Games Like Axiom Verge

Explore an abandoned space station in this retro-themed explorative action platformer.

Why similar: Metroidvania 60.2%, Pixel Graphics 8.5%, Platformer 8%, Great Soundtrack 7.6%, Retro 2.8%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the same sense of isolation, cryptic exploration, and retro-pixel aesthetic that makes Axiom Verge so compelling.

Explore a sprawling, alien world in the sequel to the award winning Axiom Verge.

Why similar: Metroidvania 60.1%, Platformer 11.2%, Pixel Graphics 6.4%, Sci-fi 5.7%, Action 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: The direct sequel expands on the original's world with new traversal mechanics and a shift toward more exploration-focused gameplay.

Run, jump, shoot, fly and explore your way through a massive action-adventure reminiscent of classic 8- and 16-bit games.

Why similar: Metroidvania 49.1%, Great Soundtrack 16.4%, Platformer 12.2%, Pixel Graphics 6%, Retro 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: As a foundational indie metroidvania, it shares the retro charm and weapon-focused combat that defined the genre's resurgence.

Pounce inside of your cozy armored mech and set off on a dangerous trek through an alien underworld full of irritable creatures and treacherous obstacles in a valiant effort to save your stranded captain and his crashed spaceship.

Why similar: Metroidvania 60%, Pixel Graphics 8.4%, Platformer 7.9%, Retro 4.7%, Indie 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: A tight, punchy experience that distills the sci-fi metroidvania formula into a focused, retro-styled adventure.

On the desolate moon of Lorian, a long-dormant Deadsuit awakens from slumber. Journey beneath the surface on an atmospheric 2D adventure of self-discovery, ancient mysteries, and cosmic terror. Explore winding caverns and acquire new abilities to unearth this alien world’s long-buried secrets.

Why similar: Metroidvania 57.8%, Platformer 11.2%, Sci-fi 9%, 2D 3.8%, Side Scroller 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: This game perfectly captures the lonely, sci-fi atmosphere of a desolate alien planet filled with mysterious remnants.

Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.

Why similar: Metroidvania 56.7%, Great Soundtrack 16.4%, Platformer 9.7%, Difficult 3.1%, 2D 3%

Why You'll Like It: This is the definitive modern metroidvania, offering a vast, interconnected world and a level of atmospheric polish that rivals the best in the genre.

Join renegade mechanic Robin and uncover the secrets of a dying planet. Explore a big world filled with intricate puzzles, interesting characters and menacing bosses in a beautiful platform adventure that tells a personal story about faith, purpose and the challenge of helping people.

Why similar: Metroidvania 55.6%, Pixel Graphics 9.8%, Great Soundtrack 9.6%, Platformer 8.4%, Indie 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: It provides a deep, story-driven experience with beautiful pixel art and challenging boss encounters.

As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan’s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humor.

Why similar: Metroidvania 46.8%, Great Soundtrack 15.8%, Platformer 10.8%, Pixel Graphics 8.1%, Retro 7.2%

Why You'll Like It: While more action-oriented, it captures the retro aesthetic and tight platforming feel that fans of 2D action games will appreciate.

Delve into the depths of a mechanical world in this cute, adventure-exploration game. Explore and fight in a land full of corrupt robots and machinery. All while seeking answers to the mysteries around you.

Why similar: Metroidvania 58.2%, Platformer 10.6%, Pixel Graphics 9.2%, Retro 5.5%, Exploration 3.9%

Why You'll Like It: It features a charming, robot-centric world that emphasizes exploration and ability-gated progression similar to the seed game.

Explore a dense, interconnected labyrinth, and unravel its many secrets. Collect items to manipulate your environment in surprising and meaningful ways. Encounter beautiful and unsettling creatures, as you attempt to survive what lurks in the dark. There is more than what you see.

Why similar: Metroidvania 61.5%, Platformer 9.8%, Pixel Graphics 8.9%, Exploration 4.2%, Retro 3.6%

Why You'll Like It: This game prioritizes surreal, non-linear exploration and hidden secrets, mirroring the sense of discovery found in Axiom Verge.

Blasphemous is a brutal action-platformer with skilled hack’n slash combat set in the nightmare world of Cvstodia. Explore, upgrade your abilities, and perform savage executions on the hordes of enemies that stand between you and your quest to break eternal damnation.

Why similar: Metroidvania 66.7%, Pixel Graphics 9.2%, Great Soundtrack 6.4%, Platformer 5.9%, 2D 2.8%

Why You'll Like It: Its dark, religious-themed pixel art and punishing combat provide a unique, moody atmosphere that stands out in the genre.

