4w ago

What is your favorite Metroidvania?

I haven't played a Metroidvania in a while and I'm looking for suggestions of some good ones to try. Some I would recommend:

Ender's: Lilies (Magnolias is good too, but play Lilies first. The setting and theme hits better.)

Ori and the Blind Forest / Will of the Wisps (Will of the Wisps did bring a tear to my eye)

Monster Sanctuary (a creature capture metroidvania)

Any system is good, interested to hear of other good ones that are out there.

164 comments

New school: Hollow Knight and Silksong
Old school: Super Metroid
- when oldschool is actually more accessible than newschool
  
  More accessible? Please explain.
  As in easier?
- Hollow Knight didn't really do it for me so I haven't tried Silksong yet (I hated not having a map for each area until I purchased one).
  I may have to try putting an emulator on my Steam Deck and seeing if Super Metroid holds up.
  
  If you didn't like Hollow Knight you probably won't like Silksong either.
  The game is good, and incredibly polished, but feels aimed at the people who 100% the first game and wanted more.
  
  Super Metroid definitely holds up

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game so good it created the term “Metroidvania” even though the formula was basically “Metroid”.
- Does it hold up well for someone who doesn't have nostalgia for it?
  
  Absolutely yes. It’s timelessly good. I played a bunch of the post-SotN Castlevanias on GBA and such and even with the more advanced systems and everything, none of them hit the same. It’s insane how well they nailed it on their first go.
  
  You don’t have to have nostalgia for the game to appreciate how wonderfully crafted and expansive it is. It has one of the best soundtracks of any game, period, and its art is highly detailed and numerous. It has a ton of secrets (including one MAJOR secret) and a couple of extra game modes that enhance the replayability.
  I would say the game seems to get better every time I play it. Is that nostalgia or something else? There are a lot of games I played before I had ever seen SOTN, yet I don’t feel the same desire to keep replaying them. I think it’s like a piece of classical music or a great movie. The more you replay it, the more details you come to appreciate. The original Deus Ex is like that for me as well.
  
  It's an fantastic game, as other have already told you. But I'd like to add that there's a randomizer for it and this basically adds almost infinite replay value (at least for me!)
  
  Usually old ps1 games just don't do it for me, but sotn was one of the two exceptions.
  
  I still play it once every few years. Love that game. Tons of secrets, dont look at any guides until you beat it, and have explored thoroughly.
  
  As someone who played later entries first and then went back to SotN, IMO it's a bit rough around the edges in comparison. Still a fantastic game, but I think later games managed to improve on it.

Animal Well is stellar
- Seconding Animal Well. I should go back and collect a few more achievements.

i can tell you the one that surprised me the most: Yoku's Island Express! utterly adorable pinball metroidvania. you're a little dung beetle pushing a big ball around to deliver mail.
i find that there is so much focus on dark and dreary in the metroidvania genre, which makes sense considering the roots of the genre. me, i get enough of that in my daily life. i want colorful and full of curiosity. the ori games are good for that too, as is supraland, but i don't know of many more.
- That one was a delightful surprise. I enjoyed it thoroughly because I’ve always liked digital pinball as well.
- Yoku's is my favorite pinball platformer metroidvania. I don't hear about many other people playing it.

A few other good ones that come to mind:
Axiom Verge
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Guacamelee
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
Rabi-Ribi
A Robot Named Fight (it's basically if super metroid was a roguelike)
Touhou Luna Nights
Cave Story
Also, the Castlevania Advance Collection is three GBA metroidvanias, definitely worth getting if you wanna play/replay any of those.

Played a lot of these in the last two years, with Ender Magnolia and Nine Sols being my favorites among them.
All-time I think I'd still go with Super Metroid, despite its age and having completed multiple playthroughs I still end up playing for hours anytime I boot it.
Honorable mentions for Rabi-Ribi (don't let the cutesy anime artstyle fool you, this is a fantastic non-linear game with some of the best boss battles in the genre), the recent Momodora games and the Team Ladybug games (with Touhou Luna Nights being my favorite of the three).
- Some titles here I haven't heard before, thanks, I'll check them out!
  The combat in Nine Sols was too difficult for my tastes. Played for an hour or two and made very little progress repeatedly dying to normal enemies.
  
