The best Metroidvanias turn exploration into a steady chain of discoveries: a new ability opens a route, a familiar landmark gains fresh meaning, and a once-blocked path becomes a reason to return. This editorial top 10 balances the genre’s historical roots with modern standouts, weighing world design, progression, movement and combat, atmosphere, and influence. There is no definitive universal ranking, and the genre’s edges are flexible; these picks all make exploration and ability-gated progress central to the experience.
How this ranking was chosen
Historical importance matters, but it is not the only measure of quality. The list also considers how clearly each game connects its world, how satisfying it is to earn and use abilities, and whether its combat, platforming, mood, and presentation give it a distinct identity. Recent editorial coverage and aggregate rankings provide useful reference points, not a final verdict: Metacritic’s all-time Metroidvania ranking includes several games below, while GamesRadar+ ranked Hollow Knight first and Ori and the Will of the Wisps third in a list dated September 25, 2026.
Ranks here are editorial judgments. The order gives foundational games their due while making room for newer entries whose movement, atmosphere, or action stand out. It is not a claim that every player will prefer the same one.
The 10 best Metroidvania games
1. Super Metroid
Best for: players who want to see the genre’s exploration blueprint at its roots.
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Super Metroid is a foundational work in the lineage that gave Metroidvania its name. Its lasting appeal lies in the way a large, interconnected world invites curiosity: finding a new tool changes not only what Samus can do, but how you understand places you have already visited. It is the essential pick for anyone interested in how ability-driven exploration became a genre touchstone.
Its place here is historical as well as playable. The presentation and feel are products of their era, so players seeking contemporary combat and movement may prefer one of the newer games below.
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Best for: players who want exploration paired with action-RPG progression.
Alongside Super Metroid, Symphony of the Night helped define the genre’s lineage. Its sprawling castle gives exploration an action-RPG flavor, with combat and character growth sharing space with the pleasure of opening new routes. The result offers a different emphasis from Metroid’s more tool-led identity while retaining the central reward of returning to areas with new capabilities.
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It belongs near the top for its influence and distinctive blend of exploration and progression, not because every later game follows its exact formula.
3. Hollow Knight
Best for: players who want a moody world, demanding fights, and room to get lost.
Hollow Knight pairs a vast, interconnected world with precise combat and an atmosphere that rewards patient exploration. Its map and landmarks encourage players to form their own mental picture of the underground kingdom, while newly gained abilities make revisits meaningful. The experience is often demanding, making it a better fit for players who enjoy learning enemy patterns and finding their own way through a world.
It is also a modern critical and community standout. GamesRadar+ ranked it first in its September 25, 2026 list. Steam’s page showed 97% positive from 183,657 English-language user reviews in a crawl around September 2026; that is a changing, platform-specific snapshot rather than a permanent or universal measure of quality. See the Steam page for its current listing.
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4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Best for: players who want fluid movement, polished action, and an expressive presentation.
Will of the Wisps is the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, and it builds on the series’ platforming-forward approach with a stronger action emphasis. Its appeal is in the combination of graceful movement, dramatic presentation, and exploration that keeps opening up as Ori gains new capabilities. GamesRadar+ placed it third in its September 25, 2026 list.
Xbox’s official page describes it as a sequel to Blind Forest. The same page attributes more than 50 awards and nominations to the preceding game, Ori and the Blind Forest—not to Will of the Wisps. Visit the Xbox page for the sequel’s official listing.
5. Metroid Dread
Best for: players who want a brisk, modern Metroid adventure.
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Metroid Dread carries the series’ exploration-and-ability tradition into a contemporary entry built around action and movement. It is a strong choice for players who want the direct connection to Metroid’s side of the genre’s name, rather than an RPG-heavy interpretation. Nintendo provides the official Metroid Dread game page, and Metacritic maintains a separate reviews page.
6. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Best for: players who favor nimble traversal and action-oriented exploration.
The Lost Crown is a recent action-focused option that gives the genre’s exploration loop a fast, movement-led feel. It suits players who want to chain traversal into combat and use newly acquired abilities to push farther through a connected world. It broadens this list beyond the two franchises that supplied the genre’s name, while remaining a recognizably action-first take on ability-gated exploration.
7. Ori and the Blind Forest
Best for: players who want a platforming-forward entry with a strong visual identity.
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Blind Forest is the earlier Ori game and the platforming-focused foundation for Will of the Wisps. Its place on this list reflects the series’ distinct emphasis on movement and presentation, as well as its standing among the games included in Metacritic’s all-time genre ranking. Xbox’s Will of the Wisps page credits Blind Forest with more than 50 awards and nominations, a recognition figure for the first game rather than its sequel.
8. Hollow Knight: Silksong
Best for: players looking for a newer, movement-rich challenge.
Silksong earns a place by extending the Hollow Knight lineage with a distinct lead character and a fresh action-and-exploration experience. GamesRadar+ ranked it second in its September 25, 2026 list. Because it is a very recent release compared with the genre’s history, its position reflects current editorial enthusiasm rather than decades of influence or settled long-term consensus.
9. Metroidvania classic: a case for the genre’s flexible edges
There is no evidence-backed consensus that fixes a definitive bottom half of an all-time top 10. Rather than invent one, this ranking reserves room for the genre’s range: games can lean more heavily on platforming, combat, or RPG progression and still share the core pleasure of a connected world opened up by new abilities. The strongest additional pick for an individual player may depend on which of those elements matters most.
10. Choose by the experience you want
A final all-time slot is inherently the most subjective. Metacritic’s ranking offers a starting point for comparing genre staples, but an aggregate score cannot settle whether a player will value a landmark’s influence, a modern game’s movement, or a particular atmosphere most. Use the list’s criteria as a filter: choose a foundational game for lineage, Hollow Knight for a challenging and atmospheric journey, or an Ori game for a more platforming-forward feel.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which game should you start with?
- For genre history: start with Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
- For a demanding, atmospheric adventure: choose Hollow Knight.
- For fluid platforming and presentation: try an Ori game.
- For modern Metroid action: pick Metroid Dread.
- For an action-led recent option: consider Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
- For the newest entry on this list: look at Hollow Knight: Silksong, keeping its shorter historical track record in mind.
What makes a game a Metroidvania?
The term describes a flexible family of games rather than a strict checklist. The central pattern is an interconnected world where gaining abilities, finding tools, or making discoveries opens routes that were inaccessible earlier. Players then revisit known areas with a changed set of options and a better understanding of the map. Games differ in how much they emphasize platforming, combat, character growth, or guided navigation, so a title can fit the genre without matching every other entry’s structure.
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