The 18 Best Metroidvania Games of the 2020s

Hand-drawn indie darlings, big-studio comebacks and brand-new releases fight over the best map to get lost in. Which one earns your vote?

1. 1
   Ori and the Will of the Wisps

   Moon Studios' 2020 hand-painted sequel, with fluid movement and a tearjerker story.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Metroid Dread

   Nintendo and MercurySteam's 2021 return of 2D Metroid, with Samus hunted by EMMI robots on planet ZDR.
   756pts
3. 3
   Moonscars

   Black Mermaid's 2022 grim tale of Grey Irma, a clayborn warrior in a dark world.
   665pts
4. 4
   Magical Blush

   Alkacer's 2026 elemental action-adventure, a Brazilian-folklore metroidvania starring the mage Arnin.
   665pts
5. 5
   Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

   Live Wire and Adglobe's 2021 melancholic dark fantasy where you command fallen spirits.
   596pts
6. 6
   Nine Sols

   Red Candle Games' 2024 Taopunk action game built around parries and a sword-wielding cat hero.
   596pts
7. 7
   Animal Well

   Billy Basso's 2024 puzzle-box adventure packed with secrets in a dark, glowing cave system.
   596pts
8. 8
   Pseudoregalia

   Rittzler's 2023 3D, PS1-styled platformer where precise movement unlocks a sprawling castle.
   517pts
9. 9
   Cyber Shadow

   Mechanical Head Studios' 2021 retro ninja action-platformer in the spirit of NES-era Ninja Gaiden.
   517pts
10. 10
    MIO: Memories in Orbit

    Douze Dixièmes' 2026 hand-drawn game about a small robot exploring a drifting space ark.
    517pts
11. 11
    Alruna: End of History

    A 2026 nonlinear metroidvania set in an unusual dystopian fantasy, full of temples and puzzles.
    423pts
12. 12
    Blasphemous 2

    The Game Kitchen's 2023 sequel, a gory, religious-baroque metroidvania with three weapon styles.
    423pts
13. 13
    Hollow Knight: Silksong

    Team Cherry's 2025 sequel, starring Hornet on a climb through the bug kingdom of Pharloom.
    310pts
14. 14
    Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

    Ubisoft Montpellier's 2024 swashbuckling platformer set on the cursed Mount Qaf.
    310pts
15. 15
    Ultros

    Hadoque's 2024 psychedelic metroidvania about a time loop inside a giant alien being.
    310pts
16. 16
    Haiku, the Robot

    Mono Studios' 2021 colorful action platformer starring a small repair robot in a broken world.
    0pts
17. 17
    Axiom Verge 2

    Thomas Happ's 2021 sci-fi sequel, swapping the original's blasters for a drone and an alternate world.
    0pts
18. 18
    Aeterna Noctis

    Aeternum Game Studios' 2021 huge, brutally hard platformer with over 4,000 rooms.
    0pts

Comments