You love your labyrinthine video game. Lose yourself for hours looking for hidden passages; retrace your steps to unlock new passages with newly unlocked power, while facing devious and ruthless opponents along the way. In short: your thing is metroidvania. And this new selection will be busy listing the best references.
A portmanteau word, metroidvania as we know it today was born in the late 90s. Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night swept the world and turned the industry upside down with their innovative formula, which posed and imposed the foundations of what is still today one of the most popular genres in our medium.
Particularly popular with independent studios, the genre has experienced a major resurgence in popularity in recent years. In particular thanks to the contribution of the first game of our selection of the day.
Hollow Knight: the revival of the genre
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Hollow Knight
- A perfect synthesis of the genre
- Artistically unforgettable
- Very generous lifespan
Don't lie to us: if you're reading this today, chances are it's because you've just finished Hollow Knight and you urgently need a new chew bone. As we understand you.
Released in 2017 after a long development and a particularly successful Kickstarter campaign, the game from Team Cherry (which includes three people) revitalized the metroidvania genre. Whether thanks to its nervous and unforgivable gameplay, its memorable artistic direction or its gargantuan lifespan, Hollow Knight is already a cult game.
Its sequel, called Hollow Knight Silksong and originally thought of as a simple DLC, has been eagerly awaited by fans since its announcement in 2019. It does not yet have a release date.
Metroid Dread: Return of the King
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See the priceSee the testMetroid Dread
- Aesthetically stunning (especially on Switch OLED)
- A worked and stressful atmosphere in front of the EMMI
- Tough bosses that increase the difficulty
- Some great staging ideas
- The 2D Metroid formula still as effective...
The one that can also be called Metroid 5 has been long awaited by fans. A direct sequel to Metroid Fusion released on GBA in 2001, MercurySteam's game had no trouble reclaiming its throne when it arrived in October 2021.
The game takes the classic formula of metroidvania while incorporating elements of infiltration or, at least, stealth. Regularly chased by the EMMIs, pugnacious robot-killers, Samus will have to play with her environment to come out of the hunt alive.
This new opus is however not devoid of faults, and it will be criticized in particular for the environment which lacks a little madness and variety. Also players who have accumulated more than 100 hours on Hollow Knight may feel a bit cramped in this adventure that is finally quickly completed.
Guacamelee! : the goofy metroidvania
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Guacamelee!
- Fun and colorful
- Original gameplay mechanics
- Challenge met
Undoubtedly the most colorful and wacky title of this selection, Guacamelee! and its sequel are above all excellent representatives of the genre.
By adding to the traditional recipe elements borrowed from beat 'em all, justified by the "catch" atmosphere of the whole, and without forgetting a particularly tasty writing, the titles of Drinkbox hit the bull's eye with metroidvania fans.
Fairly short in its initial release, the game has since received a "Super Turbo Championship" edition adding new levels, powers, and opponents to face. Guacamelee 2, if it does not reinvent the powder, embellishes the recipe with a 4-player cooperation mode that is worth the detour.
Blasphemous: the artistic slap that sends shivers down your spine
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See the priceBlasphemous
- A good student of metroidvania
- The free DLC Stir of Dawn which brings a lot of new features
- The striking Spanish Gothic atmosphere
With Hollow Knight, the game from the Spaniards of The Game Kitchen is regularly cited among the unmissable of the genre. And just look at a few images of Blasphemous to immediately understand why it serves as a reference.
With its polished artistic direction, although quite disturbing in that it takes up and twists the Christian religious aesthetic to the extreme, Blasphemous also delights players looking for a challenge.
Unholy descendant of a Castlevania more than a Metroid, Blasphemous does not have all the cards in hand to offer very pleasant platform phases. Fortunately few in number, these passages will annoy you. But the game is one of those to which we forgive everything on the altar of their beauty.
Axiom Verge & Axiom Verge 2: a vibrant tribute
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Axiom Verge
- An intriguing universe
- Nervous gameplay
- A colossal and inventive arsenal
If you're more into guns than melee combat, look no further. Axiom Verge and, more recently, Axiom Verge 2 have established themselves as must-haves in metroidvania.
Designed as vibrant tributes to the Metroid saga and Contra, Thomas Happ's games develop a fascinating universe in which it is easy to get lost. Driven by the thirst to learn more, the player accumulates hours of play without even realizing it.
Richer and more successful, Axiom Verge 2 also has everything to please players in need of a quality metroidvania. He will also be particularly welcoming to those who like the genre less for its difficulty than for the richness of the level design.
