The Best Metroidvania Games You Can Play Right Now

Hollow Knight Silksong key art

Metroidvania might be a silly name for a genre, but it’s certainly one of the more interesting video game genres. In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of games following the formula set out by games like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s been great for fans of the genre, and we’re sure there’s still a lot to come in the next few years.

But with all these new games coming out, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your time, and which ones you should play first. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the best metroidvania games you can play right now — we’ve made sure all of these are available to buy and play on modern platforms, like the Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Hollow Knight

If you haven’t played Hollow Knight before, stop reading this article right now and go play it. I’m not kidding. Hollow Knight, from Australian developer Team Cherry, is one of the best metroidvania games ever made, and if it had come before Metroid or Castlevania, the genre would be named after it instead. It’s got super tight and satisfying platforming, intense combat encounters that never feel unfair, and an adorably insectoid art style that is filled with charm. It’s got a sequel coming… at some point in the future, but for now, Hollow Knight is worth playing — be it for the first time or a replay.

Ori and the Blind Forest

People told me Ori was great for years before I finally sat down and played it, and I really should have listened to them sooner. Ori and the Blind Forest doesn’t do much that’s particularly new, exactly, but what it does do, it does spectacularly well. It controls wonderfully, has a delightful art style, and the world is genuinely a joy to explore. There’s not a whole lot of combat in Ori, which makes it ideal for people just dipping their toes into the genre, and it has one of the most innovative systems I’ve ever seen with its checkpoint-as-a-resource system.

Dead Cells

I didn’t like roguelikes until I played Dead Cells. Dying and losing all my progress, save for a few upgrades, just didn’t appeal to me. It turns out all I needed was a metroidvania twist, and Dead Cells delivers on all fronts. The way death is treated in Dead Cells is really clever, acting as a way to rekindle your journey and open up different paths, but the game’s best feature is its accessibility options, which let you customize just about everything about the game to make it easier or harder for you at a fine level. If you’re a roguelike fan dipping your toes into metroidvanias, or vice versa, you can’t do much better than Dead Cells.

Metroid Dread

Really, this entry could be swapped out with any game in the Metroid series, 2D or 3D. Metroid Prime Remastered almost made it on the list, as did Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion — there’s a reason this genre is named jointly after Metroid. Dread is the latest and greatest entry in the series, taking a little bit from Fusion and a little bit from Super and throwing in some of the most terrifying chase scenes in gaming. Metroid Dread teaches you to be better at the game’s systems in a trial by fire, and while it might be tough for newer players, it will get you in tip top shape for just about any other game on this list.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Castlevania is the other half of the equation when it comes to metroidvania games, and while not every game is a banger – and not every game follows the metroidvania template – there are some that are both fantastic and very much fall within the genre. Aria of Sorrow, originally released on the Game Boy Advance, is one of those games. It’s a little bit of a twist on the Castlevania ethos, in a way that can’t really be explained without spoiling it, but the gameplay is absolutely fantastic, having you defeat monsters to earn new abilities that can open up the world. It’s available to play now in the Castlevania Advance Collection and you should definitely give it a go if you get the chance.

Axiom Verge

Sometimes the best games come from the smallest teams, and you can’t get much smaller than one single person. Thomas Happ was the sole developer, artist, and musician for Axiom Verge, and you wouldn’t know that it’s a solo production just by looking at it. It’s got a spectacular art style inspired by Super Metroid, and although it sometimes plays it a bit safe, the gameplay is very satisfying. It’s a game that very much feels like it was made 30 years ago, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Monster Sanctuary

Monster Sanctuary featured on our list of the best games for Pokémon fans, and it’s worthy of mention here too. It’s a creature collector RPG, with turn-based battles, but the world is set up like a 2D side scrolling metroidvania, similar to something like Metroid. There’s not that much more to say about it — it’s a Pokémon game framed as a metroidvania, and that’s both super neat and very fun. It’s pretty routinely on sale on most platforms, too, but the price of entry is absolutely worth it even at full price.

Rabi-Ribi

Rabi-Ribi won’t be for everyone – it’s very much a game that depends on your tolerance of anime nonsense – but this obscure little game does something you don’t see often in metroidvania games: all the boss fights are bullet hells. Rabi-Ribi is bright and colorful, but has tough-as-nails gameplay that requires the best of your hands and fingers. It’s definitely worth it, though, as beating a boss in this game is one of the most satisfying feelings in gaming.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Prince of Persia as a series had been dormant for quite some time. It started its life as a 2D platform adventure series, and made the shift to 3D action adventure in the early 2000s, but then just… stopped existing for well over a decade. We’re in the golden age of metroidvanias, though, and since the series started as a 2D platformer, it felt like a natural fit. Ubisoft knocked it out of the park with The Lost Crown, offering an absolutely gorgeous game with a fascinating story and some of the best 2D action gameplay ever. It’s very clearly inspired by Metroid Dread, but there’s absolutely no harm in that — Dread is also on this list, and is also incredible.