LA-MULANA is an “Archaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game,” bringing the classic appeal of adventure with the punishing difficulty of retro-inspired gaming. Search inside ancient ruins, seeking out the “Secret Treasure of Life” – which sleeps in the sprawling ruins of “LA-MULANA” and is said to be the beginning of all civilization.

Why similar: Metroidvania 60.7%, Great Soundtrack 10.8%, Platformer 10.1%, Difficult 3.4%, Pixel Graphics 2.5%

Why You'll Like It: For those who enjoyed the cryptic puzzles and exploration of Axiom Verge, this game offers a significantly more challenging and rewarding experience.

Death's Gambit: Afterlife is a challenging 2D action platformer with deep RPG elements. As an agent of Death bound to his service, unravel the mystery of Siradon and discover the true price of immortality.

Why similar: Metroidvania 62.6%, Pixel Graphics 9.6%, Platformer 6.7%, Great Soundtrack 5.5%, 2D 3.2%

Why You'll Like It: This title blends metroidvania exploration with souls-like combat, offering a dark and atmospheric world to uncover.

Battle with swords and whips in this retro-style action game brought to you by game creator Koji Igarashi and Inti Creates! Play as Zangetsu, a demon slayer bearing a deep grudge, who must travel through perilous lands to defeat a powerful demon lurking in a dark castle.

Why similar: Metroidvania 42.1%, Great Soundtrack 11.8%, Platformer 11.5%, Pixel Graphics 9.5%, Retro 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: A love letter to classic 8-bit action games, offering tight controls and a nostalgic, retro-inspired challenge.

Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 27.7%, Metroidvania 27%, Pixel Graphics 16.4%, Difficult 4.8%, Indie 4%

Why You'll Like It: Though more top-down, its cryptic storytelling and atmospheric, sci-fi world-building resonate strongly with the tone of the seed game.

Uphold your pact with the Titan of Death, Epimetheus! Fight, climb and solve your way through a twisted tower as three unique adventurers, on a mission to save their village from impending doom!

Why similar: Metroidvania 58.3%, Platformer 10.8%, Pixel Graphics 8.4%, Retro 6.8%, Exploration 4%

Why You'll Like It: It features a sprawling, interconnected map and a retro aesthetic that rewards players for thorough exploration.

A handcrafted open-world platformer set in a world built by Mushrooms! Explore different locations filled with secrets, acquire new abilities and use those abilities to reach new places!

Why similar: Metroidvania 58.9%, Platformer 10.9%, Pixel Graphics 9.4%, Retro 4.8%, Side Scroller 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: This game offers incredible depth in its movement and platforming mechanics, making it a joy to explore its vast world.

Xeodrifter is the story of an interstellar drifter traveling the stars on a simple mission of exploration. We join our nomad as he embarks on the investigation of a small cluster of four planets in the omega sector, after a collision with a rogue asteroid damaged his warp core.

Why similar: Metroidvania 49.4%, Platformer 10.5%, Pixel Graphics 7.5%, Sci-fi 7%, Retro 6.7%

Why You'll Like It: A short, focused sci-fi metroidvania that emphasizes boss fights and ability upgrades in a retro package.

Take to the sky and reunite a fragmented world in this surprisingly wholesome metroidvania! Help Iko adventure across beautiful hand-painted islands, receive letters from a quirky cast of characters, and face powerful monstrous adversaries.

Why similar: Metroidvania 67%, Platformer 13.8%, 2D 3.7%, Exploration 3.4%, Adventure 3.3%

Why You'll Like It: A charming and polished metroidvania that focuses on smooth movement and satisfying combat in a unique, floating-island world.

Sundered is a chaotic hand­-drawn metroidvania where you resist or embrace ancient eldritch powers, a challenging and unique take on a classic genre from the creators of Jotun, now with local co-op!

Why similar: Metroidvania 61.8%, Platformer 11.6%, Great Soundtrack 7.3%, 2D 3.2%, Indie 3.1%

Why You'll Like It: Its hand-drawn, eldritch-horror aesthetic and chaotic combat capture the surreal, alien feel of Axiom Verge's world.

A retro-inspired 2D Action RPG set in the distant future. CrossCode combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 32.5%, Pixel Graphics 24.8%, Sci-fi 8.9%, Retro 7.7%, 2D 6%

Why You'll Like It: While an action-RPG, its focus on uncovering the mystery of a strange, digital world captures the same curiosity-driven gameplay loop.