  FYI Nine Sols has a "Story Mode" that lets you tweak damage numbers (and AFAIK only locks you out of a single achievement). Knowing that exists was one of the reasons I decided to try the game despite my PTSD from Silksong.
  I ended absolutely loving it even though it was crazy hard, and haven't lowered the difficulty yet. Though right now I'm stuck at the last boss and that may finally force me to do so. 😀

Its my no.1 genre... i have played A LOT of them. People have already hit on the "big three" - hollow knight, super metroid and castlevania SOTN... heres lesser mentioned gems... sure, they're not as incredible as those 3 genre topping master pieces, but theyre super super good and worth a play.
alwas awakening
tunic*
hyper light drifter*
hob*
Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R)
Metroid Dread
castlevania dawn of sorrows/aria of sorrow
axiom verge
metroid prime
castlevania 3
metroid zero mission
SM: ancient chozo**
SM: Ascent**
9 Sols
*yes, there could be called "zelda-likes" instead of metroid vanias, but i always felt those two game designs were kissing cousins.... if you like one you might like the other.
** these are romhacks...,very very good ones. You need a rom of super metroid and emulator to play em.
- Solid list!
  but i always felt those two game designs were kissing cousin
  I see them as the same genre. You have this "pushing the map's frontier" mechanic, along with some power or item progression to enable that. The rest is find-and-seek to connect all those dots. IMO, the only major difference is a side vs top-down perspective.
  
  Its true... i think the fundamental formula is that it makes you an explorer first- turns you loose with a very vague objective and lets you discover... map, traversal, sequence skips, w/e and gives you "clues" while letting you feel empowered to do things in your own order/way/time... thus making you feel clever.
  Zeldas, you could say, are more linear, more "adventure" in progression than exploration... but its not black n white and each title has varying degrees of freedom

Axiom Verge. I don't know how they managed to improve on the feeling of Super Metroid, but they did it.
- If you havent played the sequel I would recommend it. It definitely is not the same as the original but is still really solid and hopefully there will be further games
- Agreed both are really good games. One of the few games I've 100%

I haven't played very many, and these might not be pure Metroidvanias, but I recommend:
The Messenger
Pseudoregalia
Tunic
- I was not expecting to fall in love with tunic! What a great game!
- Tunic is so damn good.
- 7 reasons why you'll fall in love with Tunic
  
  Pretty spot on video.
  I just ordered the plushy because it's on sale and I love Chewnic so much. I love the fox.
- Pseudoregalia is just so good!!

Rogue Legacy 2, if it counts. Otherwise, Axiom Verge.
- Axiom verge had such a cool atmosphere. Never finished the 2nd one, not sure why it didn't grab me.

Guacomelee should get more love, it's a really stylish game and there is even coop if you want to play together with someone.

A bunch of good ones have already been mentioned (SOTN, Nine Sols, Super Metroid), so I'll just mention some that were missed.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (sequel to SOTN, just as good if you can get past the DS touchscreen BS. The new remaster might get rid of it)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (made by Iga, creator of Castlevania: SOTN, Dawn of Sorrow, and others)
Salt and Sanctuary
The Messenger
- I love the more "linear" first half of The Messenger, but didn't enjoy the "metroidvania" second half nearly as much.
  Still a great game though.
  
  I leaned the other way, but both were good.
  
  Rope dart and story was great
- if you can get past the DS touchscreen BS.
  I always cry internally when somebody doesn't like the DS and 3DS gimmicks :(
  Thanks to you guys we all will only have Steam Deck clones as handhelds from now on! /s
  To be honest I think most of the people that don't like the touch gimmicks are emulating... But I have heard people with stock hardware complaining too :/
  
  The DS is quite literally the only system that I ever sold going as far back as the Atari 2600. I hate, hate , hate how they forced the touch screen gimmicks for it in games that it didn't belong. It was the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding game in Dawn of Sorrow. It ruined all of the Zelda games made directly for the system IMO.
- ROTN is one of my favorites. I can’t wait for the sequel.
  I also love that it has built in randomizer support.
  
  Yeah, the continued support and extra modes made me so happy to be an early supporter. I also like the more original NES style games of the series and I am very excited for the sequel.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Metroid Prime. It's the only series I know of that is fully in the genre and is also not a 2D platformer.
It's insane to me how many Souls Likes could be 3D Metroidvanias if they used special powers to clear obstacles instead of just keys or random triggers to unlock new areas. That's really the only thing I see that separates the genres.
Sekiro is closer than any other, but it's mainly just 1 thing you don't have in the prologue (the grappling hook). I would love a game that is 3D over a 2D platformer, but also has the unlockable traversal tools the way Metroid or Syphony of the Night had.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum should count. Maybe not the later games as much, but definitely Asylum. It's all about backtracking with new gear to unlock new areas and paths.
  The Tomb Raider survivor trilogy scratches the itch a bit as well.
- 3D games are still pretty difficult for a small team to pull off with a small budget.
- I've heard High on Life is a metroidvania, but I haven't played it myself. You're right that 3D metroidvanias are exceptionally rare.
  
  I suppose it is. 🤔
  You have traversal tools, but also the different guns are used to solve puzzles and progression may be locked behind having the right guns. I only have 2 of the guns so far where I am in the game but I know there's several more.
- Metroid Prime
  A fantastic game, and has one of the best remasters I've ever seen.
  
