Metroidvanias: The Complete Guide to the Genre
- Aug 18 2026
-
The metroidvania is the genre that keeps giving. Map out a vast interconnected world, hit a wall, find a power-up that opens a new path, and loop back through zones you thought you understood. It is the genre that made Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night legends, and the indie scene has spent the last decade pushing it further than anyone predicted.
Hollow Knight sold over 15 million copies. Silksong finally launched in September 2025 and it was worth the wait. Animal Well proved a solo developer could build a world so layered that players are still finding secrets a year later. This is your front door to everything metroidvania on GameMinr: the best games, what defines the genre, what is coming next, and where to start if you are new.
What Is a Metroidvania?
A metroidvania is a 2D (usually) action-exploration game where progression is gated by ability upgrades. You cannot reach certain areas until you have found the right power-up: a double jump, a dash, a new weapon, a grapple beam. The map is interconnected, and new abilities open shortcuts back to earlier zones. The genre name comes from its two founding series, Metroid and Castlevania (the Symphony of the Night era specifically).
The key design insight: the world itself is the puzzle. Every branch is a question, and every new ability is an answer that recontextualizes where you have already been. The best metroidvanias make you feel like you are breaking the game by going somewhere you "shouldn't" be, until you realize that is exactly where you were always supposed to go.
That feeling of the world clicking into place is what separates a good metroidvania from a great one. Anyone can draw a big map and scatter abilities across it. The hard part is making the player feel smart for figuring out how it all connects. Hollow Knight does it through environmental storytelling and hidden routes. Animal Well does it through puzzle density. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown does it through combat abilities that double as traversal tools. Every great entry in the genre solves the same problem from a different angle.
Best Metroidvanias Right Now
Our top picks, continuously updated.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
It is here. After years of waiting, Silksong launched in September 2025, and it delivers. Hornet plays nothing like the Knight. She is faster, more aggressive, and her silk-based traversal (pinpoint grapples, wall latches, aerial dashes) turns the whole map into a vertical playground. The combat is rhythm-based in a way the original never was: string together attacks to build silk, spend silk on heals and abilities, and manage the tension between aggression and recovery.
The ability gates feel natural, backtracking is rewarded, and the new kingdom of Pharloom is just as layered as Hallownest. Team Cherry did not just make more Hollow Knight. They made a game that justifies its own existence by being fundamentally different to play.
Why it's here: The most anticipated metroidvania of the decade actually lived up to the hype. $19.99 on Steam (Windows/Mac/Linux). Also see the GameMinr catalog page.
Get it on Steam · $19.99 · By Team Cherry
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
If Hollow Knight is about oppressive beauty, Ori is about transcendent beauty. Moon Studios built a metroidvania that plays like a flowing dream: movement is so smooth and momentum-based that by the late game you are chaining grapples, dashes, and bashes into sequences that feel more like a rhythm game than a platformer.
The combat is lightyears ahead of the first game (Blind Forest), which leaned more on evasion. Here you have a proper weapon, a real skill tree, and boss fights that test your reflexes. But the real star is the traversal. Abilities like Burrow, Launch, and Regenerate open the map in ways that make backtracking feel like a joy instead of a chore. The escape sequences are still white-knuckle set pieces that will have you gripping your controller.
Why it's here: Best-in-class movement and visual design. The game that proved a metroidvania could make you cry, then make you chase a flawless combat run 10 minutes later. $29.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $29.99 · By Moon Studios
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
The genre's namesake finally returned. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launched on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and it is the first proper Metroid game since Samus Returns reminded everyone that Nintendo still owns the blueprint.
A full 3D first-person metroidvania, Prime 4 does what the original Prime did in 2002: it takes the ability-gated exploration that defines the genre and translates it into 3D space without losing the sense of "how do I get up there?" The Scan Visor returns, the beam/missile progression feels like coming home, and the world design loops back on itself in ways that reward exploration without hand-holding.