Castle In The Darkness is a fun and challenging shout out to the early days of video games! It's an action exploration platformer with some RPG elements, much like games from the Castlevania or Metroid series. It's super fast-paced, challenging, and full of secrets!

Why similar: Metroidvania 60.7%, Platformer 10.5%, Pixel Graphics 6.3%, Great Soundtrack 6.1%, Retro 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: A fast-paced, difficult retro platformer that captures the spirit of early 8-bit action-adventure titles.

A 2D Metroidvania-style game developed under the supervision of Ryo Mizuno, depicting the story of Deedlit and the events leading up to Record of Lodoss War: Diadem of the Covenant. Use a variety of weapons and spirit powers to unravel the mystery of the labyrinth.

Why similar: Metroidvania 59.4%, Platformer 12.1%, Pixel Graphics 8.8%, 2D 3.9%, Exploration 3.8%

Why You'll Like It: It offers incredibly fluid combat and high-quality pixel art that feels like a modern evolution of classic 2D action games.

The world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow, the sole survivor of his clan, on one last mission to uncover what started the path to perpetual ruin.

Why similar: Metroidvania 40.6%, Platformer 10.9%, Pixel Graphics 8.5%, Great Soundtrack 8.4%, Retro 7.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game delivers a high-octane, retro-ninja experience with precise controls and challenging level design.

Gravity Circuit is a flashy action packed 2D platformer in the spirit of console classics. Follow Kai, a lone operative war hero who harnesses the mysterious powers of the Gravity Circuit, on an adventure in a futuristic world inhabited by sentient robots.

Why similar: Platformer 23.3%, Great Soundtrack 18.6%, Pixel Graphics 17%, Retro 9.4%, Action 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: A fast-paced, 2D action-platformer that emphasizes fluid movement and intense combat in a retro-futuristic setting.

Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is the fourth installment in the beloved Momodora series of 2D platformers. Unleash ravaging combos against a variety of formidable monsters and deftly dodge your way through a cursed land to seek audience with the Queen and dispel the evil that threatens all life.

Why similar: Metroidvania 58.8%, Platformer 11.5%, Pixel Graphics 9.1%, Side Scroller 4.7%, Exploration 3.8%

Why You'll Like It: A dark, atmospheric metroidvania with tight combat and a hauntingly beautiful pixel-art style.

Destroy... Absorb... Grow... GRIME is a fast and unforgiving Action-Adventure RPG in which you crush your foes with living weapons that mutate form and function, and then consume their remains with a black hole to strengthen your vessel as you break apart a world of anatomical horror and intrigue.

Why similar: Metroidvania 64.4%, Platformer 13.3%, Difficult 4.2%, Side Scroller 3.9%, Exploration 3.7%

Why You'll Like It: Its unique absorption mechanic and surreal, anatomical world provide a fresh and challenging take on the metroidvania formula.

Use your magic staff and progress through a large interconnected world where you'll solve puzzles, fight enemies and defeat bosses in order to help free the land of Alwa. Explore and uncover the secrets by using your platforming skills in this challenging and charming 8-bit adventure game.

Why similar: Metroidvania 58.7%, Platformer 9.8%, Pixel Graphics 8.4%, Great Soundtrack 6.6%, Retro 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on puzzle-platforming and exploration within a cohesive, retro-styled world.

Fight for your freedom in a sprawling fantasy world caught between the living and the fallen. Hone your skills in a retro epic featuring puzzle platforming, metroidvania exploration and crunchy soulslike combat.

Why similar: Metroidvania 75.4%, Pixel Graphics 11.5%, Action 3.3%, Difficult 3.2%, Platformer 2.1%

Perceive the future in this time-loop metroidvania.

Why similar: Metroidvania 55.4%, Platformer 10.9%, Great Soundtrack 8.7%, Pixel Graphics 6.4%, Sci-fi 5.8%

Why You'll Like It: This game emphasizes time-loop mechanics and exploration, forcing players to learn the world to overcome its challenges.

MO: Astray is a pixel art, side-scrolling, action-platformer. Lead MO through mind-bending puzzles using special abilities. Bizarre enemies, threatening traps and ingenious level designs await.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 19.9%, Pixel Graphics 17.7%, Platformer 16.6%, Sci-fi 11.4%, Indie 7.2%

A powerful ancient evil has arisen, and the war to save humanity has begun! As an elite agent in the monster-hunting Prodigium organization, you must use a variety of weapons, upgrades, and mysterious artifacts to defend mankind against the supernatural hordes of Princess Ahmanet.

