If you've just wrapped up Hollow Knight: Silksong and you're itching for more of that same thrill, good news awaits. The platforming/Metroidvania genre overflows with titles boasting immersive worlds, intense fights, and deep discovery. Here are six standout picks that nail what made Silksong stand out, perfect for fans hunting games similar to Hollow Knight.
Hollow Knight
It might feel like a no-brainer, but if you dove right into Silksong without the first one, circle back to Hollow Knight now. This gem unfolds in the decayed underground domain of Hallownest, putting you in the shoes of the quiet, puzzling Knight as you roam a massive linked map brimming with concealed goodies and swarms of feisty bugs to take down.
Exploration drives everything, just like in Silksong: you snag fresh skills such as wall clinging and quick bursts that unlock spots you couldn't reach before. Its shadowy but refined art, all sketched by hand, combined with a chilling score, crafts a heavy mood that ramps up the further in you push. Renowned for its grueling battles and demanding jumps, it's long been a frontrunner among the best modern Metroidvanias.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, a 2021 dark fantasy Metroidvania from Live Wire and Adglobe, tracks Lily, a novice priestess stirring in a doomed realm ravaged by the lethal “Blight” that warped its inhabitants into horrors. Lily stays out of the fray herself, instead channeling the souls of slain fighters to shield her. Toppling bosses hands over new spirit partners with distinct tricks that shift your pathfinding or enemy takedowns. Sure, the fights don't quite match Silksong's edge, but the eerie backdrop rings familiar—another solid entry in games like Hollow Knight.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells, Motion Twin's 2018 high-speed roguelike Metroidvania, casts you as an odd, decapitated captive revived on an island that reshuffles every time. It fuses open-ended scouting with random layouts, ensuring each attempt feels fresh. Combat takes center stage, packed with diverse arms, powers, and hazards to hone.
Kicking the bucket loops you to square one, though you hang onto select lasting buffs to strengthen upcoming attempts. The handling's buttery and gymnastic, featuring rapid sprints, grips, and weaves that maintain the rush across every zone. Departing from Silksong's measured, somber flow, Dead Cells banks on velocity, its lively pixel visuals and pumping tracks cranking the heat in roguelike Metroidvania recommendations.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios' 2020 stunner, is a captivating Metroidvania platformer extending the tender saga of Ori, the wee spirit protector. Across a broad, brush-stroked expanse of verdant groves, weathered relics, and treacherous bogs, it brings a warmer glow than the rest on this list. The plot pulls hard on emotions, touching on loyalty, giving up, and renewal, all lifted by a stirring soundtrack. Ori builds up tools like surges, swings, and soul blasts that smooth out navigation and speed through clashes. Without Hallownest's gloom, its mechanics still mesh seamlessly after Hollow Knight, shining in emotional Metroidvania adventures.
Blasphemous 2
Blasphemous 2, The Game Kitchen's 2023 release, delivers a fierce, alluring Metroidvania soaked in bleak, sacred undertones. You reprise the Penitent One, the voiceless crusader trapped in endless atonement amid a domain mangled by celestial fury. The follow-up polishes battles, broadens scouting, and offers three separate armaments, each boasting custom strikes and talents.
True to Metroidvania roots, moving forward hinges on snatching abilities to breach sealed sections. It's teeming with twisted foes, merciless chiefs, and obscure tales spinning yarns of grief, devotion, and ruin. Against Hollow Knight: Silksong, it doubles down on raw skirmishes and layers in heavier ecclesiastical motifs, a prime pick among dark fantasy Metroidvania games.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft's 2024 reboot, reinvents the storied line as a brisk Metroidvania action-platformer. Stepping into Sargon, a novice from the elite Immortals crew, you trek to fabled Mount Qaf to snatch back the seized Prince Ghassan. The jumps hinge on swift wall glides, aerial leaps, laced with temporal twists. Wandering's unstructured, stuffed with riddles, caches, and tucked-away powers ripe for uncovering—a fresh spin in the modern Prince of Persia Metroidvania space.