The Switch 2 version adds enhanced visuals and gyro aiming that makes the first-person combat feel tighter than any prior Prime entry. This is the AAA metroidvania that proves the genre is not just an indie format.
Why it's here: The franchise that gave the genre its name, back in form. Available on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Not on Steam, so no PC link here, but if you have a Switch or Switch 2 this is essential.
Physical Edition available at Amazon for Switch and Switch 2
Also available on Nintendo eShop (Switch and Switch 2)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Best combat in a modern metroidvania, full stop. Sargon's time-manipulation abilities are not gimmicks. They are woven into both exploration and fighting in ways that feel essential. The athra surges (special attacks) give you real choices in combat, and the parry window is generous enough to feel satisfying without being brainless. Ubisoft Montpellier actually made a Prince of Persia game that stands on its own merits, which nobody expected.
The time powers do double duty as both exploration tools and combat mechanics in a way that makes both systems deeper. Clash of Fate (the time-rewind power) lets you undo mistakes mid-fight, but it is also how you reach platforms that exist only in the past. That is clever design that respects both halves of the genre.
Why it's here: The AAA metroidvania that actually understood the assignment. Ubisoft proved you do not need to be a three-person indie team to make a great one. $29.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $29.99 · By Ubisoft Montpellier
Animal Well
A no-combat metroidvania where the entire world is one interconnected puzzle. The map is not just big. It is deeply layered in a way that rewards returning to old areas with new understanding. Every item changes how you see the spaces you have already been through. Billy Basso (solo developer) built something that respects your intelligence more than any game in recent memory.
If Hollow Knight's most satisfying moments were "wait, this connects back to there," Animal Well is built entirely around that feeling, except the connections are puzzle-based instead of ability-gated. The community is still discovering secrets. Players datamined the game and found layers inside layers, puzzles that required coordination across the community to solve. That is a live, breathing mystery in a single-player game.
Why it's here: A solo dev built a world so dense with secrets that the community is still mapping it months later. $24.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $24.99 · By Billy Basso
Hollow Knight
Still the standard. Team Cherry built a map so deep and interconnected that even 80 hours in, you are finding new zones. The charm system gives genuine build variety: you can tank through bosses, go glass-cannon, or lean into spellcasting, and each build feels like a different game. The combat is precise, the world is oppressive in a way that earns its difficulty, and the lore hidden in item descriptions and environmental storytelling rivals any FromSoftware game.
Over 15 million copies sold as of August 2025. That is not a typo. A two-person studio in Australia built the genre's defining work, and then they made a sequel that somehow lived up to it. If you have not played the original, start here before Silksong.
Why it's here: No metroidvania has matched Hollow Knight's scope since it launched in 2017. At $14.99 on Steam (Windows/Mac/Linux), it is also one of the best value propositions in gaming.
Get it on Steam · $14.99 · By Team Cherry
Afterimage
The biggest metroidvania you probably have not played. Aurogon Shanghai built a world that is genuinely enormous, with a map that rivals Hollow Knight in scope and a hand-painted art style that gives every zone a distinct visual identity. Rene's combat system is deep: weapon types, skills, and a burst mechanic that lets you customize your playstyle across dozens of hours.
Where Afterimage sets itself apart is in its willingness to be a full RPG inside a metroidvania shell. There are NPCs, side quests, dialogue trees, and a story that runs 30-plus hours if you engage with it. That is unusual for the genre, and it makes the game feel like a hybrid of Symphony of the Night and a modern action RPG. The combat can feel a little loose compared to Hollow Knight's precision, but the scope more than compensates.
Why it's here: The most ambitious metroidvania of 2023, and still one of the largest games in the genre. $24.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $24.99 · By Aurogon Shanghai
Guacamelee! 2
The co-op metroidvania that actually works. Drinkbox Studios took the slide-and-grapple formula of the original and cranked everything up: more combat depth, more platforming challenges, more chicken-form shenanigans. The grappling hook mechanics turn traversal into a momentum game that feels closer to a fighting game than a typical metroidvania.
