Summary
Hollow Knight Silksonghas been one of the most hotly anticipated Metroidvanias since it was announced in 2019. The game has never received a release date, but fans are still hopeful that it will be here soon. Perhaps 2024 will give players the Metroidvania fix that they need.
For now, there are other Metroidvanias to check out. Specifically, there are Metroidvanias led by female characters just like Hornet is the femme fatale inHollow Knight Silksong. The genre is filled with women protagonists. This shouldn’t be that surprising since Metroidvanias blossomed with a badass female via Samus Aran fromMetroid. Who else will make the list?
Alice Escapedis a Metroidvania that stars not one, but two female heroines via Usada and Kotora. Usada wields a big cartoonish hammer while Kotora has an equally large gun. Players can swap between them on the fly and they both have unique skills for traversal.
Usada’s hammer can smash through barriers, for example. There is quite an in-depth skill tree with more traversal abilities, powerful stat boosts, and more. There is no traditional leveling up system and rewards are instead gained through collect-a-thons. It’s a cutesy Metroidvania but one that is still tough as nails.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Nightis aspiritual successor toCastlevania, headed by Koji Igarashi who left Konami after working onCastlevaniafor decades. The story follows Miriam, a demon hunter who can copy powers from monsters.
It’s a classic RPG Metroidvania formula in 2D with an interesting cel-shaded art style blended with stained glass aesthetics. Fight monsters, level up, occasionally get new powers and loot, and the list goes on. It’s a worthy successor toCastlevaniaand fans have been waiting for a proper sequel since it launched.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Nightis most directly based onCastlevania: Order of Ecclesia. The main character of that game, Shanoa, shares a lot with Miriam including absorbing monsters to gain their powers and they even have similar looks. Of the many Metroidvanias intheCastlevaniaseries, this is often regarded as the hardest.
Grinding for gear and EXP can make any RPG easier but it still takes a lot of hard work and dedication to master. Shanoa is one of the few lead females in the series, so she deserves to be celebrated as her powers equal that of the great Alucard.
Rusted Mossis a Metroidvania that stars Fern and her globule companion, Puck. She’s exploring some city ruins that were overtaken by plants, robots, and a string of witches who use void-based magic. It’s a compelling world they set up and the pixel art is striking too. The combat focuses on guns, which players will unlock upgrades and new ones along the way through chests or by buying things at shops.
The big gimmick though revolves around the grappling device which is a bit finicky and hard to master. Thankfully, there are multiple options in the menu to make players feel as comfortable as they wish with their controller setup. Also, there are a plethora of assist options from invincibility to flying around which is always great to see even beyond difficulty levels.
This game is part of the Touhou series which is a bit hard to explain. It’s more of a movement than a series, but players interested inTouhou Luna Nightsdon’t need a backstory. The premise of this game follows Sakuya, who looks like atypical anime maid, who is out for blood and answers.
Her weapon of choice is an abundance of kitchen knives and the game’s biggest gimmick revolves around time. Players can freeze time to damage enemies or traverse through previously impassible objects like puddles that can be walked across. Players will level up with defeated enemies and further power-ups are gained by snooping around levels and through NPCs.
Super Metroid, of course, belongs on this along with many otherMetroidgames.Samus Aran pavedthe way for female protagonists in games and this particular adventure helped build the Metroidvania genre. It has everything. It starts with an explosive escape followed by a haunting exploration of an alien planet where Samus has no allies.
There are enemies everywhere and bosses are colossal and may take a few tries to take down. Players will find weapon and health upgrades for Samus, along with new powers that will assist with traversal like a freeze beam. It’s an all-time classic that doesn’t need much introduction.
Shantae’s games have all been pretty solid ever since shemade her debut on the Game Boy Color.Shantae and the Pirate’s Curseis the third game and it’s the one that feels like the developer, WayForward, finally figured everything out. There are multiple islands to explore as Shantae has to hastily try and stop a pirate ghost from coming back from the dead.
Players can learn various dances, like one turning her into a monkey, which will unlock new areas of the game. Shantae can be powered up at shops like shampoo to make her weaponized hair hit harder. It’s silly, full of fan service, and it is bound to make players start shaking their hips.
Tevistars the titular Tevi, who is eventually joined on her adventures by Celia, an angel, and Sable, a demon. They hang out on her shoulder as floating orbs that fire different projectiles. Those are secondary weapons, butTevi’s main actionsrevolve around melee attacks.
New skills can be learned through fighting, but mostlyTeviwill get upgrades via shops and hard-earned money. What this game does above others on the list is be cute and funny. It’s a silly little Metroidvania akin toAlice Escaped, but it’s a lot more solid of an experience overall.
Timespinner stars a young traveler, Lunais, who gets thrown into another world after an evil empire invades her camp. It is another RPG-infused Metroidvania with time manipulation. Lunais will gain the power to freeze time which is depicted through an hourglass.
Freeze enemies, use them as platforms, and repeat. Use orbs as melee weapons, blast spells, and level up traditionally. It’s definitely one of those games that has gone under-appreciated ever since it launched but true Metroidvania fans know what’s up.
Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblueis based on an anime but players don’t need to watch it to get what’s going on. This is just another adventure for the heroine, Yohane, and her wolf companion Lailaps. Players will begin in undersea ruins which will dive deeper into other biomes like a desert and a jungle.
Defeating enemies will reward players with materials that can then be used to build equipment and weapons freely in the menu, which is nice. Also comforting is the fact that death will not erase progress as players can get back into the action quickly. It’s an easy-to-pick-up Metroidvania and the branching paths will allow players to explore sections at their leisure with few caveats.
