- #1 Hollow Knight: Silksong
97% matchVery Positive89% of 424,009 reviews2025
Dev: Team Cherry
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 35.5 hrsMean: 47.1 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Discover a vast, haunted kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong! Explore, fight and survive as you ascend to the peak of a land ruled by silk and song.
Why similar: Metroidvania 28.9%, Souls-like 16.9%, Great Soundtrack 15.1%, Difficult 11%, Platformer 6.7%
Why You'll Like It: This direct follow-up builds on Hollow Knight’s agile combat, intricate interconnected regions, demanding bosses, and insect-filled hand-drawn world.
- #2 Nine Sols
96% matchVery Positive94% of 45,860 reviews2024
Dev: RedCandleGames
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.2 hrsMean: 19.5 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Nine Sols is a lore rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection focused combat. Embark on a journey of eastern fantasy, explore the land once home to an ancient alien race, and follow a vengeful hero’s quest to slay the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm.
Why similar: Metroidvania 32.4%, Souls-like 21.8%, Difficult 12.8%, Platformer 9%, Hand-drawn 5.2%
Why You'll Like It: Its tightly tuned parry-centric fights, punishing bosses, sprawling 2D exploration, and somber ruined-world tone make it an especially close action-focused alternative.
- #3 Blasphemous
96% matchVery Positive90% of 67,491 reviews2019
Dev: The Game KitchenPub: Team17
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 11.1 hrs≥1hr: 79%
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 41%, Souls-like 25%, Difficult 8%, Great Soundtrack 6.7%, Dark Fantasy 5.7%
Why You'll Like It: A brutal, gorgeously morbid metroidvania with deliberate combat, memorable boss encounters, religious-gothic worldbuilding, and extensive secrets.
- #4 ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
95% matchVery Positive94% of 45,986 reviews2021
Dev: Live WirePub: Binary Haze Interactive
Windows
Median: 5.4 hrsMean: 17.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
ENDER LILIES is a dark fantasy 2D action RPG about unraveling the mysteries of a destroyed kingdom. On this sorrowful journey, encounter horrific enemies against whom a moment of inattention could be fatal. Overcome these hardships and seek the truth with the help of fallen knights.
Why similar: Metroidvania 38.7%, Souls-like 20.5%, Great Soundtrack 15.2%, Difficult 7.4%, Dark Fantasy 5.7%
Why You'll Like It: It pairs a melancholy ruined kingdom and beautiful music with exploration-driven progression, challenging bosses, and a flexible spirit-based combat system.
- #5 Ori and the Will of the Wisps
94% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 147,136 reviews2020
Dev: Moon Studios GmbHPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 8.4 hrsMean: 24.7 hrs≥1hr: 87%
Play the critically acclaimed masterpiece. Embark on a new journey in a vast, exotic world where you’ll encounter towering enemies and challenging puzzles on your quest to unravel Ori’s destiny.
Why similar: Metroidvania 36.3%, Great Soundtrack 22%, Platformer 11.2%, Difficult 6.1%, Souls-like 3.6%
Why You'll Like It: Its seamless-feeling world, fluid traversal upgrades, emotional atmosphere, and boss-driven exploration strongly suit players who loved Hollow Knight’s sense of movement and discovery.
- #6 Salt and Sanctuary
94% matchVery Positive89% of 21,932 reviews2016
Dev: Ska Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 13.7 hrs≥1hr: 83%
Explore a haunting, punishing island in this stylized 2D action RPG. Salt and Sanctuary combines fast and brutal 2D combat with richly developed RPG mechanics in a cursed realm of forgotten cities, blood-soaked dungeons, and desecrated monuments.
Why similar: Souls-like 41.8%, Metroidvania 28.3%, Difficult 10.3%, Platformer 5.5%, Dark Fantasy 5.2%
Why You'll Like It: This is a dark 2D souls-like built around punishing combat, build variety, cryptic exploration, and dangerous interconnected areas.
