wit of the list. The Messenger opens as a straight 8-bit ninja platformer, then reinvents itself midway into a full metroidvania, unlocking backtracking and time travel between retro and 16-bit versions of the same world. Player reviews single out the sharp humor and the soundtrack, while the recurring complaint is that the switch into open exploration feels abrupt and the backtracking drags. If you want a metroidvania with a comic streak and a real structural surprise, start here.

Why it's here: The co-op pick, and the only one here you can share on the couch. Guacamelee! 2 wraps a luchador brawler in Mexican folklore, where the same uppercut that juggles enemies also smashes terrain open, and up to four players can drop in locally. Player reviews love the art and the fast combat, though the recurring complaint is punishing platforming and controls that can feel finicky. If you want a metroidvania a group can beat together rather than solo in the dark, start here.

Why it's here: The arcade pick. Strider reboots Capcom's ninja as a speed-first metroidvania: Hiryu carves through a neon dystopia with a plasma sword, chaining kills at a character-action pace rather than a slow, brooding one. Player reviews praise the responsive controls and the vivid art, while the complaints center on a short runtime and repetitive encounters. It is on the PS Plus Premium catalogue, so subscribers can try it at no extra cost. If you want a fast, flashy metroidvania to blitz between the bigger picks, start here.

Why it's here: The remaster pick, and the deepest cut here. Soul Reaver casts the wraith Raziel, who shifts between the material and spectral planes at will, reshaping the world to open paths and solve its puzzles, all carried by celebrated gothic voice acting. Player reviews praise the sharper visuals and the storytelling, while the recurring complaint is combat and controls that show their late-90s age. If you value atmosphere and story over tight action, or you missed these classics, start here.