30 Best Metroidvania Games | GPA Scores Compare Exploration × Action Design

Hollow Knight

Nintendo SwitchPS5PS4steamXbox

Team Cherry

Genre: メトロイドヴァニア

Hollow Knight puts a silent knight in a vast underground insect kingdom built with hand-drawn art and a score that shifts by region. The map system withholds information until it's earned. GPA scores it at the top for Difficulty and Action among platformers, with Dark World running high — a combination that points at players who want atmosphere alongside the mechanical challenge.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the highly anticipated epic sequel to the critically acclaimed metroidvania Hollow Knight. Developed by Team Cherry, the game puts players in control of Hornet, the sharp-witted princess and protector of Hallownest, who has been captured and brought to Pharloom—a vast, unfamiliar kingdom ruled by silk and song. Players must ascend through a hauntingly beautiful, completely new world, utilizing Hornet's agile, acrobat-like combat style, crafting deadly traps, and uncovering the ancient secrets of the citadel at the peak.

Metroid Dread returns the series to 2D after 19 years, sending Samus to planet ZDR to investigate a rogue EMMI robot. The stealth sequences against the indestructible EMMI units create a distinct tension layer on top of the Metroidvania exploration. GPA scores it high on Action and Difficulty — the combination that defines the series at its most mechanically demanding.

Super Metroid built the exploration design template that defines the Metroidvania genre — a seamless alien world, ability-gated progression, and a lone bounty hunter against a hostile planet. The 1994 SNES release remains the benchmark for environmental storytelling through layout. Available through Nintendo Classics. GPA scores it at the top for Action and Puzzle among the genre's founding entries.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps triples the first game's map size and adds direct melee combat to the precision platforming that defined Blind Forest. The hand-painted art and orchestral score from Gareth Coker carry the game's emotional weight. Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. GPA scores it high on Emotional Story and Graphics — the Metroidvania that reaches the widest audience because of its visual and narrative quality.

Ori and the Blind Forest introduced the Soul Link manual save system and a precision platforming vocabulary that the sequel expanded on. Moon Studios' debut is smaller and more focused than Will of the Wisps. Switch, Xbox One, and PC. GPA scores it high on Emotional Story and Action — the compact Metroidvania origin point that told a complete story in 8 hours.

Animal Well is a single-developer Metroidvania built on a custom engine over four years, placing a featureless blob creature inside an underground labyrinth full of animals and layered secrets. The community discovery element — secrets that took months to find — is a designed feature. Switch, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S. GPA scores it at the top for Puzzle — the Metroidvania where the entire community is the intended player.

Metroid Prime Remastered rebuilds the 2002 GameCube original with fully updated visuals while preserving every room layout, scan point, and environmental detail. First-person exploration on Tallon IV remains the standard for atmosphere-through-design. Switch exclusive, February 2023. GPA scores it high on Action and Existential Themes — the 3D Metroidvania benchmark that proved the genre works in first person.

Blasphemous 2 expands the first game's Catholic folklore horror into three switchable weapons — each with distinct movement and combat mechanics — across a wider interconnected map. The Spanish dark religious art direction remains the series' most distinctive quality. Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Dark World — the Metroidvania sequel that delivered more of what made the original stand out.

Blasphemous 2 expands the first game's Catholic folklore horror into three switchable weapons — each with distinct movement and combat mechanics — across a wider interconnected map. The Spanish dark religious art direction remains the series' most distinctive quality. Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Dark World — the Metroidvania sequel that delivered more of what made the original stand out.

Nine Sols sets a Taoist science fiction narrative against combat directly inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — a deflection system that builds into a Talisman seal execution. Red Candle Games' first action title, following Devotion and Detention. Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it at the top for Action among Metroidvanias — the genre entry where parry timing is the entire combat philosophy.

Salt and Sanctuary built Dark Souls' bonfire-and-estus structure into a 2D Metroidvania, developed by a two-person studio. The attribute-heavy character building and precise shield/dodge combat carry the genre comparison. Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Difficulty — the Metroidvania most often recommended to players who want Souls-style punishment in a 2D format.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown returns the series to 2D with Sargon as protagonist, using time-based abilities alongside the series' acrobatic movement. The Metroidvania structure reveals the map through ability acquisition. GPA scores it high on Action and Puzzle — the combination that describes a game that commits to the genre with current production quality.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was crowdfunded as the spiritual successor to Castlevania by series producer Koji Igarashi. Miriam's Shard system generates hundreds of ability combinations from crystallized demon powers. Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Strategy — the Metroidvania built for the audience that grew up on Symphony of the Night.

Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth casts the Wind Elf from Record of Lodoss War in a Symphony of the Night-style exploration platformer, adding a spirit-switching mechanic that changes elemental damage and defensive absorptions. Team Ladybug's doujin-origin title. Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Dark World — the Metroidvania for players who want precise system design alongside their Japanese fantasy IP.