- #7 GRIME
93% matchVery Positive85% of 6,798 reviews2021
Dev: Clover BitePub: Akupara Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 8.1 hrs≥1hr: 84%
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 32.3%, Souls-like 23.5%, Difficult 12.7%, Platformer 9.9%, Dark Fantasy 6%
Why You'll Like It: Its strange organic world, weighty souls-like encounters, ability-gated routes, and oppressive atmosphere capture Hollow Knight’s harsher side.
- #8 Aeterna Noctis
92% matchMostly Positive75% of 2,162 reviews2021
Dev: Aeternum Game Studios S.L
Windows
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 12.3 hrs≥1hr: 71%
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 31.2%, Souls-like 21.1%, Difficult 12.8%, Platformer 9.4%, Hand-drawn 4.2%
Why You'll Like It: It offers a huge hand-drawn metroidvania world with difficult bosses and exceptionally demanding precision-platforming challenges.
- #9 Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 71,636 reviews2016
Dev: Moon Studios GmbHPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 6.0 hrsMean: 21.4 hrs≥1hr: 78%
“Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning Action-Platformer crafted by Moon Studios.
Why similar: Metroidvania 36.5%, Great Soundtrack 24.2%, Platformer 11.9%, Difficult 7.8%, Atmospheric 5.4%
Why You'll Like It: Its atmospheric forest, expressive movement, emotional soundtrack, and ability-based exploration make it ideal for players seeking Hollow Knight’s more graceful side.
- #10 ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist
90% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 18,875 reviews2025
Dev: AdglobePub: Binary Haze Interactive
Windows
Median: 18.8 hrsMean: 18.6 hrs≥1hr: 94%
Decades after the events of ENDER LILIES, Homunculi — sorrowful, artificial life forms — roam the land. In this dark fantasy Metroidvania, face formidable enemies and explore a bewitching post-apocalyptic world. Humans and Homunculi — what awaits at the end of the quest for their salvation?
Why similar: Metroidvania 46.7%, Souls-like 18.4%, Great Soundtrack 12.6%, Dark Fantasy 5.9%, 2D 3.4%
Why You'll Like It: The sequel-like follow-up to Ender Lilies delivers polished exploratory combat, companion abilities, gorgeous environments, and a similarly mournful mood.
- #11 Death's Gambit: Afterlife
91% matchVery Positive81% of 5,603 reviews2018
Dev: White RabbitPub: Serenity Forge
Windows
Median: 4.1 hrsMean: 8.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
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: Souls-like 36.9%, Metroidvania 31.6%, Difficult 6.4%, Dark Fantasy 5.3%, Platformer 4.9%
Why You'll Like It: This challenging action RPG emphasizes nonlinear 2D exploration, meaningful character builds, tough bosses, and a haunting fantasy setting.
- #12 The Last Faith
89% matchVery Positive85% of 5,695 reviews2023
Dev: Kumi Souls GamesPub: Playstack
Windows
Median: 8.9 hrsMean: 14.9 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Dive into the latest evolution of The Last Faith: a dark and gothic fusion of metroidvania and soulslike. Engage in merciless and precise combat with a huge range of weapons, firearms, and custom executions. Let nothing stand in the way of your journey to salvation.
Why similar: Metroidvania 39.6%, Souls-like 27.7%, Difficult 9.5%, Platformer 7.2%, Dark Fantasy 6.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its gothic pixel-art world combines Castlevania-style exploration with methodical souls-like combat, builds, and grim boss battles.
- #13 Afterimage
89% matchMostly Positive77% of 10,497 reviews2023
Dev: Aurogon ShanghaiPub: Maximum Entertainment
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 11.4 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Afterimage is a hand-drawn 2D action adventure that emphasizes fast-paced combat with diversified character builds, non-linear levels, and a gripping story set in the ruins of a fantasy world.
