Everyone’s heard of Metroid and Castlevania, the two namesakes of the Metroidvania portmanteau. However, while they're undoubtedly the two biggest examples, standing alongside the genre’s heavy-weight champions are dozens of games that deserve their time in the spotlight.
Some debate what truly makes a Metroidvania. Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night set the bar high by taking action platformer concepts and blending them with exploration-based gameplay and roleplaying game elements. In reality, how far the genre can be pushed is up to developers and fans to determine.
10 Astalon: Tears of the Earth
Innovation need not only come in the form of photorealistic graphics and bloated features. Some titles use gaming’s roots to garner retro appeal. While Astalon: Tears of the Earth may look like it’s straight out of the NES-era, its responsive controls and simple-but-solid mechanics give it modern polish.
Taking control of one of three characters, players have to plan strategically to traverse the tower’s many obstacles. Arias’ tough defenses help him to excel at tanking heavy hits, Algus’ magic activates switches throughout the tower, and Kyuli’s swiftness scales her to greater heights. For those who find the content a tad too challenging, there’s always the option to grind for more upgrades.
9 Dandara
Sometimes, all it takes is rethinking one mechanic to make a wholly unique game. Dandara takes walking — something often taken for granted in games — and restricts that freedom for the player. Controlling a character who can only jump and cling to walls, every movement is made all the more strategic.
While certainly a game that's tough to master, Dandara’s movement is a speedrunner’s dream. Those who get the hang of the mechanics can blaze through levels at record speeds. better still, the game’s built-in Speed Run Mode helps players race against the clock and keep track of their times.
8 Rain World
Given that exploration plays a critical role in Metroidvania games, it’s no surprise that survival mechanics would also be a great fit. Eerie and atmospheric pixel-based game Rain World takes players through a dilapidated setting where it’s better to skulk in the shadows than tackle enemies head-on.
Players control Slugcat: a protagonist with a lot of competition now that Stray has been released. They'll need to find bugs and bats to snack on and also seek shelter. Unlike most Metroidvania games, though, a scene transition doesn’t always mean safety.
7 Monster Sanctuary
Often, Metroidvanias are loose with their interpretation of roleplaying game mechanics. Monster Sanctuary can't really be accused of this — being so bold as to incorporate turn-based battles into the mix.
If the spirit of completionism isn't enough to get players wanting to catch them all, Monster Sanctuary has the player’s companions acting as power-ups to traverse the world. If that didn’t pique the interest of those seeking a grind-heavy game, each monster has its own skill tree, giving an endless amount of options when it comes to team composition.
6 Aliens: Infestation
Aliens: Infestation wears its Metroid inspiration on its sleeve. Seeing as Super Metroid’s art direction drew inspiration from H.R. Giger — the biomechanical artist who won an Academy Award for his work on the movie Alien — it’s perhaps fitting for an Alien tie-in game to be inspired by Metroid’s famous game mechanics.
What makes Aliens: Infestation unique is having a squad of characters to command. Players should tread carefully, however, as downed soldiers are downed forever. There are new marines to collect as one progresses, but their unique lines of dialogue are also lost with them.
5 Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-
Western TTRPG fans know Dungeons and Dragons well, but Japan has its own pen and paper game: Sword World RPG. It has spawned several franchises over the years, including Legend of Crystania and Record of Lodoss War. Along with several anime, manga, and light novels, the Record of Lodoss War franchise has an extensive list of video games, including a Metroidvania title.
Taking more inspiration from the Castlevania side of things with a sprite trail effect reminiscent of SotN’s Alucard, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is great for fans of the DS-era Castlevania games like Portrait of Ruin. There are a few reasons for this, with the main ones being its power-ups and puzzles.
4 Carrion
Instead of something cute and cuddly, Carrion has players taking control of a nightmarish mutant as it wreaks havoc on a lab full of researchers. Anyone who has ever played Resident Evil and wondered what it would be like to control the T-Virus now has the perfect game.
Players can absorb new DNA strands to gain abilities and take control of unsuspecting humans to launch their escape. As for what will happen upon completing the game, it’s always interesting to see a villain’s success story for a change.
3 Strider
Konami may have Castlevania and Nintendo may have Metroid, but Capcom hasn’t been left out of the Metroidvania craze. Strider Hiryu started out in a manga before he hit the arcade circuit with the first Strider game in 1989. It wasn’t until the 2014 reboot, however, that exploration and power-ups came into play.
True to its hack-and-slash roots, Strider puts most of its emphasis on plowing through enemies. However, Strider Hiryu’s arsenal of ninja tools helps him to scale walls and traverse battle-torn locations. It’s perhaps the boss fights, though, where Strider’s power-ups really shine.
2 La-Mulana
What do Indiana Jones and the Belmonts have in common? Besides their signature snap-cracklin’ whip, playing a leading role in a Metroidvania game. Well, technically, La-Mulana doesn’t officially star Indiana Jones, but the aesthetic can’t be a coincidence.
Instead of combat, La-Mulana puts more emphasis on puzzle-solving, though that's not to say that it's a walk in the park. After finding a few truly esoteric clues, one may wish monsters were their greatest foe. Luckily, the sequel, La-Mulana 2, does make combat a larger focus.
1 Gato Roboto
Stripping the genre to its core, Metroidvanias are about exploration: traversing a non-linear world and using new power-ups to defeat foes and unlock more of the map. Gato Roboto nails this core design perfectly with an extra added bonus: cats.
Just in case the massive success of Stray wasn’t evidence enough, Gato Roboto is another exhibit to prove that cats make games better. Sure, this title doesn’t blend multiple genres or put players through an existential crisis, but it’s plenty cute, and, most importantly, a solid entry in the Metroidvania genre.