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia

Nintendo SwitchNintendo Switch2

Konami

Genre: メトロイドヴァニア

Order of Ecclesia is the hardest and most expansive of the DS Castlevania entries, sending Shanoa through a system of interconnected maps that include exterior regions not seen in the GBA or earlier DS entries. The Glyph absorption system replaces fixed weapons with combination-based combat. Switch (Nintendo Classics DS category), Nintendo DS. GPA scores it high on Difficulty and Action — the Castlevania entry where the series' mechanical ambition peaked.

Dead Cells

Nintendo SwitchPS5PS4steamXbox

Motion Twin

Genre: ローグライクアクション

Dead Cells runs a roguelite loop through a plague-infested island, with weapon synergies that change substantially between runs. The movement speed and parry windows sit at the aggressive end of the genre. GPA scores it at the top for Roguelike and Action among 2D titles — a pairing that favors players who want mechanical depth over narrative.

Rogue Legacy 2

Nintendo SwitchPS5PS4steamXbox

Cellar Door Games

Genre: ローグライトメトロイドヴァニア

Rogue Legacy 2 sends a new heir into the castle every time the previous one dies, with each child carrying a random class, heirloom abilities, and traits that affect how the run plays. The Metroidvania map structure grows accessible as hereditary upgrades accumulate. GPA scores it high on Roguelike and Action — the combination that describes a game where permanent progression softens the permadeath loop without removing its weight.

Unsighted adds a real-time countdown to every NPC in the game — neglect automation chips and characters die permanently, changing what quests are available. The hack-and-slash movement and parry system layer on top. Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Strategy — the Metroidvania where time pressure turns every exploration decision into a resource management choice.

SteamWorld Dig 2 sends Dorothy through underground caverns to find the previous game's protagonist, building a wider Metroidvania map structure around the series' mining mechanic. Image & Form's sequel delivers tighter design and more variety than the first. Switch, PS4, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Puzzle — the mining Metroidvania that perfected its loop in the sequel.

The Mummy Demastered was released alongside the 2017 film and received better reviews than the movie. WayForward's pixel art and enemy design quality applied to an ancient Egypt Metroidvania. Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Puzzle — the licensed tie-in that proved WayForward's technical quality is independent of the IP attached to it.

CARRION

Nintendo SwitchsteamXbox

Phobia Game Studio

Genre: 逆ホラーメトロイドヴァニア

CARRION plays as the monster escaping a research facility using a tentacle physics system. GPA scores it high on Action and Horror.

Guacamelee! 2 returns lucha libre wrestler Juan Aguacate to a Mexican folklore world split between the living and the dead, adding four-player co-op to the beat-'em-up Metroidvania structure. DrinkBox Studios' sequel. Switch, PS4, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Co-op — the rare Metroidvania designed from the start for multiplayer.

Touhou Luna Nights builds Sakuya Izayoi's time-stopping ability into every combat and puzzle encounter, making time manipulation the core mechanic rather than a special attack. Team Ladybug's doujin Metroidvania. Switch, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Puzzle — the fan-origin Metroidvania that matches AAA genre entries in mechanical design.

Symphony of the Night gave the 'Vania' half of Metroidvania its name, building an RPG leveling system and an inverse castle into Castlevania's linear action structure for the first time. Alucard's movement vocabulary defined the genre's feel. PS4 (Requiem), Switch, PC. GPA scores it at the top for Dark World — the Gothic Metroidvania original against which everything else is measured.

Thomas Happ built Axiom Verge alone over five years as a tribute to Super Metroid, adding a hacking mechanic that reprograms enemies and environments. The 2015 result matched the precision of the original it referenced. Switch, PS4, PC. GPA scores it high on Action and Puzzle — the Metroidvania built by one person that earned comparison to its inspirations on pure design merit.

Axiom Verge 2 takes place on a parallel world with a different protagonist, adding a drone that can explore areas Indra cannot reach. Thomas Happ's solo development continued for the sequel, resulting in a more mysterious and less combat-forward experience than the first. Switch, PS4, PC. GPA scores it high on Puzzle — the Metroidvania sequel that shifted from action to exploration as its primary axis.

ENDER LILIES sets its Metroidvania in a rain-destroyed kingdom where Lily the White Priestess summons purified undead spirits as her combat set. The Mili soundtrack is one of the highest-rated in the genre. Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC. GPA scores it high on Dark World and Emotional Story — the Metroidvania where the melancholy atmosphere is the primary draw alongside the combat.

ENDER MAGNOLIA continues the Ender Lilies world decades later, sending Lilac the Attuner through the Land of Fumes to purify corrupted Homunculi. Built in Unreal Engine 5, expanding the map and combat variety of the predecessor. Switch, PS4/5, Xbox, PC, January 2025. GPA scores it high on Dark World and Emotional Story — the sequel that delivered on every expectation the first game built.

Cave Story was built alone by Daisuke Amaya over five years and released free in 2004, establishing the template for what one developer could produce. The story of Quote and Curly in an underground world carries genuine emotional weight. Switch, PS4, PC. GPA scores it high on Emotional Story and Action — the individual-developer landmark that showed the world what indie games could be.