Ori and the Blind Forest & Ori and the Will of the Wisps : le régal pour les yeux
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Voir le prixOri and the Will of the Wisps
- Universe of almost unreal beauty
- Varied gameplay that is renewed regularly
- Exceptional, magical and subtle soundtrack
The diptych Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps will undoubtedly go down in history as the most flashy metroidvania of recent years.
Developed in Austria by Moon Studios, they marvelously combine the rigor specific to the genre with an enchanting artistic direction that will remind fans of the best in terms of animated films. With his touching words and aerial resolution gameplay, the two Ori savor each other in one go – which is their main flaw: they are quite short.
More accessible, the second part Ori and the Will of the Wisps must also wipe the plaster of an exit in a world where Hollow Knight already exists. Also certain “borrowings” could seem shameless to attentive observers. Moreover, the games of Moon Studios are no less solid representatives of the genre.
Dandara: a redesigned formula
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JVFR
Dandara
- Un gameplay original
- A refreshing visual identity
- A surprising exploration of Brazilian folklore
More niche than the other games offered in this selection, Dandara nevertheless caused a stir in interested circles.
The reason is simple: the Long Hat House game offers a fairly unique gameplay in the genre. The player is not free to move; the heroine Dandara is only allowed to move by teleporting across surfaces. Very platform-oriented, this title developed in Brazil incorporates many elements of the country's folklore, which makes it an exotic proposition in more ways than one.
Exhilarating, although bordering on epileptic, Dandara is however a rather short game, which has the good idea to also be released on Android and iOS mobiles. Its controls are also perfectly adapted to the constraints of these supports.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the stuff of legends
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Voir le prixBloodstained: Ritual of the Night
- The true-false sequel to Symphony of the Night
- Nervous and varied gameplay
- A splendid soundtrack
Expected for many years by its Kickstarter backers, Bloodstained has certainly marked the year 2019 for metroidvania fans. And for good reason: this is the new game from the producer of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the patient zero of the genre released in 97.
Quite buggy when it was released, Bloodstained nevertheless distinguished itself as an almost natural descendant of its illustrious model – minus the charm. Yes, it's a fact: Koji Igarashi's new game isn't very pretty. No offense, it does its job perfectly as a metroidvania.
Praised for the richness of its gameplay and its impeccable handling, Bloodstained is neither more nor less than a Symphony of the Night 2 which does not say its name. And that last sentence alone should convince you to take an interest in it.
Sundered : le metroidvania procédural
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sundered
- A memorable artistic direction
- Exhilarating fights
- Roguelike elements in my metroidvania
Before setting sail with the bewitching Spiritfarer, Thunder Lotus offered us Sundered: a warrior metroidvania that draws its originality from its partially procedurally generated levels.
Anyone who's ever played a game that features this kind of level design knows that sometimes there are a few bad apples that fall from the tree. But nothing that should take you away from such a magnificent game. Entirely drawn by hand, and whose artistic direction could appeal to Lovecraft fans, Sundered is also notable for its exhilarating fights and its game design which can also put it in the box of rogue-likes.
Recently augmented with a 4-player co-op feature, Sundered is one of the most recommendable metroidvania around.
Steamworld Dig & Steamworld Dig 2: to explore the depths of the world
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JVFR
Steamworld dig 2
- A mix of genres that works well
- Ingenious level design
- Tons of upgrades to unlock
The developers of the very recent The Gunk first distinguished themselves on the Steamworld Dig series.
Released respectively in 2013 and 2017, the Steamworld Dig also hybridize genres, and offer us a metroidvania largely oriented towards exploration.
We embody a robot miner in a steampunk world who, for reasons that we will let you discover, will dig galleries and discover the mysteries that hide under the earth's crust. Instead of traditional weapons, Image & Form bets more on countless upgrades and skills to unlock to fight your way through the enemies that stand in your way. The originality of the game is due to its fairly binary rhythm: you go down into the caves to acquire objects, and you go back to the city to resell them and thus afford the said essential improvements to access certain areas.
It's a shame: we can however blame the games for their lack of depth. But the player who does not have much time in front of him will appreciate their rather short lifespan and their most accessible difficulty.
Owlboy: to get laid
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Owlboy
- A masterful artistic direction
- Neither too short nor too long
- Mastered storytelling
Nine years. It took the artisans of D-Pad Studio nine years to complete Owlboy. But that's an understatement to say that the wait will have been worth it.
Graced with a pixel art of stunning beauty, Owlboy remains in our minds for its touching scenario and its simple game mechanics, but executed with mastery.
We embody Otus, a mute owl, in his initiatory journey to prove himself worthy of his rank among his peers. With this in mind, we will travel alongside him in a wide variety of very inspired aerial environments, and will face devious opponents with the help of companions acting as weapons and skills necessary for progression.
