I have a confession right off the bat. Up until very recently, I wasn’t much of a Metroidvania fan. I’ve always seen them as obtuse games that aren’t confident enough in their mechanics to try and stand out as out-and-out 2D platformers. This is a stance that I now know was a little unfair, and this change of heart is all thanks toHollow Knight, the game that made me fall in love with Metroidvanias.
Hollow Knight: All Bosses Ranked By Difficulty
Hallownest’s heavy hitters ranked worst to best
After my foray in Hallownest, I dove headfirst into pretty much every other modern Metroidvania, giving some a second chance, and trying others for the first time. And this is all a very long-winded way to tell you, that I feel qualified to say which Metroidvanias are most like Hollow Knight and suggest some for your next gaming session if you want to fill the void Hollow Knight has left in your gaming life.
1ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights
Don’t You Just Hate getting Caught In The Rain?
Release Date
22 July 2025
Metacritic Score
We kick things off withEnder Lilies. I’m pleased to inform you that Ender Lilies was a wonderful follow-up game to Hollow Knight, and a Metroidvania that provides some excellent stories, killer bosses, and rewarding, spirit-based combat.
The combat is primarily your typical hack and slasher, but thanks to the inclusion of magical spirits acquired by freeing them from their torment, you’ll be able to use these powers to great effect and hopefully free your kingdom from this perpetual undead torment you have awoken to find. The platforming may not be quite as refined as Hollow Knight, but the world-building, combat, and narrative all culminate to make this a Metroidvania well worth playing.
Kirby, Meets Ben 10, Meets Hollow Knight
09 June 2025
We move on to a release that is best described as a love child of Kirby, Ben 10, and Hollow Knight, if you can imagine that. But even if you can’t, you don’t have to, because BIOMORPH is something you can pick up and play right now. This game feels very similar to Hollow Knight in terms of the platforming, combat, and so much more. You can even collect little sentient creatures called Scargatos, meaning if Grubs were your sole motivation to explore Hallownest, BIOMORPH has you covered.
The game has an eye-catching art style quite reminiscent of late 2000s cartoons. It has a fun narrative with cheesy but enjoyable writing. Plus, thanks to the unique morphing ability, you may turn into any enemy you encounter within the game, which allows you to solve clever puzzles, and adapt to your surroundings in battle. It’s a hidden gem of 2024 so far, and well worth diving into if you get the chance.
3Ori and The Will of the Wisps
Indie Royalty In Its Own Right
05 June 2025
It will come as no surprise that fellow indie Metroidvania heroOri and the Will of the Wispsmakes it onto this list, as the game plays like Hollow Knight in many ways. It’s a graphical masterclass, like Hollow Knight. It’s an environmentally told and touching narrative, like Hollow Knight, and it has all the staples of exploration, 2D platforming and combat that make a Metroidvania great, like Hollow Knight.
The main way that it differs is that Ori is a much more accessible series that is willing to guide the player more. Plus, the game is much more platforming-focused rather than Hollow Knights’s grueling boss battles that require mechanical mastery. So, if you fancy all the good bits of Hollow Knight, minus the punishing moments, Ori is the game you’re looking for.
4Salt and Sanctuary
As Close to 2D Dark Souls As You’ll Ever Get
05 July 2025
Just in case you got all the way through Hollow Knight without noticing, it’s basically a 2D Souls game. Albeit a very cute one. Think about it, you have a shade that holds all your lost Geo, bosses are insanely tough, and Hallownest is a vast, interconnected world. Well, with that revelation, I introduce you to a game that doesn’t do much to hide the fact that it’s trying to be a 2D Souls game.
Salt and Sanctuaryis a Metroidvania title that has you explore a dark and gritty world, battling against the will of the Nameless God. Which will have you choose and build your class and stats, battle insanely tough bosses, and uncover the secrets of this strange island you find yourself on. It takes Hollow Knight’s cute 2D souls approach and promptly discards the ‘cute’ label. So, if you’re looking for a Souls game with a difference, this is a must-play.
5Blasphemous 2
No Gods, No Masters
03 August 2025
We all know the first rule when coming up with something that will appeal to the masses. ‘No politics, no religion.’ Well, there are expectations to the rule now and again, and Blaspehmous, the gothic Metroidvania centered around catholicism and the Spanish Inquisition, is one of them. This game has an intriguing, holy art style that you won’t find anywhere else in the gaming sphere. Not to mention, it has a cryptic yet compelling storyline that will keep you motivated to delve deeper into this troubled world.
Hollow Knight Best Charms Ranked
You’ll live a pretty charmed existence with these in your arsenal.