What makes Guacamelee! 2 special is that it is one of the only metroidvanias designed for drop-in co-op from the ground up. Up to four players can play simultaneously, and the combat and traversal scale to accommodate the chaos. The "I'm done being nice, now I'm being a chicken" energy is unmatched in the genre. It is also genuinely funny, which is rarer than it should be.
Why it's here: The best co-op metroidvania, and one of the few that does not take itself seriously. $19.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $19.99 · By Drinkbox Studios
Axiom Verge 2
Thomas Happ's sequel is a weird, ambitious game that refuses to just be "more Axiom Verge." The shift to a melee-focused combat system and the addition of the Breach, an alternate dimension you swap into, make this a fundamentally different experience from the original. Indra's journey through the ruined world of Kiengir is one of the most atmospheric in the genre.
The hacking mechanic lets you reprogram enemies and objects, which turns combat encounters into puzzles. It is not as tight as Hollow Knight or as beautiful as Ori, but it has a strange, unsettling identity that no other metroidvania matches. If you want something that feels like a fever dream built by one person (because it was), this is it.
Why it's here: A solo developer's second game that refuses to repeat the first. $9.99 on sale (normally $19.99) on Steam (Windows/Linux).
Get it on Steam · $9.99 (on sale) · By Thomas Happ
Islets
Warm, charming, no filler. Kyle Thompson's island-hopping metroidvania keeps things fresh by splitting the world into discrete floating islands connected by an airship. Each island is self-contained enough to feel completable, but the connections between them create the same "ah, this goes back to the hub" moments the genre lives on.
The island structure solves metroidvania's biggest UX problem: getting lost without a clear path. It does this without sacrificing the interconnectedness that defines the genre. This is the metroidvania you play in a weekend and feel great about.
Why it's here: The best entry point for new players, and proof that a metroidvania does not need to be 40 hours to be great. $19.99 on Steam (Windows).
Get it on Steam · $19.99 · By Kyle Thompson
Environmental Station Alpha
The hidden classic that influenced a generation of indie metroidvanias. Arvi Teikari (Hempuli) built a compact, brutal exploration game on an abandoned space station that predates the metroidvania boom by years. ESA is the game that showed how much atmosphere you could wring from a small pixel-art map and a hookshot.
What makes ESA special is how dense it is. There is no filler. Every screen has a purpose, every item changes how you move through the station, and the late-game sequence breaks that open up entirely new areas are the kind of thing that speedrunners still find new uses for. It is also one of the few metroidvanias where the story is genuinely mysterious and unfolds entirely through environmental details and optional logs.
Why it's here: The cult classic that deserves a wider audience. At $7.99 it is one of the best value picks in the entire genre. Steam (Windows/Mac/Linux).
Get it on Steam · $7.99 · By Hempuli
Also Worth Playing
These do not get full entries but they are worth your time if you have burned through the top picks.
