Team Cherry’s beloved Metroidvania was a huge critical and commercial success thanks to its incredible world-building, captivating art-style, compelling exploration, and fluid action-platforming. Conceived during a Ludum Dare game jam, the charming 2D adventure takes its inspiration from plenty of classics from yesteryear. But what if you’re in the mood to check out other games similar to Hollow Knight? That’s where we come in. Let’s get straight into it!
Blasphemous
While Hollow Knight’s aesthetic finds a sweet spot between cute and somber, by contrast, The Game Kitchen’s 2D side-scroller leans heavily into the dark and the macabre. Combining striking religious imagery with nightmarish, otherworldly monstrosities that wouldn’t look out of place in a Souls-like, this dark adventure whisks players through a world overflowing with blood, death, and hulking bosses that want to eat your face off.
Tonally and thematically, I actually think there are some parallels to Hollow Knight’s bleak and oppressive mood, though Blasphemous is undoubtedly way darker. It’s also quite similar from a difficulty perspective; it’s challenging yet manageable. Plus, the bosses are some of the most memorable moments in the game, much akin to Team Cherry’s action-platformer.
Shovel Knight
Don’t be fooled by its charming 8-bit presentation. Indeed, while Shovel Knight has a nice pick-up-and-play quality going for it, it can still kick you directly in the crown jewels if you’re not careful. After all, this 2D retro throwback pilfers much of its inspiration from golden oldies like the Mega Man series, Duck Tales and Castlevania, so a harsh difficulty comes with territory. Thankfully, it’s not quite as unforgiving as its vintage influences.
The runaway success of the 2014 original has led to a number of acclaimed offshoot projects. From plenty of free DLC expansions building off the first game to 2021’s Pocket Dungeon to 2022’s Dig, the series has expanded exponentially by virtue of its critical and commercial triumphs. We’d vouch for the OG, personally, though it’s wonderful seeing a love letter to the golden age of video games receiving so much love. And rightly so!
Metroid: Samus Returns
Since Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania game, it isn’t all too surprising that it plays fairly similar to Metroid: Samus Returns. The bounty hunter had been shelved up until the recently released Metroid Dread in 2021, another good contender for this list, if you ask us. This time around, fans are trading in bugs for aliens as Samus works her way through different levels on an extraterrestrial planet.
Players will be jumping atop platforms and battling enemies with Samus’ wide range of skills. On top of that, she can even collect certain power-ups on her journey that will help her reach new locations. Despite its rather linear narrative, you can always revisit any previous locations and find different paths that lead to new items or collectibles. Metroid: Samus Returns is a classic callback to traditional Metroidvania games with a modern twist, making it perfect for Hollow Knight players.
Axiom Verge
Before Samus Returns debuted on the 3DS, developer Thomas Happ created a spiritual successor to the series with Axiom Verge. This side-scrolling adventure game has you exploring a futuristic, high-tech world filled with all sorts of dangerous machinations. Like with Hollow Knight, there are tons of areas to explore and over 60 items and power-ups to unlock in the game.
While these options allow for some pretty cool playstyles, what makes Axiom Verge truly shine is the ability to “break” the game using glitches to affect your enemies and environment. What may seem like a problem in the game actually leads to some hidden secrets, which makes for a unique gameplay experience.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Before Hollow Knight kicked off, we had a beautifully stunning game known as Ori and the Blind Forest. This platforming adventure game breathes life with its dynamic visuals and vibrant colors, looking almost like something from a children’s pop up book. Interestingly enough, Ori and the Blind Forest was actually inspired by tales such as The Iron Giant and The Lion King, while also taking some cues from games such as Metroid and Rayman.