Why similar: Metroidvania 62.6%, Great Soundtrack 10.3%, Pixel Graphics 7.7%, Platformer 5.3%, Action 4.3%

Set in a far corner of space, Valfaris is a heavy metal infused 2D action-platformer and the next game from the team behind Unity Awards finalist, Slain: Back From Hell. Brutal combat. Deadly enemies. Stunning pixel art. Savage soundtrack. Get ready to rip the galaxy a new wormhole.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 19.6%, Platformer 16.5%, Metroidvania 14.9%, Pixel Graphics 11.7%, Action 7.5%

Assume the role of Wyatt in this Action/Exploration Platformer as you explore the ruins of a holy city that was lost many years ago. Battle various types of demons, angels, and a new threat known only as the “Ferals”, using swordsmanship, martial arts, and sorcery.

Why similar: Metroidvania 73%, Platformer 9.2%, Great Soundtrack 7.1%, Action 2.7%, Indie 2.2%

Seek out new weapons and equipment to delve deeper into the dangerous world of Cypher-X72! Be warned, you aren't the only one seeking the forbidden technology known as Zexion! It will take cunning and valor to succeed in this action-packed sci-fi adventure!

Why similar: Metroidvania 54.6%, Sci-fi 8.7%, Pixel Graphics 8.7%, Side Scroller 3.9%, Difficult 3.8%

Mutant scum never learn! Blaster Master Zero makes its Steam debut! Blaster Master Zero is a 8-bit style top-down & sideview 2D action-adventure game that hearkens back to the golden age of the NES. The game features new gameplay elements such as improved gameplay, and a more robust scenario.

Why similar: Metroidvania 62.4%, Platformer 11.2%, Pixel Graphics 9.9%, Retro 7.9%, Action 6.5%

After Death is a platform / exploration game in a dark and hostile world. With the help from lost souls, you will have to find a way to open a gate which seems to be the only exit from this mysterious world infected by monsters.

Why similar: Metroidvania 50.9%, Great Soundtrack 17.9%, Platformer 6.2%, Pixel Graphics 4.7%, Retro 4.3%

Play as Captain Grisham, and uncover the secrets of Planet 4-514 in this thrilling prequel to Side Scape!

Why similar: Metroidvania 52.4%, Platformer 9%, Pixel Graphics 8.2%, Retro 6.4%, Sci-fi 6%

You play an explorer stranded on a dangerous alien planet. Low on fuel, your only hope for escape is to find the planet’s core in this incredibly clever action-puzzle-platformer.

Why similar: Metroidvania 20.1%, Platformer 20%, Great Soundtrack 19.1%, Pixel Graphics 11.5%, Retro 6.9%

MindSeize is a 2D Metroidvania game set in a Sci-Fi-universe. Transfer your mind to a robot and rescue your beloved one!

Why similar: Metroidvania 40.7%, Great Soundtrack 9.5%, Action 7.1%, Indie 6.9%, Platformer 6.7%

Run, gun and explore an open undercity in this otherworldly non-linear Metroidvania adventure about the Old Gods, strange creatures and the remnants of a lost world!

Why similar: Metroidvania 52.3%, Great Soundtrack 10.6%, Platformer 8.7%, Pixel Graphics 6.5%, Indie 3.2%

20XX is a roguelike action platformer that you can play with a friend. Jump and shoot your way through ever-changing levels, collect awesome new powers, and battle mighty bosses in the name of saving the human race maybe!

Why similar: Platformer 40.8%, Great Soundtrack 27.2%, Action 8.1%, 2D 7.4%, Side Scroller 6.2%

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is the complete Shovel Knight collection, containing all 5 games in the epic saga! Dig, blast, slash, and bash your way through a fantastical, 8-bit inspired world of pixel-perfect platforming, memorable characters, and world-class action-adventure gameplay.

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 30%, Platformer 23.4%, Pixel Graphics 14.5%, Retro 11.6%, 2D 5%

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an exploration-focused, side-scroller action RPG by Koji Igarashi. Play as Miriam, an orphan scarred by an alchemist's curse that slowly crystallizes her body. Battle through a demon-infested castle and defeat its master to save yourself, and all of humanity!

Why similar: Metroidvania 74.6%, Great Soundtrack 9.3%, Platformer 5.6%, Action 2.8%, Side Scroller 2.6%

Explore the depths below a remote mountain town in this procedurally-generated Adventure Platformer. Taking inspiration from hack 'n slash dungeon crawlers and Metroidvania-style platformers, Chasm will immerse you in a fantasy world full of exciting treasure, deadly enemies, and abundant secrets.