Why similar: Metroidvania 36.3%, Souls-like 20.9%, Difficult 11.6%, Platformer 8.5%, Exploration 4.5%
Why You'll Like It: A massive illustrated fantasy world packed with hidden routes, equipment, bosses, and movement upgrades provides a strong exploration-first metroidvania experience.
- #14 Moonscars
88% matchVery Positive83% of 1,528 reviews2022
Dev: Black MermaidPub: Balor Games
Windows
Median: 2.6 hrsMean: 6.7 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Push the limits of your combat skills, and master new abilities to progress through an unforgiving nonlinear 2D world. Face off against the relentless darkness that seeks to destroy you. In Moonscars, every death is a lesson learnt—and as you overcome each challenge, new truths will be revealed.
Why similar: Metroidvania 42.2%, Souls-like 29.8%, Platformer 8.2%, Difficult 5.1%, Dark Fantasy 3.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its bleak painterly presentation and punishing, combo-driven combat create a compact but intense souls-like metroidvania adventure.
- #15 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
86% matchVery Positive93% of 41,767 reviews2019
Dev: ArtPlayPub: 505 Games
Windows
Median: 10.7 hrsMean: 24.9 hrs≥1hr: 79%
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 61.8%, Great Soundtrack 12.9%, Platformer 6.8%, Side Scroller 3.7%, Dark Fantasy 3.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its sprawling gothic castle, huge weapon and ability selection, secret hunting, and boss progression make it a rich exploration-heavy alternative.
- #16 Axiom Verge
87% matchVery Positive90% of 6,640 reviews2015
Dev: Thomas Happ Games LLC
Windows · Linux
Median: 6.1 hrsMean: 9.5 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Explore and uncover the mystery of a surreal alien world by blasting aliens and glitching your environment in this intense retro side-scrolling action/adventure.
Why similar: Metroidvania 56.3%, Great Soundtrack 17.1%, Platformer 9.9%, Difficult 3.1%, 2D 2.8%
Why You'll Like It: This classic-style metroidvania excels at mysterious alien atmosphere, weapon experimentation, hidden passages, and gradually unlocking a strange world.
- #17 Haiku, the Robot
86% matchVery Positive90% of 3,583 reviews2022
Dev: Mister Morris Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 6.5 hrs≥1hr: 87%
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 45.2%, Platformer 12.1%, Dark Fantasy 6.6%, Exploration 6.4%, Open World 5.9%
Why You'll Like It: A clear homage to Hollow Knight, it offers compact insect-and-robot themed exploration, nail-like combat, charms, and approachable boss fights.
- #18 Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus
85% matchVery Positive84% of 1,750 reviews2024
Dev: Squid Shock StudiosPub: Balor Games
Windows
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.8 hrs≥1hr: 78%
Flow gracefully through a colorful, hand-drawn 2.5D action platformer inspired by Japanese folklore. Engage in acrobatic aerial combat, unlock powerful mystical abilities, and explore an interconnected world of myth as you seek to unravel the mysteries of your origin.
Why similar: Metroidvania 34.5%, Souls-like 24.5%, Platformer 11.5%, Hand-drawn 5.8%, Exploration 5.6%
Why You'll Like It: This hand-drawn platforming metroidvania emphasizes graceful aerial movement, challenging encounters, and a beautiful mythic world full of secrets.
- #19 Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight
84% matchVery Positive93% of 11,963 reviews2016
Dev: BombservicePub: PLAYISM
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 5.3 hrs≥1hr: 82%
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 33.2%, Souls-like 21.8%, Difficult 12.8%, Platformer 9.4%, Exploration 4.5%
Why You'll Like It: This concise dark-fantasy metroidvania features responsive combat, dodge-focused boss fights, lovely pixel art, and a quietly mournful setting.
- #20 Hyper Light Drifter
84% matchVery Positive93% of 19,210 reviews2016
Dev: Heart Machine
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 7.3 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 29.5%, Difficult 18.1%, Metroidvania 17.9%, Souls-like 12.7%, Atmospheric 6.1%
Why You'll Like It: Its evocative wordless world, demanding action, hidden paths, and exceptional soundtrack make it a strong choice for Hollow Knight players seeking atmosphere and challenge.
