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.
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.
Metroid dread
I would like it so much more if it didn’t have that dumb parry mechanic.
Hollow knight and silksong are both the best to ever do it IMO
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.
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
Symphony of the night is incredible. A bit dated now, but it truly established genre staples.
Currently playing Animal Well, and it is excellent so far!
I want to like it so much, but I enjoy combat in my metroidvanias.
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.
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.
Aquaria. Very retro indie game from 2007. Underwater theme.
I don’t care much for metroidvanias but Dust: An Elysian Tail was fun for a playthrough or two.
Some of my faves that aren’t Hollow Knight:
- Axiom Verge
- Astalon: Tears of the Earth
- Ender Lilies
- Blasphemous
If you like 8-bit gaming, I recommend getting the free BBC micro emulator BeebEm
Then get the ROM Citadel
It’s a Metroidvania from before either Metroid or Castlevania. It still plays well, it’s still difficult, the puzzles are logical but require thought, and it’s several hours of gameplay to complete.
Hollow Knight. It’s the only one I actually played to the end.
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.
I would absolutely categorize Control as a metroidvania game. It has all the characteristics of one. I know some debate it because it’s so combat focused but aside from that it checks all the Metroidvania boxes.
