Nine Sols

Nine Sols is a hand-drawn action metroidvania from the makers of Devotion, built around a Sekiro-style deflection system rare in the 2D genre: enemy attacks are meant to be parried on the beat, turning combat into a rhythm of timed counters rather than dodging. Its Taopunk setting mixes Chinese mythology with decayed science fiction, and its story of the vengeful hero Yi is unusually character-driven for a metroidvania. Critics and players received it warmly on release, praising the combat depth and art direction, with the widely noted caveat that its parry-first difficulty is steep and demands more precision than most entries here. It is the combat pick of this list, closer to a 2D soulslike in its skill ceiling. For players who came from Sekiro and want that feel in a metroidvania, it is the obvious choice.