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights ($24.99). The predecessor to Ender Magnolia and still worth playing if you want to see where the companion-summoning formula started. Darker, more linear, but the boss fights are genuinely great. Get it on Steam
ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist ($24.99). The sequel, and the better game in every way. Lilac summons Homunculi companions who function as both abilities and combat allies. Developed by Adglobe and Live Wire. Get it on Steam
GRIME ($24.99). A soulslike-metroidvania hybrid where you absorb bosses and use their bodies as weapons. The absorption mechanic makes every boss kill feel meaningful. By Clover Bite. Get it on Steam
Blasphemous 2 ($29.99). If you want metroidvania exploration with utterly grotesque pixel art and actual weapon variety, this delivers. By The Game Kitchen. Get it on Steam
Haiku, the Robot ($19.99). A compact Hollow Knight-inspired adventure that does not overstay its welcome. By Mister Morris Games. Get it on Steam
Aestik ($17.99). A hidden gem with a twist that recontextualizes the entire map. The less you know going in, the better. By Hooded Traveler Games. Get it on Steam
Gestalt: Steam & Cinder ($19.99). A stylish action-metroidvania with a steampunk aesthetic and tight combat. By Metamorphosis Games. Get it on Steam
Neva ($19.99). More cinematic platformer than traditional metroidvania, but the ability-gated progression earns it a mention. By Nomada Studio (the Gris team). Get it on Steam
Salt and Sanctuary ($17.99). The original soulslike-metroidvania, still holding up years later. By Ska Studios. Get it on Steam
Touhou Luna Nights ($17.99). A Touhou-themed metroidvania with time-stop mechanics and bullet-hell combat. By Team Ladybug. Get it on Steam
Axiom Verge ($4.99). The original, and still one of the best retro-styled metroidvanias ever made. By Thomas Happ. Get it on Steam
Dead Cells ($24.99). Lives in the space between action roguelike and metroidvania. The combat is best-in-class and the exploration is real, even if the runs are randomized. By Motion Twin. Get it on Steam
Upcoming & Worth Watching
- Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. The franchise is back. KONAMI and Evil Empire (the Dead Cells team) are building a new Castlevania with metroidvania structure. If anyone can do justice to the "vania" in metroidvania, it is the studio that kept Dead Cells alive for years. Launches October 14, 2026. GameMinr Game page
Metroidvania Guides & Articles on GameMinr
10 Best Metroidvania Games for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Our platform-specific picks for Nintendo players
Best Roguelikes on PC Right Now. Dead Cells lives in both worlds, and many metroidvania fans cross over into roguelikes
Best Soulslike Games for Beginners. Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, and GRIME all live in the overlap between these genres
Hollow Knight: Silksong. GameMinr catalog page with full details
FAQ
What is the best metroidvania to start with?
If you have never played one, start with Islets ($19.99). It is short, charming, forgiving, and teaches the genre's vocabulary without overwhelming you. If you want something meatier, Hollow Knight ($14.99) is the king of the genre and it is still the best value in gaming.
What is the difference between a metroidvania and a soulslike?
Metroidvanias gate progress with abilities. You cannot proceed until you find the double jump. Soulslikes gate progress with skill. You cannot proceed until you beat the boss. Many modern games are both. Hollow Knight has bonfires and difficult bosses but ability-gated progression. Blasphemous 2 has skill-gated combat but metroidvania map design. The genres overlap more than they do not. See our Best Soulslike Games for Beginners for more on that side.
Is Hollow Knight: Silksong out?
Yes. Silksong released September 4, 2025, on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is available now on Steam for $19.99. Hornet plays completely differently from the Knight: faster, more aggressive, with silk-based traversal that makes the whole map feel like a vertical playground. See the GameMinr catalog page for more.
Is Metroid Prime 4 on PC?
No. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a Nintendo exclusive, available on Switch and Switch 2. There is no Steam release and none has been announced. If you want a 3D metroidvania on PC, your best options are the original Metroid Prime Remastered (via emulation, which we will not link) or waiting for someone to fill that gap. On the 2D side, the genre is thriving on PC.
What metroidvania has the best combat?
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The time-manipulation mechanics give every fight multiple layers of depth, and the parry system is the most satisfying in the genre. For straight aggression, Guacamelee! 2 turns combat into a co-op fighting game. For precision, Hollow Knight and Silksong are untouchable.
What metroidvania has the best map design?
Animal Well for puzzle-design minds. Hollow Knight for sheer interconnected scope. Environmental Station Alpha for density, every screen matters. Islets for clean, non-frustrating progression. They each solve the "where do I go?" problem differently, and all four approaches are valid.
Are there good metroidvanias on Switch?
Yes, most of the games on this list are on Switch. Metroid Prime 4 is a Switch exclusive. See our 10 Best Metroidvania Games for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 for platform-specific picks.