- #21 Lone Fungus
83% matchVery Positive83% of 1,192 reviews2023
Dev: BASTI GAMES
Windows
Median: 1.9 hrsMean: 8.9 hrs≥1hr: 61%
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: Platformer 29.4%, Metroidvania 15.7%, Exploration 10.7%, Atmospheric 10.2%, Side Scroller 9.7%
Why You'll Like It: Its enormous interconnected map, extensive movement upgrades, optional platforming trials, and charming hand-drawn style reward thorough exploration.
- #22 Rain World
82% matchVery Positive94% of 57,645 reviews2017
Dev: VideocultPub: Akupara Games
Windows
Median: 2.9 hrsMean: 22.5 hrs≥1hr: 69%
You are a nomadic slugcat, both predator and prey in a broken ecosystem. Grab your spear and brave the industrial wastes, hunting enough food to survive, but be wary— other, bigger creatures have the same plan... and slugcats look delicious.
Why similar: Metroidvania 25%, Difficult 22%, Souls-like 12.5%, Platformer 11.5%, Atmospheric 6.1%
Why You'll Like It: Its lonely ruined ecosystem, environmental storytelling, and unforgiving exploration create a similarly atmospheric journey, though with survival rather than combat at its core.
- #23 Islets
81% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 2,527 reviews2022
Dev: Kyle ThompsonPub: Armor Games Studios
Windows
Median: 7.4 hrsMean: 10.2 hrs≥1hr: 71%
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 47.9%, Platformer 14.3%, Atmospheric 5.7%, Story Rich 5.5%, Exploration 5%
Why You'll Like It: It offers exceptionally smooth combat and platforming within a welcoming interconnected world whose regions gradually link together as you explore.
- #24 Sundered®: Eldritch Edition
82% matchVery Positive82% of 5,179 reviews2017
Dev: Thunder Lotus
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 85%
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 43.7%, Platformer 12%, Difficult 10.2%, Great Soundtrack 8.7%, Hand-drawn 6.7%
Why You'll Like It: Its hand-drawn caverns, eldritch atmosphere, fast combat, and branching upgrade paths offer a more chaotic roguelite-flavored take on metroidvania exploration.
- #25 ANIMAL WELL
80% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 24,672 reviews2024
Dev: Billy BassoPub: Bigmode
Windows
Median: 5.8 hrsMean: 9.6 hrs≥1hr: 76%
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 58.7%, Platformer 13.8%, Exploration 8.4%, Atmospheric 5.2%, 2D 4.4%
Why You'll Like It: For players who most enjoyed uncovering Hallownest’s secrets, this combat-light metroidvania delivers an unusually dense web of environmental mysteries and discoveries.
- #26 Prince of Persia The Lost Crown
81% matchVery Positive84% of 7,274 reviews2024
Dev: Ubisoft MontpellierPub: Ubisoft
Windows
Median: 7.5 hrsMean: 15.8 hrs≥1hr: 77%
Dash into a stylish and thrilling action-adventure platformer set in a mythological Persian world where the boundaries of time and space are yours to manipulate.
Why similar: Metroidvania 64.7%, Exploration 8%, Side Scroller 5.8%, Great Soundtrack 4.9%, Difficult 4.5%
Why You'll Like It: Its outstanding movement system, layered maps, demanding optional platforming, and fast combat make it a superb modern exploration platformer.
- #27 Crypt Custodian
78% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 3,178 reviews2024
Dev: Kyle Thompson
Windows
Median: 9.1 hrsMean: 8.6 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Crypt Custodian is a charming metroidvania about cleaning up the afterlife. Play as Pluto - a mischievous cat who has died, and is sentenced to be the afterworld's janitor... FOREVER! Hang out with other doomed ghosts, battle beasts, and explore a vastly expansive landscape.