Here, players control a charming guardian spirit named Sein who hops and zips its way around the game’s vast world. Ori and the Blind Forest is filled with different puzzles to solve, often requiring players to find skills to overcome these trials and even discover new areas. However, despite the game’s adorable appearance, it boasts quite the challenge and pushes players into making snappy decisions with its tricky platforming levels. Hollow Knight fans who love a good challenge should definitely turn to Ori and the Blind Forest for another delightful adventure. Oh, and not to mention that the game is getting a sequel quite soon, too.
Steamworld Dig 2
Following the success of the first game, Image & Form decided to work on a sequel that follows Dorothy after Rusty’s mysterious disappearance. Her search has led her to a mining town where she must dig her way below to find her partner and save the town from a mysterious force. Unlike most Metroidvania games, Steamworld Dig 2 is all about making your own path by using your pickaxe to dig your way deeper into the ground.
More importantly, however, players need to keep track of several resources when they are off mining below, such as water and light. Apart from the main mine, players can enter new locations that lead to different platforming puzzles. Completing these challenges yield different rewards, including power-ups or currency used to expand your meters and resources. That said, Hollow Knight fans who want a slightly different take on the Metroidvania games might want to look into Steamworld Dig 2.
Salt and Sanctuary
Another 2D side-scrolling adventure, Salt and Sanctuary is a challenging Metroidvania adventure that’s heavily based on the Souls series. While most Metroidvania games place plenty of emphasis on exploration, this game boasts an impressive combat system with tight controls and over 600 weapons to choose from. From swords to staffs, players can pick their own playstyle and earn points to increase their stats as they continue to slay enemies.
Needless to say, Salt and Sanctuary oozes with difficulty and can be extremely punishing at times. Hollow Knight fans are probably no stranger to challenges, and this game comes with just enough adversity to keep you on your toes. If you are a big Metroidvania fan who loves role-playing games, then Salt and Sanctuary should definitely be on your list to play.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
If Metroid made it on this list, then Castlevania is definitely no exception. Symphony of the Night is considered as one of the classics in the gaming industry, following Alucard on his journey through Dracula’s castle on his hunt to defeat Richter Belmont. Despite being a 2D side-scrolling game, Castlevania has a non-linear story and is fully explorable, granted you have the skills to reach the new locations in the game.
On that particular subject, players can unlock new abilities, such as transmogrify and double jumping, as they progress through the castle. Similarly, Alucard also has his own collection of weapons to choose from, ranging from nunchakus and swords or even expendable items, such as bombs or javelins. Between the challenging puzzles and vast exploration, you can definitely see the parallels between both Symphony of the Night and Hollow Knight. That said, with Samus’ recent rise back to the gaming industry, Konami has also decided to revive the Castlevania series as a mobile game.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells is platforming “roguevania” inspired by Castlevania, although takes plenty of cues from the Soul series, too. That being said, this side-scroller offers all the goodness of exploration and finding new items and power-ups while also mixing in some challenging Souls-like combat. Players will have to observe their enemies carefully and strike carefully unless they want to be punished for poor combat choices in the game.
Levels are randomly generated in Dead Cells, adding to the growing difficulty of learning your way around the map. Most power-ups usually stem from cells that enemies drop after combat, which can be used at the end of every stage to buy things such as more health or better items. Needless to say, dying in the game will lead to losing these cells and starting from scratch. Dead Cells offers the perfect challenge for those Hollow Knight fans who are looking for more ways to test their mettle.
Guacamelee!
Guacamelee was the talk of the town back when it released in 2014. Another Metroidvania game, Guacamelee centers on a luchador named Juan on his journey through an open, non-linear world. Along the way, players will stumble across statues that yield certain abilities that give Juan new ways to explore the map.
The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, evident by its flashy art style and stylish combos, but there’s plenty to take out of Juan’s quirky adventure. Moreover, Guacamelee is filled with different pop culture references which are definitely a treat for those who absolutely love playing video games. Overall, Guacamelee is a nice, refreshing change of pace from Hollow Knight’s calm and monochrome overtones. Plus, its sequel is pretty badass as well.
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