Games Like Hollow Knight: The Best Metroidvanias to Play Next

Grab a seat. You finished Hollow Knight, you sat in the silence after that ending, and now every other game feels a little smaller. That is the Hollow Knight effect, and it is real, because Team Cherry built something close to the perfect metroidvania: a vast interconnected world, precise combat, haunting atmosphere, and the deep satisfaction of slowly growing strong enough to reach places that once seemed impossible. Tonight we are finding the games that come closest to that feeling. Let me pour the shelf.

A quick word on what makes a great Hollow Knight follow-up, because the genre is deep. The metroidvania is defined by an interconnected world that opens up as you gain new abilities, rewarding exploration, backtracking, and the steady drip of growing power. Hollow Knight added tight combat, atmospheric environmental storytelling, and a secret-rich world that rewards curiosity. The games below capture those threads through different lenses, some leaning into atmosphere, others into combat, others into exploration. For the broader genre, Choost covers metroidvanias as a core category, and these are the standouts.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, the obvious answer

Hollow Knight: Silksong is, of course, the first answer, and after years of waiting it finally released in September 2025. Developed by Team Cherry, it stars Hornet on a journey through the new kingdom of Pharloom, with a more agile, momentum-heavy moveset than the original, a layered quest system, around forty bosses, and a huge enemy roster. Its difficulty is divisive, more demanding than the original, but it is unmistakably the direct continuation of everything that made Hollow Knight special.

It belongs at the top for obvious reasons: it is the actual sequel, from the actual developers, and it is finally here. For a Hollow Knight fan, Silksong is the essential next play, delivering more of that world, that craft, and that precise, exploratory magic. Whether its tougher challenge delights or frustrates you, it is the closest thing to more Hollow Knight that exists, because it is exactly that.

Blasphemous, the dark atmospheric pick

Blasphemous is the obvious recommendation for players who loved Hollow Knight's somber tone and punishing challenge. Developed by The Game Kitchen, it combines relentless hack-and-slash combat with striking religious iconography and a beautiful, haunting pixel-art world inspired by real-life faith. The atmosphere is thick, the difficulty is genuine, and the sense of a grim, secret-laden world rewards the same exploration instinct Hollow Knight cultivated.

It earns its place as the dark atmospheric pick. For a Hollow Knight fan who loved the melancholy mood and the sense of a world steeped in mystery and dread, Blasphemous and its excellent sequel deliver that in abundance. It is one of the strongest atmospheric metroidvanias available, and a natural next step into the genre's darker corners.

Dead Cells, the combat-forward roguelite-vania

Dead Cells is the pick for Hollow Knight fans who loved the combat most of all. It is a fast-paced roguelite-metroidvania hybrid with fluid, precise combat and countless weapon combinations, where the world opens up across runs as you unlock permanent abilities. The combat feel is among the best in the genre, and the Metroidvania-style progression scratches the exploration itch, though it leans more on action than on Hollow Knight's careful pacing.

It belongs here as the combat-forward pick. For a Hollow Knight fan who prioritized the kinetic pleasure of fighting, Dead Cells delivers some of the finest combat in any metroidvania, wrapped in a roguelite structure that keeps every run fresh. We mapped its depth in our Dead Cells weapon tier list. It is a genre staple for good reason.

Ori and the Blind Forest, the gorgeous emotional pick

Ori and the Blind Forest, and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps, are the recommendation for Hollow Knight fans who want beauty and emotion alongside their exploration. These are stunning, painterly metroidvanias with fluid platforming, a moving story, and some of the most gorgeous art and music in the genre. The exploration and ability-gating are classic metroidvania, delivered with a warmth that contrasts Hollow Knight's melancholy.

It earns its place as the gorgeous emotional pick. For a Hollow Knight fan who loved the atmosphere but wants something more luminous and heartfelt, the Ori games are breathtaking. They prove the genre can be as moving as it is challenging, and they are essential metroidvanias for anyone exploring the space after Hollow Knight.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the modern polished pick

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown surprised many players by becoming one of the best modern metroidvanias, with fluid combat, clever traversal, and a genuinely excellent map and ability system. Despite the big-publisher pedigree, it nails the genre's fundamentals: a interconnected world that opens with new powers, satisfying combat, and rewarding exploration. It is a polished, accessible, and deeply satisfying entry.

It belongs here as the modern polished pick. For a Hollow Knight fan who wants a contemporary metroidvania with high production values and excellent quality-of-life design, The Lost Crown is a standout. It demonstrates that the genre is thriving, and it offers a smooth, satisfying exploration experience that respects your time while delivering real depth.

Ender Lilies and Ender Magnolia, the haunting duo

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights and its sequel Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist are the pick for Hollow Knight fans drawn to gloomy atmosphere and unique ability systems. Their signature mechanic lets you recruit the souls of defeated enemies to fight for you, assigning each to a button, which gives combat a distinctive, customizable flavor. The mournful tone and beautiful art echo Hollow Knight's melancholy.

