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.
Headlander was surprisingly fun. Probably not my favorite, but certainly up there.
I was shocked to see no mention of Ori in any of the comments here before I realized you had already recommended it in the OP. I have no issues with seconding that, the Ori series is really good.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
I love this style of game. I always have one on the go. Some times they scratch the itch, others they miss just a bit. I found that the blasphemous series more dark souls than Metroidvania. Biogun, chasm, bloodstained, any of the ori games, haiku, the mummy demastered, turnip boy commits tax evasion, dust an Elysian tale… I have more but that’s a solid chunk. I’d love to hear from others if they do or don’t consider these in the same family.
Do you consider Zelda64 a MetroidVania? If so then Darksiders has that action, similarly control, soul reaver 1 and 2, and blood omen 2.
Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet but Aeterna Noctis is one of my favorites and I have played a LOT of metroidvanias. Some of the platforming sections are quite difficult but there is an easier mode with easier enemies and platforming. It has a huge map and some really cool mechanics I haven’t seen before.
Edit: a couple more I thought of that aren’t listed. HAAK is a fun one, another one with some interesting mechanics and a fun story too. Souldiers is more of a 2d RPG game but it still has some Metroid mechanics. Four classes you can play as with a good story.
I also really liked Ender Lilies/Magnolias.
Other metroidvanias I’ve really enjoyed that haven’t been mentioned yet are Blasphemous and Vision Soft Reset.
Blasphemous has a really cool theme and is pretty challenging.
Vision Soft Reset is more indie and probably PC only. It has a unique twist to the formula.
I haven’t seen Shadow Complex on here yet.
It’s an older title (2009) and even the remastered version is from 2016.
Still one of my favorite Metroidvania type games.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/385560/Shadow_Complex_Remastered/
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is a fantastic experience.
Wut.
Looked this up. Can’t believe Record of Lodoss War got a game in 2021. I remember watching the 1990 anime on Toonami’s online-only list of anime at the time, along with Harlock Saga. Both old school AF.
I remember playing the Dreamcast Diablo style game my college roommate had!
Animal Well is stellar
I haven’t played very many, and these might not be pure Metroidvanias, but I recommend:
Pretty spot on video.
I just ordered the plushy because it’s on sale and I love Chewnic so much. I love the fox.
New school: Hollow Knight and Silksong
Old school: Super Metroid
when oldschool is actually more accessible than newschool
More accessible? Please explain.
As in easier?
Hollow Knight didn’t really do it for me so I haven’t tried Silksong yet (I hated not having a map for each area until I purchased one).
I may have to try putting an emulator on my Steam Deck and seeing if Super Metroid holds up.
If you didn’t like Hollow Knight you probably won’t like Silksong either.
The game is good, and incredibly polished, but feels aimed at the people who 100% the first game and wanted more.
Good to know. I did play Hollow Knight for a while but drifted off of it, it is not something that I personally would want to 100%
i can tell you the one that surprised me the most: Yoku’s Island Express! utterly adorable pinball metroidvania. you’re a little dung beetle pushing a big ball around to deliver mail.
i find that there is so much focus on dark and dreary in the metroidvania genre, which makes sense considering the roots of the genre. me, i get enough of that in my daily life. i want colorful and full of curiosity. the ori games are good for that too, as is supraland, but i don’t know of many more.
A few other good ones that come to mind:
Axiom Verge
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Guacamelee
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
Rabi-Ribi
A Robot Named Fight (it’s basically if super metroid was a roguelike)
Touhou Luna Nights
Cave Story
Also, the Castlevania Advance Collection is three GBA metroidvanias, definitely worth getting if you wanna play/replay any of those.
Rogue Legacy 2, if it counts. Otherwise, Axiom Verge.
Axiom verge had such a cool atmosphere. Never finished the 2nd one, not sure why it didn’t grab me.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game so good it created the term “Metroidvania” even though the formula was basically “Metroid”.
Does it hold up well for someone who doesn’t have nostalgia for it?
Absolutely yes. It’s timelessly good. I played a bunch of the post-SotN Castlevanias on GBA and such and even with the more advanced systems and everything, none of them hit the same. It’s insane how well they nailed it on their first go.
I played it for the 1st time, no nostalgia googles and I didn’t really enjoy the back tracking that much (even using the quick travel spots), the way to get the powers (you kinda need to remember where the monsters are) and discovering the secret rooms felt like a chore to me.
The only Castlevania games that I have played to completion have been Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin of ruin for DS, and regarding the genre, additionally to that, it would be Metroid Zero Mission, Guacamelee! And I think those are the ones I can remember… And I didn’t feel that way with them.
I did enjoy the OST and the graphics a lot though.
Should I look for a remaster or emulate the original?
There really isn’t a remaster, just ports. There’s very little to improve.
I think there may have been some voice re-recordings here or there, but otherwise most versions are pretty much the same. I think the Xbox 360 Live Arcade version is missing some unimportant FMVs and some other minor details, but it’s still completely decent.
It was a secret unlockable in the PSP game Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles with an added character and other stuff, but then you have to deal with the PSP emulation or whatever.
I’d suggest either emulating the original or getting it as a PSOne Classic on PlayStation Store unless some other route is more convenient.
I think the only recent re-release of that game was for the PS4, so unless you have that console it’s probably easier to emulate the original.
Usually old ps1 games just don’t do it for me, but sotn was one of the two exceptions.
Which is the other exception?
As someone who played later entries first and then went back to SotN, IMO it’s a bit rough around the edges in comparison. Still a fantastic game, but I think later games managed to improve on it.
Which one is your favorite?
Portrait of Ruin