  The option to use bothe joystick was great.
- have you tried Supraland? it's weirdly the closest thing to metroid prime i've played in a long time, and it's got completely the opposite tone. it's hilarious.
  as noted in one of the steam reviews, don't let the looks fool you. on first glance it seems to be a cheap asset flip, but it's an extremely tightly designed game with something like 20 hours of content and almost everything is original assets. it has a mishmash of styles because it takes place in a kid's sandbox, so the different kinds of toys don't match eachother.

I haven't seen Shadow Complex on here yet.
It's an older title (2009) and even the remastered version is from 2016.
Still one of my favorite Metroidvania type games.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/385560/Shadow_Complex_Remastered/

Symphony of the night is incredible. A bit dated now, but it truly established genre staples.

Batman: Arkham Asylum. It doesn't come up a lot, because only that first game is a metroidvania and Arkham City might be most people's favorite in the series, but it absolutely counts. I love Arkham combat. It's better in the sequels due to some slight tweaks in game feel, but that combat in a metroidvania is just excellent, and the game is just so well paced. It's a shame what WB did to that studio.
- You know, I’ve always thought of Metroidvanias as 2D experiences - but reading your comment and mulling it over, I have to agree: Arkham Asylum is very much a Metroidvania, and a great one at that!
- I loved the scarecrow sequences in that. I would love to play more games the effectively fuck with player but it's very difficult to look for without spoiling yourself and then you're expecting it.
  
  Have you played the Metal Gear Solid series? If not, don't look them up beforehand. And this might seem strange, but for the optimal effect, don't pirate them either.

I was shocked to see no mention of Ori in any of the comments here before I realized you had already recommended it in the OP. I have no issues with seconding that, the Ori series is really good.

| love super metroid even if the control scheme is dated

Ori series, specifically Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It's my absolute favorite game of all time. It's got the amazing visuals and insanely good OST, crisp and satisfying platforming and combat, engaging and unique bossfights, incredibly gripping story, good difficulty settings and going for 100% is rewarding and not nearly as annoying as in many other games. While it may stray a tiny bit from the classic Metroidvania formula I think it still does it incredibly well.

Some of my faves that aren't Hollow Knight:
Axiom Verge
Astalon: Tears of the Earth
Ender Lilies
Blasphemous

Can I half-cheat and say Control?
- Is it a metroidvania?
  
  It is... kind of. Hence the half-cheat. First off it's 3D, but the game is completely centered around the Oldest House, which is the headquarters of the fictional FBC. Like a Metroidvania you explore and backtrack back and forth through it and unlock new areas opening up from previous places. There is also one (although only one) proper ability gate that lets you explore previously unreachable parts of earlier areas once unlocked.
  Even if you don't classify it as a true Metroidvania it's definitely Metroidvania-inspired.

Super Metroid Animal well Castlevania: SOTN

La mulana 1 and 2, animal well for puzzles.
Metroid dread, highly recommend for combat.
Dead cells and rouge legacy two for rouge lite bits
terraria for minecraft + metroidvania
time spinner, bloodsworn for more typical metroidvania
the old castlevania games are on steam, so there is that
almost metroidvania suggestion is Outer wilds. Progression based learning. just not in a 2d plane and no fighting.
- terraria for minecraft + metroidvania
  This...shines a totally new light on a bunch of decisions that originally made me fairly upset and caused me to quit playing the game.
  I played the game with nearly every free moment I had between the time I bought it in 2012 and the 1.2 release in October of 2013. Multiple worlds. Multiplayer sessions with players in several countries possibly requiring port forwarding and VPN tunnels if I remember correctly, and all of it stopped dead for me when I had to quit focusing on creating and exploring and was instead spending most of my time struggling to survive.
  There were enemies before, and you could find one of the three bosses and just... Not go there, but 1.2 really made combat the forefront of the game and killed it for me entirely.
  In the intervening 12 years. I'd be surprised if had more than a couple of hours into the game.
  Viewing it through the lens of a metroidvania where you craft your own progression is not something I'd considered before.
  I might actually go back to the game on the rare occasion I'm in the mood for something like that.
  Thank you for the insight, while it probably sounds silly, it gives me some perspective into something that was so jarring it still causes me to panic when a game announces combat where combat was not previously the focus (I'm looking at you, Dyson Sphere Program 😄) and I really appreciate that.

I don't care much for metroidvanias but Dust: An Elysian Tail was fun for a playthrough or two.

Just so it's not forgotten to time I want to recommend AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake). It's basically what if Metroid 2 was made in the Super Metroid engine.
I'd recommend any of the 2D Metroids, but if you're going to play Metroid 2, that's the version to play.

I haven't played that many, but I enjoyed Ori and the Blind Forest and Carrion.
I adore Supraland, which is more of a Zelda/Portal/Metroid mix.
- Ayyyy plus one on both Carrion and Supraland! Loved both of those. I can't wait to get the latest Surpaland game (Supraworld iirc?). Such a fun puzzle platformer.
  
