Highlights
- Metroidvanias have seen a resurgence, with excellent titles being released by Nintendo, indies, and even Konami.
- The PS5 now offers a satisfying selection of Metroidvania games, expanding the genre’s presence on the platform.
- Various Metroidvania games, such as Supraland, Blasphemous, and Dead Cells, offer unique gameplay experiences with exploration, combat, and upgrade systems.
Metroidvanias have well and truly entered a new golden age. It’s taken a while, but everyone from Nintendo, to indies, to even Konami, has been churning out excellent titles and rereleasing some all-time classics.
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Sony hasn’t had the best reputation, historically, for hosting the genre. It all started on Nintendo’s line of hardware, and, for a long time, it mostly stayed there. It’s a new day, however, and the PS5 is jam-packed with titles that will satisfy fans of the genre.
Updated on November 28, 2023, by Mohamed El Ouardighi: The PS5 has been around for some time, and there’s been a growing number of Metroidvania games in the console’s expanding library. That’s why we’ve updated this list to include more games for you to enjoy.
17 Supraland
Based on first impressions, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what kind of game Supraland even is. You take control of simple toy-like red figures and delve into a literal child’s sandbox full of puzzles, combat, and deep exploration.
The game wears its heavy Metroidvania influences proudly on its vibrantly colourful sleeve as you’ll continually come across areas that are blocked off and impassable until you acquire upgrades to progress. You’ll want to explore as much as you can when starting out, too, as the open sandbox is surprisingly dense with a plethora of secrets to uncover, rewards to find and NPCs to interact with to help you along the way.
16 Blasphemous
Blasphemous takes inspiration from both Soulslikes and Metroidvanias, blending the brutal and demanding bloodthirsty combat from the Souls series with the deep upgrade system and engaging backtracking gameplay from Metroid games.
It features gorgeous Gothic-inspired 2D pixel art graphics that provide a lot of eye candy for all the bloody and savage executions you’ll be carrying out when exploring this beautifully nightmarish world. Although fairly punishing if you’re new to the genre, the game’s combat, exploration, upgrade system, and platforming all coalesce into a deeply satisfying and rewarding experience.
15 The Last Faith
If you’re on the lookout for a gothic, dark gaming experience set in a beautifully crafted pixel art world, tinged with a Bloodborne vibe, look no further than The Last Faith. With its heavy inspiration from the Blasphemous series, it takes that essence and turns it even darker. It has a stats system for leveling up, like you’d expect from a soulslike game, offering the freedom to create different builds with various weapons and spells.
If you enjoyed any of the Blasphemous games, we recommend giving Last Faith a try. And, by the way, don’t expect the game to be easy!
14 FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch
Don’t let this cute little furball fool you — the anthropomorphic bunny rabbit in FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch means serious business and packs a mean punch. The game sees this lovable rabbit soldier don some deadly fist-bearing mech armour in order to explore the dangerous and richly detailed 2.5D map of Torch City.
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There are plenty of stunning locations that show off the city’s gritty and seedy underbelly. Each area is filled to the brim with gorgeous detail and hidden secrets to discover. The combat is fluid and fast-paced, with further opportunities to acquire more weapons and flesh out your death-dealing capabilities later on. As you play and progress, you’ll be unlocking a plethora of new platforming and movement abilities that will open up the play space even more.
13 Dead Cells
Dead Cells has expertly merged multiple beloved and classic genres to create one of the best 2D sidescrollers ever made, though really, even that would be underselling it.
It has feverishly frantic skills-based combat, a deep upgrade system where you can build your character in wildly different ways, and fantastic Metroidvania-inspired exploration of its gorgeous pixel art levels. It takes the best elements from Soulslikes, roguelikes, and 2D platformers to produce a ridiculously compelling gameplay loop that will have you repeating run after gloriously procedurally generated run long into the early hours. Dead Cells, where do you get off?
12 Blasphemous 2
Blasphemous 2 is a significant improvement from the first game, offering a smoother and better overall experience while retaining the beloved formula from its predecessor. The unique art style, enemy designs, and boss battles not only provide a visually satisfying experience but also present a challenging one.
In this game, you play as the Penitent One, seeking to free the land of Cvstodia by using different weapons and spells to overcome challenges. Drawing on the difficulty seen in Souls games, Blasphemous 2 skillfully integrates it into a distinctive 2D Metroidvania.
11 Control: Ultimate Edition
After Jesse Faden receives arguably the world’s most unappealing job promotion, it’s up to her to get to the bottom of all that interdimensional nonsense that’s turning people into floating death-dealing zombies. She must explore each floor of the Oldest House in order to reclaim control and find her missing brother.
Taking place in a single location suits the Metroidvania style of Control very well, as you will be exploring every nook and cranny of this curious building’s shape-shifting walls. As you progress, you’ll gain a variety of nifty traversal upgrades to reach previously unreachable areas and the chance to improve your service weapon to pack a mightier punch against the “Hiss”. By the end of the game, you feel like a steroid-infused superhero as you leave a path of paranormal destruction in your wake.
10 Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Nights
Metroidvanias and Soulslikes go together like peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and jelly — heck, peanut butter, and practically everything. Many games have mixed the two, namely Dead Cells and Hollow Knight, but Ender Lilies can swing with the best of them, even if its swings (controls) can be a tad off at times.
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This is a top-notch title that encourages exploration with tangible rewards and entices you to dive deeper with a gripping story that unravels as you play. It’s also a joy to behold thanks to a gorgeous art style and a wonderful soundtrack.