Blasphemous 2, which is the game I would recommend of the two, fixes a lot of the niggling issues present in the first game, and also provides sharper combat and platforming, and a world design and boss order dictated by your starting weapon, which I personally find really neat. I will stick the boot in a little and say that the Grace System is not all that well implemented, but overall, a truly unique Metroidvania that deserves your undivided attention.
Old School Never Looked So Cool
14 July 2025
As I mentioned, I didn’t like Metroidvanias before Hollow Knight, but what drew me to it was the incredible art-style and sound design. I found it incredible that a game could stick so religiously to a hand-drawn and specific art-style, but still provide airtight and refined combat. Well, that’s exactly whyCupheadis a wonderful candidate for this list. Sure, it’s not a Metroidvania, but it is a 2D combat platformer that refuses to compromise on style.
This game offers 1920s Vaudeville-inspired cartoon visuals and a soundtrack to match, but then complements this artistic masterclass with incredible gameplay and boss battles that would give The Radiance a run for their money. Essentially, if you loved Hollow Knight in spite of the Metroidvania format, and just want more platforming and bosses, then Cuphead is everything you could ever want.
7Shovel Knight
The ‘Other’ Indie Knight We Adore
23 August 2025
Shovel Knightdoesn’t just make it on this list because it has the word ‘knight’ in the title. It’s a game that shares a lot of core values with Hollow Knight. Providing a side-scrolling 2D platformer with its own trials and tribulations in the form of epic boss fights. Shovel Knight is somewhat different in the sense that it has a much more ‘retro arcade’ sort of feel to the action, as it is inspired primarily by old NES games. But, naturally, it has the polish of a modern indie gem.
Again, much like Ori, this game is a more forgiving experience than Hollow Knight, where progression feels like a Goldilocks situation where it’s not too hard but still a challenge. It’s a little like a Megaman game cosplaying as a 2D Dark Souls game, and honestly, if you’re able to’t get behind that, then I don’t know what else I can do to sell you on Shovel Knight.
8Rain World
Critically Panned, Gamer Approved
08 August 2025
Ignore the critics; they were wrong about this one. The best way to describeRain World, when compared to Hollow Knight, is a game that’s inherently different in every way, but if you lay out all these individual differences, you realize that these games end up achieving the same goal.
Rain World is a much more platforming and stealth-based game, whereas Hollow Knight is a more head-on combat-focused romp. Rain World is more reliant on procedural generation, AI, and clever systems to promote emergent gameplay. Whereas Hollow Knight is a much more intentional and definitive experience.
Yet, despite this, you still have two standout Metroidvania games with cute protagonists, a subtle, environmentally-led story, unique visuals, killer soundtracks, and gameplay that will test the player to their limits throughout.
These games aren’t like-for-like by any stretch, but even still, the crossover between Hollow Knight and Rain World fans is clear to see. So, if you liked Hollow Knight, give this a try. And as for my fellow game critics, maybe don’t critically pan a game because you aren’t very good at it, eh?
9Animal Well
The Indie Gem of the Moment
19 July 2025
Hollow Knight is revered among indies for its brave design choices that let the player make their own discoveries and experiences. Which, in turn, leads to loads of natural discoveries, a-ha moments, and a more involved gameplay experience. Many have tried and failed to replicate this feel, but recently, a game managed to surprise the masses and provide a Metoridvania world that re-invents so many platforming tropes while feeling completely comfortable and familiar.
Animal Well, the first game underDunkey’s Publishing company, blew gamers away with its stellar graphics and platforming mechanics, which feel like a follow-on from games like Karma Zoo, only this time, you have a strange world to explore, and no guidance from the game whatsoever. Through natural discovery, you will solve puzzles and experiment with abilities to progress, and while it’s over all too soon, it’s still a game that feels destined for Indie Game of the Year when that discussion rolls around.
10Elden Ring
More Like Hollow Knight Than You Might Think
12 June 2025
Then, lastly, we have what will feel like a wildcard entry, but when you take a step back and think about it, it makes perfect sense. As mentioned already, Hollow Knight is effectively a Souls Game, but crucially, it also offers an open world where you can explore elsewhere if stuck on a tough boss, improve your items and abilities, and then come back to give them what’s coming to them.
The more linear Souls games maybe don’t fit the bill here, because you kind of just need to keep knocking at the door until it opens in regard to boss fights.
But with reference toElden Ring,you have a Souls game that is more accessible due to the open-world format. It allows you to forge your own path, lose yourself in the scenery, grind to get better at the varied combat mechanics, and, of course, it still has the all-important Souls staples. The jump from 2D platformer to 3D open-world can be a jarring one for sure, but if you can get over that, you’ll soon see that Hollow Knight and Elden Ring aren’t all that different after all.