Why similar: Metroidvania 51.6%, Platformer 10.7%, Exploration 6.8%, Hand-drawn 6.4%, Atmospheric 6.2%
Why You'll Like It: Its top-down perspective changes the feel, but its charming haunted world, ability-gated exploration, boss fights, and melancholy humor evoke a compact Hollow Knight-like adventure.
- #28 TUNIC
79% matchVery Positive91% of 18,686 reviews2022
Dev: TUNIC TeamPub: Finji
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 11.4 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure.
Why similar: Metroidvania 38.4%, Souls-like 29%, Difficult 15.3%, Exploration 8.2%, Atmospheric 3.3%
Why You'll Like It: Although viewed from above, it captures the joy of cryptic discovery, difficult combat, environmental shortcuts, and piecing together a mysterious fallen world.
- #29 The Messenger
79% matchVery Positive93% of 13,285 reviews2018
Dev: SabotagePub: Devolver Digital
Windows
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 9.8 hrs≥1hr: 88%
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 41.9%, Great Soundtrack 23.7%, Platformer 14.1%, Difficult 8.1%, 2D 4.6%
Why You'll Like It: Its sharp platforming and combat eventually open into a clever, secret-rich metroidvania structure with excellent mobility and memorable bosses.
- #30 Infinitevania
76% matchVery Positive93% of 303 reviews2026
Dev: JHT Games
Windows
A metroidvania that combines the visual style of classic retro games with the fluid gameplay of modern titles. Explore different worlds, face challenging enemies and bosses, and absorb their powers to destroy the Core of Infinitevania.
Why similar: Metroidvania 31.7%, Souls-like 18.4%, Platformer 9.9%, Difficult 9.9%, Great Soundtrack 7.3%
- #31 Dead Cells
77% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 183,835 reviews2018
Dev: Motion Twin
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 13.1 hrsMean: 40.8 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Dead Cells is a roguelite, metroidvania inspired, action-platformer. You'll explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle... assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers in 2D souls-lite combat. No checkpoints. Kill, die, learn, repeat.
Why similar: Metroidvania 34.1%, Souls-like 24.3%, Platformer 10.4%, Difficult 7.5%, Dark Fantasy 6.3%
- #32 Ori and the Blind Forest
77% matchVery Positive94% of 60,203 reviews2015
Dev: Moon Studios GmbHPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows
Median: 5.7 hrsMean: 17.9 hrs≥1hr: 87%
“Ori and the Blind Forest” tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning action-platformer crafted by Moon Studios for PC.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 30%, Metroidvania 29.7%, Platformer 10.8%, Difficult 7.3%, Atmospheric 5.1%
- #33 La-Mulana 2
78% matchVery Positive86% of 1,088 reviews2018
Dev: NIGOROPub: PLAYISM
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 37.4 hrs≥1hr: 75%
The long-awaited sequel to La-Mulana, La-Mulana 2 follows Lumisa Kosugi as she explores the ancient ruins of La-Mulana. Desperate to find the cause of the recent slew of monsters appearing from the ruins, Lumisa discovers the "other" La-Mulana: the ruins known as Eg-Lana.
Why similar: Metroidvania 35.9%, Souls-like 25.2%, Difficult 15.2%, Platformer 9.9%, Exploration 4.7%
Why You'll Like It: This is a demanding, archaeology-like exploration game for players who want Hollow Knight’s obscure secrets and dangerous world navigation taken to an extreme.
- #34 Solateria
75% matchVery Positive83% of 757 reviews2026
Dev: Studio DoodalPub: SHINSEGAE INFORMATION and COMMUNICATION Inc.
Windows
Solateria is a hand-drawn action Metroidvania with parry-focused combat. A small fire warrior journeys to find the Primordial Flame, the world’s last hope against the Shadow Plague. Defeat foes with stylish parries and explore mysterious realms to uncover the world’s secrets.