9 Axiom Verge 2
Indie developers have a knack for releasing some of the best Metroidvanias around, and then following up with a sequel that defies all expectations and surpasses its original in new and exciting ways. Axiom Verge 2 is one of those sequels.
Exploring is where Axiom Verge 2 shines. Running around, hopping through tears to enter The Breach, and unlocking new paths and hidden goodies is endlessly rewarding and supremely satisfying. The game is also gorgeous and a joy to play. The only thing holding it back is its rather middling combat and underwhelming boss fights.
8 The Messenger
The Messenger is an odd duck. At first glance, the game doesn’t fit the genre — at all. There’s no backtracking, it’s stage-based, and it shares most of its DNA with the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man, and even Castlevania (before they adopted a smidge of Metroid).
Don’t be fooled by the game’s initial ruse. Like the cunning ninja, The Messenger opens up a few hours in and reveals its true, Metroidy nature. It’s also one of the best, thanks to it utilizing a unique time-hopping mechanic and slamming that together with some slick controls and satisfying gameplay.
7 Steamworld Dig 2
Steamworld Dig was one of the best indie games to launch way back in 2013. Its sequel, however, grabs that rumbling gauge and cranks it well past 11. Throwing away the procedural generation of its progenitor, Steamworld Dig opts for a handcrafted world full of exploration, combat, crafting, RPG goodness.
This change in direction does come with some drawbacks, namely, this is mostly a one-and-done affair. Thankfully, Steamworld Dig 2 is one hell of an experience worth, well, experiencing. It also sports a fairly neat post-game that is locked behind a somewhat challenging collect-a-thon. Let’s just say, this is one of those Metroidvanias that really want you to dig up all those hidden bits and bobs.
6 Guacamelee! 2
Drinkbox struck gold with the phenomenal Guacamelee and improved upon it with the Super Turbo Championship Edition. It was only natural to return to the hilariously quirky Luchadorian universe with the sequel. The only danger? Beating a dead horse (chicken?) and producing a product that’s a bit too samey.
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Guacamelee 2 pirouettes around this issue like a majestic luchador and instead delivers what could be the best possible game the series could ever conjure. Bringing back its fantastic navigation/combat combo system, humor, and well-implemented references, and mixing it with a sprinkling of new mechanics and things to do, Guacamelee 2 is not a game you want to miss.
5 Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
Defining the Metroidvania genre is not exactly easy. It’s a very complex mish-mash of other genres that combine to make something entirely different. Jedi Fallen Order ticks practically every Metroidvania box, and therefore, earns its place in the genre.
Unlike most Metroidvanias, this is a fully 3D affair and shares some similarities with games like Dark Souls — especially when it comes to combat. Bosses in particular fall into this category. Exploration is firmly rooted in the Metroid camp, however, and backtracking with new Force Powers and abilities is always encouraged. You can even sequence break in a sense, which is always appreciated. Not just an (inter)stellar Star Wars game, but a fantastic Souls-like, and a wonderful Metroidvania.
4 Carrion
Carrion is a game like no other. Sure, it shares a genre with every other game on this list, but this is a game about escaping, not exploring. Killing the “hero”, not the villain. You play as a gloriously unnatural monstrosity that has escaped captivity and must use its viscous body and abilities to rip, tear, rend, and grow.
Affectionately referred to as a reverse horror game (since you are the thing that goes bump in the…lab?), Carrion gives you a real sense of power from the get-go. Your powers only grow as you do, and when you finally escape captivity, the game ends on quite a chilling note. It comes with a brisk run time that is made up for with excellent pacing. It’s very easy to complete in one sitting, but it will stick with you for much longer.
3 Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a special title for anyone who lived through the ‘90s. It’s hard to believe nowadays, but Konami once developed and published some of the best games of any particular generation. Castlevania was among those games. Koji Igarashi, often referred to as the “Father of Castlevania” went off on his own and crowd-funded Bloodstained as a way to stick to the man, and bring back what was then a dead genre.
It absolutely succeeded and Bloodstained feels like a true extension of the Castlevania series — with a few added extras for good measure. Packing hundreds of weapons, a myriad of unlockable and upgradable souls, and the voice talent of Solid Snake himself, David Hayter, Bloodstained certainly leaves an impression.
2 Castlevania Requiem
Castlevania Requiem lands on this list because it contains one of the all-time greats, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. You play as Alucard, the son of the nefarious Dracula, and are off on a quest to stop his wrongdoings and quench your own dark desires. This is the first Castlevania to dip into the Metroid formula, and it did so with such efficacy that it cemented “Vania” into the genre’s title.
Symphony of the Night holds up when pitted against practically every modern Metroidvania, and it does so with a timeless art style and a soundtrack that eclipses more or less everything. Throw in multiple endings, oodles of secrets, replayability, and one of the best post-game reveals ever, and you’ve got yourself a winner. This isn’t just Symphony of the Night either; Requiem comes with Rondo of Blood — often considered the best Classicvania and the prequel to Symphony.
1 Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is a hardcore game that rewards perseverance with one of the best games of all time. It starts hard and gradually ramps up to deliver quite the challenge. Thanks to some tight controls and the aforementioned gradual ramp, the game remains distinctly fair.
It’s also one of the truly open Metroidvanias on the market, with a near-endless number of potential paths to take, some taking you down some truly awful tunnels. Exploring is really the name of the game here, and undertaking the challenge will uncover a disturbingly dark tale full of memorable characters and events.
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