Over the decades of evolution gaming has gone through, there have been several genres that took birth, and even died, while some have become radically different from what they started out as. Chief among them is the Metroidvania — a rare blend of direction and discovery, where every wall is a secret, and every locked door a promise.

Over the last decade, we've seen a renaissance of the genre, with studios both big and small pushing out unforgettable entries that constantly one-up each other. Over on this side of the century, some titles have redefined what it means to explore, evolve, and escape.

9 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)

One of the greatest Castlevania games this century

Every day I wake up and thank RetroArch for letting me play the games I couldn't as a kid with just a barebones Windows PC. The third and final Castlevania game on the Game Boy Advance, Aria of Sorrow had it all — gorgeous pixel art that holds up even today, a soundtrack that had me bobbing my head without even realizing it, and one of the best maps in the series. The game is open-ended, and only gates progression through key encounters and abilities.

You get equipment, character stats, consumables, and all the RPG systems you'd expect from a great Castlevania game, and sure, I know that an argument could be made for the Nintendo DS sequel Dawn of Sorrow being bigger, but it just doesn't have the charm that Aria did. 22 years later, Aria of Sorrow is still the game I play during travel, and that fact that it's so accessible thanks to modern emulation makes it an absolute must-play for anyone new to the genre.

8 Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

A must-play, blockbuster Metroidvania adventure

Ori and the Blind Forest is the game that introduced me to the Metroidvania genre. How? Well, I'd played other Metroidvanias before, but my teenage self didn't know the term, at least, not fully, at the time. It was only after finishing Ori, loving every bit of it, and then hungrily going on a deep internet binge for videos, reviews, and similar titles that I realized it belonged to a very particular family of games. Now, I'll argue it was a Metroid-lite at best, but still, that doesn't take away from the magic this game created.

The visuals were jaw-dropping and hold up even today, the soundtrack is one of the most emotionally charged I've ever heard, and the plot hits way harder than you'd expect. Most of all, the gameplay loop of Ori and the Blind Forest is endlessly rewarding, and it remains one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Heck, it even played a role in resuscitating the genre, kickstarting a Metroidvania renaissance alongside Hollow Knight.

7 Blasphemous (2019)

A Metroidvania that is also a soulslike

Blasphemous is what happens when your favorite Metroidvania joins a cult, swears an oath of silence, and starts speaking entirely in biblical trauma. And I loved every second of it. You might start the game expecting a pixel-art side-scroller, but what you'll get is a soul-crushing, guilt-drenched nightmare in the best way imaginable. The visual style is grotesque and gorgeous, like a Goya painting reanimated with code, pain, and pixels.

Beneath all the spikes, chains, and mournful chanting, is an incredibly solid Metroidvania — one that respects your time, rewards your curiosity, and absolutely nails its combat. That's because Blasphemous isn't just a Metroidvania — it's also a fantastic Soulslike game, marrying the two genres to craft one of the most fantastic and brutal side-scrollers you will ever play. When a game wraps lore, gameplay, and aesthetic the way Blasphemous does, you feel compelled to play it. Call it penance, or maybe just good design.

6 Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (2024)

Not the Sands remake I wanted, but the Metroidvania I fell in love with

Okay, sure, I'm ready to admit that there might be just a tiny bit of recency bias in this entry, but Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is still a genuinely solid Metroidvania. The platforming is tight from end to end, and while the story could've been stronger, it's everything else — the powers, the combat, and especially the traversal — that comes together to make it one of the most satisfying games I've played in years.

I've been waiting since 2021 for any news about the Sands of Time remake's remake, and I still consider the Sands trilogy as one of the greatest modern gaming trilogies. So, when The Lost Crown popped up, I bought it just to support the studio so that I may hopefully see a Warrior Within remake someday. Instead, I was surprised to have gotten one of the most polished and responsive 2.5D Metroidvanias around. The Amulet system, the level design, and boss fights you immediately want to replay the moment they are done — all of these things work in perfect harmony, making the game start as an obligation, but end as an obsession for me. It's also discounted on the Steam Summer Sale right now, so go ahead and play it if you haven't.

5 Metroid Dread (2021)

Nineteen years in the making

Metroid Dread is the moment I finally got what all the fuss is about. In the week I spent on a friend's Nintendo Switch, Metroid Dread and Mario Kart 8 were the only two games I had. I may have emulated Super Metroid back in the day, but Dread was a whole different ball game. It grabbed me by the throat (literally, if we're talking about the E.M.M.I. robots), and refused to let go. This game arrived in 2021 and reminded the world exactly why the genre was named after it in the first place.