  Waiting for the game to complete development before I give it a try!

Seeing as I am old. Super Metroid and Castlevania II: Simom's Quest. I can.. and have played them dozens of times through at this point.

Hollow knight and silksong are both the best to ever do it IMO

Super Metroid will always be my favourite. I also enjoyed Axiom Verge and Bloodstained ROTN.
I generally like shorter Metroidvania like Iconoclasts and some of the Shantae series or even Yoku's Island Express which has some backtracking.
The Metroidvania tag is a bit like Dubstep in music, a lot of those Dubstep tracks aren't Dubstep but they can still be fun for some people.
- Metroidvania tag and roguelike tags have become so diluted as descriptors I have no idea what I'm getting anymore when I see them on an "indie title".

I don't know if it's "favorite", but an old classic was Aquaria. It had a surprising amount of content, even to the point of several secret bosses, and an absolutely excellent soundtrack. Sadly, the main guy behind it is dead now. Ori was also fantastic.

Metroid dread
- I would like it so much more if it didn't have that dumb parry mechanic.

Aria of Sorrow

Castlevania Symphony of the Night.
It's only $3 on play store and iPhone store. The phone version has the advantage that you only have to cast/input each spell once, and then you have a button to press.

Besides all the already mentionend games: Shadow Complex (2009) was a good game back then. Nothing special without any real story. But it was fun to play

La-Mulana was great. Maybe not for everyone. It's loaded with puzzles.
- That’s a gentle way to put it 😆. But I agree it’s so great. Need to get back into it at some point.
  
  Yeah... It's pretty brutal. I needed to consult a walkthrough even for subsequent playthroughs.

carrion is a reverse horror game where you play as the monster

Ori. Both of them.
They are works of high art.

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is a fantastic experience.
- Wut.
  Looked this up. Can't believe Record of Lodoss War got a game in 2021. I remember watching the 1990 anime on Toonami's online-only list of anime at the time, along with Harlock Saga. Both old school AF.
  
  I remember playing the Dreamcast Diablo style game my college roommate had!
  
  Funnily enough, I had the opposite experience. Was shocking to me to find out that the lore wasn't originally from Wonder Labyrinth.
- All three metroidvania games from that developer are great. The other two are Touhou Luna Nights and Blade Chimera.

Sundered: eldritch edition

Supraland

Ghost Song is one of my favorites that doesn't look like its been mentioned yet.
- I was scrolling looking for this one too! Really excellent game. I've been enjoying it and it scratches my metroid itch better than what most people are listing off.

Darksiders is very good
- You know at first I didn't really think it would be considered one, but looking back you're absolutely right. I really need to replay those games.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is top tier.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. IMO this is where the series peaked, perfected the formula and delivered a game packed with several large maps and three sets of bonus characters to replay the game with.
- if you haven't played Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night you really, really should. It's made by the creators behind the Castevania games and is REALLY good.
  
  I can't stand how the character moves in bloodstained. It's like an 8 bit games physics.
  But it is a fun game otherwise.

Aquaria. Very retro indie game from 2007. Underwater theme.

I also really liked Ender Lilies/Magnolias.
Other metroidvanias I've really enjoyed that haven't been mentioned yet are Blasphemous and Vision Soft Reset.
Blasphemous has a really cool theme and is pretty challenging.
Vision Soft Reset is more indie and probably PC only. It has a unique twist to the formula.

Super Metroid. I really haven't liked any others that I've played.
- Finally, someone with sense!
  (I'm obviously kidding about my tone btw, people can like whatever they like.)

Supraland
- I wanted to enjoy this game, but it gave me hardcore motion sickness after about 10 minutes. I haven’t had that happen in very many games, so it was notable in this one.
  
  Sorry to hear that. In my opinion it's a ~~great~~ fantastic metroidvania and puzzle game. It reminds me of Zelda and Portal too. Isn't there a way to disable head bobbing in the settings or some other option to reduce the motion sickness? Have you tried reducing mouse speed? If noting helps then you could try contacting the developer about it. Maybe they can fix it.

La-Mulana 1 and 2. They have excellent music, and more importantly, the exploration is a lot more interesting than most metroidvania games. This is because these games are all about puzzles, which come in the form of riddles, lateral thinking, and so forth. You don't complete any area in one go - rather, each place you can go has information about the other zones, so you criss-cross and cross-reference, completing them piecemeal. Plus, there is a great deal of cultural architecture for each area, making them very distinct. If you want an lengthy and difficult metroidvania that is all about the details, this fits the bill.
The original freeware version of La-Mulana is also worth playing, due to the audio and graphics resembling what could be on the MSX computer.

I've played Ultros recently and thought it was really cool and unique.

164 comments