Why similar: Metroidvania 68.1%, Pixel Graphics 9.2%, Platformer 8.3%, Indie 3.2%, Action 2.8%

Guns of Fury is a retro-inspired action platformer that combines the run & gun and Metroidvania genres. Explore a vast interconnected world, gain new abilities and weapons, battle epic bosses and stop the plans of an evil corporation before it’s too late!

Why similar: Metroidvania 56.5%, Platformer 12.6%, Pixel Graphics 9.5%, Retro 8%, Side Scroller 3.1%

Owlboy is a story-driven platform adventure game, where you can fly and explore a brand new world in the clouds! Pick up your friends, and bring them with you as you explore the open skies, in one of the most detailed adventures of this era.

Why similar: Metroidvania 45.3%, Great Soundtrack 14.3%, Platformer 10.3%, Pixel Graphics 10%, Retro 5.8%

In a bizarre universe where the oppressed are on the brink of oblivion, Dandara has awoken to reshape the world.

Why similar: Metroidvania 60.1%, Platformer 9.8%, Great Soundtrack 8.4%, Pixel Graphics 6.8%, Indie 6%

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, your action-packed journey will take you from peaceful glades to snowy mountaintops and beyond.

Why similar: Metroidvania 56.6%, Platformer 14%, Great Soundtrack 12.4%, Action 3.9%, Indie 3.3%

Foregone is a fast and fluid 2D action-platformer packed with legendary loot and stunning pixel art. Collect an arsenal of powerful weapons and unravel a compelling story of regret and conspiracy as you slice your way through hordes of enemies to save Calagan.

Why similar: Metroidvania 53.4%, Platformer 13.1%, Pixel Graphics 8.6%, Side Scroller 4.8%, Action 4.1%

Make your way through more than 600 rooms, and unravel the secrets of your past by finding the five elemental orbs. Cathedral features a vast world, meant for exploring!

Why similar: Metroidvania 65.7%, Platformer 7.7%, Pixel Graphics 6.1%, Retro 5.3%, Action 4.3%

A 2D action game featuring a young man with the power of lightning who stands for freedom against the evil ambitions of a massive organization. When lightning strikes, a new legend is born.

Why similar: Platformer 27%, Great Soundtrack 25.2%, Pixel Graphics 12.9%, Action 12.3%, Indie 8.1%

Aeterna Noctis is a challenging metroidvania that majestically combines action, exploration and adventure. With 2 game modes and difficulty based on action or the exclusive Noctis mode where a level of difficulty is added in precision platforming never seen in the metroidvania genre.

Why similar: Metroidvania 63.8%, Platformer 13.1%, Difficult 4.4%, 2D 3.7%, Side Scroller 3.6%

VVVVVV is a platform game all about exploring one simple mechanical idea - what if you reversed gravity instead of jumping?

Why similar: Great Soundtrack 24.4%, Platformer 18.5%, Pixel Graphics 17.3%, Metroidvania 11.9%, Retro 7.4%

Travel back in time to change fate itself, in this beautifully crafted story-driven adventure, inspired by classic 90s action-platformers. Join timekeeper Lunais on her quest for revenge against the empire that killed her family, using time-bending powers to explore a vast, connected world.

Why similar: Metroidvania 56.2%, Platformer 10.9%, Pixel Graphics 8%, Sci-fi 6.5%, Side Scroller 4.5%

Downwell is a curious game about a young person venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his Gunboots to protect him.

Why similar: Platformer 27.7%, Pixel Graphics 22.1%, Great Soundtrack 9.5%, Retro 9.2%, Indie 7.7%

Explore an interconnected world full of platforming challenges in this short metroidvania. Reach new areas by swinging from ceilings, throwing bombs, bouncing off spikes, and more. Examine dozens of artifacts, commune with forgotten gods, and piece together what happened to Auridia.

Why similar: Metroidvania 64.5%, Pixel Graphics 10.3%, Platformer 10.1%, Exploration 4.4%, Adventure 3.1%

A fast-paced 2D handcrafted metroidvania with strange sci-fi environments. Something is roaming the halls, watching your every move.

Why similar: Metroidvania 59%, Sci-fi 8.7%, Platformer 8.3%, Pixel Graphics 8.3%, Exploration 3.8%

Critically-acclaimed action-RPG that takes the template laid down by classics like Wonder Boy, nails the 16-Bit aesthetics for nostalgia fans, but updates the mechanics to feel fresh and modern. Explore a beautiful open world and plunder dungeons, caves and forests to help take down epic bosses!

Why similar: Metroidvania 61.2%, Platformer 8.1%, Pixel Graphics 7.6%, Indie 6%, Retro 5.3%