Why similar: Metroidvania 31.1%, Souls-like 21.6%, Difficult 12.6%, Platformer 7.1%, Hand-drawn 5.5%
- #35 Dust: An Elysian Tail
76% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 19,084 reviews2013
Dev: Humble Hearts LLCPub: Xbox Game Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.8 hrsMean: 11.9 hrs≥1hr: 89%
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 45.3%, Great Soundtrack 16.7%, Platformer 16.4%, 2D 4%, Indie 3.1%
- #36 Unbound: Worlds Apart
75% matchVery Positive83% of 1,338 reviews2021
Dev: Alien Pixel Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.0 hrsMean: 6.5 hrs≥1hr: 69%
Summon portals to overcome vicious beasts, devious puzzles and fiendish platforming challenges. Master the unique powers of each portal to stop the collapse of reality, while exploring lush, hand-drawn worlds and unraveling a deep narrative full of mysteries.
Why similar: Metroidvania 27.9%, Platformer 11.3%, Souls-like 11%, Difficult 9.5%, Dark Fantasy 4.6%
- #37 Celeste
73% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 147,901 reviews2018
Dev: Maddy Makes Games Inc.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.8 hrsMean: 27.0 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight platformer from the creators of TowerFall. Brave hundreds of hand-crafted challenges, uncover devious secrets, and piece together the mystery of the mountain.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 35.8%, Difficult 24.4%, Platformer 15.9%, Story Rich 4.2%, Indie 3.8%
- #38 Souldiers
74% matchMixed69% of 3,156 reviews2022
Dev: Retro ForgePub: Dear Villagers
Windows
Median: 2.4 hrsMean: 15.3 hrs≥1hr: 64%
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 60.6%, Difficult 15.3%, Souls-like 12.8%, Platformer 2.4%, Action 2.1%
- #39 MIO: Memories in Orbit
71% matchVery Positive83% of 5,187 reviews2026
Dev: Douze DixièmesPub: Focus Entertainment
Windows
Median: 8.2 hrsMean: 15.7 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion.
Why similar: Metroidvania 37.7%, Souls-like 18.4%, Difficult 12%, Platformer 10.7%, Exploration 5.2%
- #40 WarriOrb
74% matchMostly Positive79% of 180 reviews2020
Dev: Not Yet
Windows · Linux
Demons, giants, mutants, and a talking Ball with hybrid limbs?! In WarriOrb you play as a mighty demon trapped in an unlikely body. The path ahead is not an easy one. Will you do whatever it takes to regain your freedom?
Why similar: Metroidvania 23.5%, Souls-like 17.8%, Great Soundtrack 14.6%, Difficult 9.7%, Platformer 7.7%
- #41 3000th Duel
73% matchMixed72% of 628 reviews2019
Dev: NEOPOPCORN Corp
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.0 hrsMean: 7.9 hrs≥1hr: 50%
3000th Duel is action-adventure game that has speedy, exciting battles as its charm. Fight against monsters with your own style of battle to travel an unidentified world and discover a secret hidden.
Why similar: Metroidvania 24.8%, Souls-like 18.3%, Great Soundtrack 13.5%, Difficult 10.1%, Platformer 7.5%
- #42 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure
72% matchMostly Positive78% of 1,596 reviews2021
Dev: Rootless StudioPub: NEOWIZ
Windows
Median: 7.7 hrsMean: 9.3 hrs≥1hr: 93%
8Doors is a story-driven Metroidvania-style action platformer heavily influenced by Korean folktales. Play as ‘Arum’, a brave girl that has entered the realm of the afterlife in search of her father’s soul and guide her through the '8 Doors of Purgatory' to solve the mysteries that lie deep within.