Every slide, counter, and power-up felt laser-focused and snappy in Metroid Dread, and the boss fights were among the very best I'd seen in years. The game's challenge was genuinely brutal, and I had to use bouts of Mario Kart to let my anger subside. I came in looking to find out what the hype was all about, and I came out of the game realizing I'd just played the most streamlined action-platformer of the decade. It may have taken nineteen years for this sequel to exist, but it must've surely been worth every second of the wait for longtime fans of the franchise. All I remember from it is just how frustratingly tough the boss fight against Raven Beak was.

4 Animal Well (2024)

One of the greatest games made by a solo dev

Like countless others, I, too, discovered Animal Well through videogamedunkey, the YouTuber who introduced the game as the first release from his publishing label, Bigmode. What I didn't expect was that this strange, beautiful little game would end up being one of the most unique Metroidvania experiences you could ever play. Built entirely from scratch by a solo developer who created the visuals, music, level design, and heck, even the engine itself from the ground up, Animal Well is an exercise in restraint, atmosphere, and curiosity.

What's also surprising about Animal Well is that the game doesn't have any combat. There's also no handholding, and while the world may never keep you from areas by gating them behind powers you'll unlock later, it also doesn't point the way forward. It's just you, a flickering flame, and a maze of secrets wrapped in pixel-perfect art and unsettling ambiance. Animal Well is the kind of game where half the fun is not knowing what anything does, and the other half is in realizing just how deep this rabbit hole goes. One of the best indie experiences you could ever treat yourself to, Animal Well also happens to be on sale thanks to the Steam Summer Sale 2025.

3 Axiom Verge (2015)

Another fantastic solo dev Metroidvania

What is it about fantastic Metroidvania games and being made by a single person? More Metroid than vania, Axiom Verge puts you in the shoes of a human scientist who gets trapped on an alien world. Between that plot thread and its spooky sci-fi aesthetic, Axiom Verge will remind every player of Metroid, and a little too much at times, but that never takes away from just how fantastic and solidly built an experience this is.

You'll run into a plethora of alien enemies, exploring this alien world while finding, collecting, and using some impressively ingenious weapons, and they will all come to a head in tightly-paced and intensely rewarding boss fights. I much prefer this one over the sequel, but that's also because I simply haven't been able to give the latter the time it demands. There's a story to unpack here, but you'd be forgiven for not following along. Still, the plot is cohesive, and only serves the wonderful gameplay that you'll be left wanting more of.

2 Hollow Knight (2017)

One of the greatest Metroidvanias ever made, if not the greatest

No list about Metroidvanias worth its salt can exclude Hollow Knight. This fantastic game redefined the genre as well as the indie space when it dropped in 2017, becoming the new benchmark for what the genre could offer. A sprawling labyrinth of hand-drawn sorrow and secrets, the game's map of Hallownest feels like a world that has always existed, waiting to be uncovered, map by map, inch by inch.

From its razor-tight combat and smart upgrade system to its melancholic tone and masterful boss design, Hollow Knight is a clinic in mood and mechanics. It's the kind of game where every corner hides something — a secret path, a devastating enemy, or a story fragment more haunting than the last one you discovered. Playing Hollow Knight makes you realize just how much it deserves its crows as the greatest Metroidvania of the modern era.

1 Nine Sols (2024)

Metroidvania meets Sekiro-like combat

Where Blasphemous merged the Metroidvania genre with a Soulsborne formula, Nine Sols collided with Sekiro's parrying and deflect-heavy combat system. The entire while, it looked damn good while doing it. Nine Sols is a side-scrolling action-platformer drenched in a gorgeously unsettling sci-fi world built on Taoist cyberpunk influences. Think kung-fu, blood rituals, and robotic gods, multiply it with all the creativity in the world, and you wouldn't even be halfway there.

A game with inarguably the best combat on this list, Nine Sols is brutally stylish, and the gameplay forces you to execute precise parries and deliberate platforming. The world-building is as cryptic as it is captivating, and the enemies look so incredibly cool that you might die a couple of times just taking in the beauty of the game's world. Nine Sols is sleek, bold, and has more bite than most AAA games thrice its size and budget. A visual feast with gameplay that demands mastery out of you, Nine Sols is a reminder that the Metroidvania genre is gloriously alive and thriving today.

Metroidvanias have only gotten sharper as the medium evolves

Few genres can hold a candle to what Metroidvanias have evolved into.

Some genres go quiet with age, but Metroidvanias have only gotten sharper. It may be the way you earn every inch of progress, or how every locked gate doubles as a challenge that you absolutely will return to.

Whatever the case, these past two decades have proven one thing — when it comes to atmosphere, agency, and pure design elegance, few genres can hold a candle to what Metroidvanias have evolved into.