It earns its place as the haunting duo. For a Hollow Knight fan who loved the somber atmosphere and wants a fresh combat system, the Ender games deliver gorgeous, melancholy metroidvanias with a genuinely novel soul-recruiting mechanic. They are among the best atmospheric entries the genre has produced in recent years, and a natural fit for the post-Hollow Knight player.

Animal Well, the secret-soaked mystery

Animal Well is the pick for Hollow Knight fans who loved the secret-rich world and the joy of discovery above all. It is a small, dense, beautifully crafted metroidvania built almost entirely around exploration and puzzle-solving, with a world packed full of hidden mechanics and secrets that reward curiosity in the way Hollow Knight's most hidden corners did. There is little combat, but the sense of a mysterious world slowly revealing itself is unmatched.

It belongs here as the secret-soaked mystery. For a Hollow Knight fan whose favorite moments were uncovering hidden paths and unexplained systems, Animal Well delivers that discovery thrill in concentrated form. It is one of the most acclaimed recent metroidvanias, and a perfect fit for the explorer who loved getting lost in Hallownest's secrets.

Nine Sols, the precise combat showcase

Nine Sols is the recommendation for Hollow Knight fans who loved the demanding, precise combat and want a fresh challenge. It is a beautifully animated, hand-drawn metroidvania with a deflection-based combat system that rewards mastery, set in a striking Taoism-inspired science-fantasy world. The combat is tough and skill-expressive, the art is gorgeous, and the world design honors the genre's exploratory roots.

It earns its place as the precise combat showcase. For a Hollow Knight fan who relished the genre's harder fights and wants stunning art alongside demanding, skill-based combat, Nine Sols is a standout. It is one of the most praised metroidvanias of recent years, and a strong pick for players who want both beauty and a genuine combat challenge after Hollow Knight.

How to pick your next metroidvania

The trick to choosing is identifying what you loved most about Hollow Knight. If it was the atmosphere and melancholy, Blasphemous and the Ender games are your shelf. If it was the combat, Dead Cells delivers the genre's most kinetic fighting. If it was beauty and emotion, the Ori games are unmatched. If it was the polished, satisfying exploration loop, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the modern benchmark. And if you simply want more Hollow Knight, Silksong is, at last, actually here.

The deeper truth is that Hollow Knight set a standard so high it can make the whole genre feel like it is chasing one game, but the metroidvania is genuinely rich, and the years since Hollow Knight's release have been a golden age for it. There has never been a deeper well of excellent metroidvanias to draw from, from atmospheric epics to combat showcases to gorgeous emotional journeys. Pick the thread you miss most, and you will find a game ready to pull you back into that singular feeling of a world slowly opening before you.

Why this is a golden age for the genre

It is worth stepping back to appreciate the bigger picture, because it changes how you approach the search. When Hollow Knight released, a great metroidvania was a rare treat. Today the genre is flooded with excellent entries, and the years since have been a genuine golden age, with atmospheric epics, combat showcases, and gorgeous emotional journeys arriving constantly. The problem is no longer finding a good metroidvania; it is choosing among the many great ones. That abundance is a gift, and it means whatever specific thread of Hollow Knight you loved, there is a game built around exactly that.

The reason for the boom is partly Hollow Knight itself, which proved that an indie metroidvania could achieve massive success and critical acclaim, inspiring a wave of developers to pour themselves into the genre. The result is unprecedented depth and variety, from the roguelite-flavored combat of Dead Cells to the secret-soaked exploration of Animal Well to the precise challenge of Nine Sols. Choost covers metroidvanias as a core category precisely because the genre is so rich right now. The best approach is to treat Hollow Knight not as an impossible standard but as the doorway into a thriving genre, and to let your specific tastes guide you to the many excellent games waiting on the other side.

A different kind of growing-stronger loop

If what you loved about Hollow Knight was the core loop of starting weak and steadily growing overpowered, that same arc lives in the roguelite genre, delivered run by run. Granny's Rampage captures it through survivors-like build-craft, where each run takes you from fragile to overwhelming, with an Enrage mechanic that turns low health into a comeback. A gun-toting grandmother against demonic suburbia, it lands on Steam June 22, 2026, is on Android now, and has zero microtransactions.

Hollow Knight is the kind of game that quietly raises your standards for everything after it, but the metroidvania genre is deep enough to keep delivering that feeling. Whether you reach for the long-awaited Silksong, the dark beauty of Blasphemous, the combat of Dead Cells, or the splendor of Ori, there is a world waiting to slowly open before you. Pick the one that matches what you miss most, and dive back in. For more discoveries across genres, our guide to the best underrated indie games of 2026 keeps the finds current.