Why similar: Metroidvania 49.5%, Platformer 11.4%, Great Soundtrack 6.5%, Difficult 6.2%, Adventure 4%
- #43 Mask of Soul
70% matchVery Positive82% of 62 reviews2026
Dev: XION ENTERTAINMENTPub: XIONPLUS
Windows
Mask of Soul is a 2D metroidvania action-adventure where you play as Cheong-oh Chasa, gatekeeper of the Underworld, tracking spirits beneath the Red Moon. Use parry combat and mask abilities to explore an oriental dark fantasy world inspired by Korean mythology.
Why similar: Metroidvania 37.9%, Souls-like 26.8%, Platformer 11.6%, Side Scroller 4.1%, 2D 3.9%
- #44 Akatori
70% matchMostly Positive73% of 343 reviews2026
Dev: Contrast GamesPub: Games Harbor
Windows
A colorful action platformer with metroidvania elements and a staff that unlocks unique combat techniques and new ways to overcome obstacles. Explore beautiful worlds, fight monsters, and help Mako stop the amber storms that poison all living things.
Why similar: Metroidvania 27.2%, Souls-like 16.4%, Difficult 14.1%, Platformer 10%, Exploration 5.6%
- #45 Void Memory
73% matchMixed67% of 235 reviews2017
Dev: Gustav
Windows
Median: 3.4 hrsMean: 7.1 hrs≥1hr: 80%
You, who was born in a world full of darkness, should wander this hollowed land to find the Relics for a person who created you. However, fallen and lost souls with trap-filled trials await in your course of doing so. Can you survive in this crumbling world and start a new era?
Why similar: Metroidvania 30.3%, Souls-like 22.7%, Difficult 11.3%, Platformer 6.7%, Dark Fantasy 4.2%
- #46 The Guise
72% matchMixed69% of 62 reviews2020
Dev: Rasul MonoPub: GameNet
Windows
The Guise is a dark metroidvania fairy tale about a boy trapped in the body of a monster. Can he hold onto his humanity? It's up to you.
Why similar: Metroidvania 25.6%, Souls-like 19%, Difficult 10.9%, Platformer 8.2%, Hand-drawn 4.9%
- #47 After Death
71% matchVery Positive89% of 167 reviews2017
Dev: After Death Team
Windows
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 45.1%, Great Soundtrack 26.7%, Platformer 8.1%, Indie 3.9%, Adventure 3.7%
- #48 Kingdom Shell
69% matchVery Positive88% of 286 reviews2023
Dev: Cup of PixelsPub: Top Hat Studios, Inc.
Windows
Median: 4.1 hrsMean: 12.4 hrs≥1hr: 63%
Kingdom Shell is an atmospheric 2D platformer with a captivating storyline. Explore the local lands to stop the invasion of nightmarish creatures and unravel the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Why similar: Metroidvania 38%, Souls-like 25.6%, Platformer 6.3%, Dark Fantasy 6%, Exploration 4.6%
- #49 Environmental Station Alpha
71% matchVery Positive82% of 1,660 reviews2015
Dev: Arvi TeikariPub: Hempuli Oy
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.2 hrsMean: 6.2 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Explore an abandoned space station in this retro-themed explorative action platformer.
Why similar: Metroidvania 56.4%, Great Soundtrack 11.4%, Platformer 10.8%, Difficult 8.5%, Indie 2.5%
- #50 Blasphemous 2
67% matchVery Positive91% of 21,782 reviews2023
Dev: The Game KitchenPub: Team17
Windows
Median: 13.9 hrsMean: 22.0 hrs≥1hr: 80%
The Penitent One awakens as Blasphemous 2 joins him once again in an endless struggle against The Miracle. Dive into a perilous new world filled with mysteries and secrets to discover, and tear your way through monstrous foes that stand between you and your quest to end the cycle once and for all.
Why similar: Metroidvania 31.4%, Souls-like 22.4%, Difficult 19.9%, Platformer 7.4%, Dark Fantasy 4.3%
- #51 Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
69% matchVery Positive88% of 2,664 reviews2019
Dev: Game AtelierPub: FDG Entertainment
Windows
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 11.4 hrs≥1hr: 89%
A legendary series returns with a grand new adventure! Enjoy a colorful action-adventure game made alongside Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of the original Wonder Boy in Monster World series.
Why similar: Metroidvania 44.7%, Great Soundtrack 13.9%, Platformer 13.8%, Adventure 4.1%, Exploration 3.8%
- #52 OUTBUDDIES DX
70% matchMostly Positive70% of 288 reviews2019
Dev: Julian LauferPub: Headup
Windows
Median: 4.6 hrsMean: 5.5 hrs≥1hr: 92%
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 42.4%, Great Soundtrack 14.4%, Difficult 12.9%, Platformer 10.3%, Exploration 3.8%
- #53 Foregone
68% matchVery Positive81% of 1,409 reviews2021
Dev: Big Blue Bubble
Windows
Median: 1.7 hrsMean: 5.3 hrs≥1hr: 62%
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 33.2%, Souls-like 20.8%, Difficult 12.1%, Platformer 12%, Side Scroller 5.1%
- #54 La-Mulana
69% matchMostly Positive80% of 2,644 reviews2013
Dev: NIGOROPub: PLAYISM
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.9 hrsMean: 7.7 hrs≥1hr: 83%
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 46.8%, Difficult 15.9%, Great Soundtrack 14%, Platformer 11.5%, Exploration 3.9%
- #55 DEVIATOR
67% matchMixed67% of 1,011 reviews2024
Dev: Gami Studio
Windows
Deviator is a Metroidvania game centered around deflect, featuring exquisite 2D hand-drawn visuals. Exploring unknown wilderness and mysterious cities, delving into enigmatic realms of consciousness and encountering peculiar creatures. Try to find the truth behind this chaotic world.
Why similar: Metroidvania 35.2%, Souls-like 23.9%, Platformer 9.9%, Difficult 5.2%, Hand-drawn 5.1%
- #56 Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
67% matchVery Positive85% of 2,597 reviews2017
Dev: LizardcubePub: Dotemu
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.1 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 81%
Boasting beautiful, hand-drawn animations and a re-orchestrated soundtrack, the cult classic returns with a unique blend of exploration, action, and adventure!
Why similar: Metroidvania 34.3%, Great Soundtrack 17.4%, Platformer 16.3%, Difficult 7.2%, Hand-drawn 5.7%
- #57 Last Vanguard
66% matchVery Positive84% of 99 reviews2025
Dev: Cool Tapir Studios
Windows
Explore a stunning hand-crafted world ravaged by war and ruled by a evil tyrant. Face a wide variety of enemies as you customize your strategy, switch weapons, and unlock powerful abilities
Why similar: Metroidvania 35.1%, Souls-like 21.9%, Difficult 12.4%, Platformer 9.2%, Side Scroller 4.8%
- #58 Unworthy
68% matchVery Positive81% of 858 reviews2018
Dev: Aleksandar Kuzmanovic Games Inc.
Windows
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 5.7 hrs≥1hr: 80%
UNWORTHY is a hardcore combat-focused metroidvania without jumping. Explore a grim universe, discover new weapons and abilities, and defeat the vile creatures that plague the land.
Why similar: Metroidvania 41.6%, Souls-like 32.3%, Difficult 10.7%, Dark Fantasy 6.2%, Indie 2.9%
- #59 Aura of Worlds
65% matchVery Positive91% of 151 reviews2024
Dev: Cognitive ForgePub: indie.io
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 4.4 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Aura of Worlds is a chaotic, creative tactics rogue-lite platformer. Explore multiple dangerous worlds where you utilize creative abilities & wield the environment to your advantage. Blast, dash, grapple, fight, and charm your way through ever-changing labyrinths & outwit powerful guardians!
Why similar: Metroidvania 33.4%, Souls-like 23.6%, Difficult 11.8%, Platformer 11.6%, Great Soundtrack 7.5%