In addition to being a packed release year in general, 2023 was also no slouch when it came to providing players with a variety of excellent Metroidvania titles. The continued resurgence of the genre, especially in the indie scene, can at least partially be attributed to the success and critical acclaim of games like Hollow Knight, especially as fans continue to wait for its sequel and one of the industry’s most-anticipated games – Hollow Knight: Silksong. The delays for Silksong have created somewhat of a vacuum for other developers to fill with their own takes on the genre, and 2023 saw several titles release that each pull their weight in various ways by attempting to rise to the bar set by Hollow Knight.

What made Hollow Knight such a profound release in the Metroidvania genre was the way that the game perfectly captured every essence of what made its forebears all-time classics. Combat, traversal, world, atmosphere, lore, platforming; all of these elements shone in Hollow Knight and helped to establish it not just as one of the best indie games in recent years, but also as one of the best Metroidvanias ever made. In 2023, fans of the genre were lucky to get plenty of games that each excel in one or more of these elements, and they’re the perfect appetizers before Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s hopeful 2024 release.

2023’s Best Metroidvanias Each Highlight One of the Genre’s Core Elements

Tevi (Combat and Character Builds)

In terms of which Metroidvanias from 2023 have some of the most addictive and nuanced combat, it’s hard to argue against the recently released Tevi. Coming from one of the same developers behind Rabi Ribi, Tevi sees players utilize a combo-driven melee combat model that’s supplemented with ranged attacks and dozens of equippable Sigils, each opening up new potential for how players build the titular character. Metroidvania games usually have combat front and center to help enhance the moment-to-moment gameplay, but in Tevi it’s the star of the show.

Blasphemous 2 (Spectacle-Heavy Boss Fights)

The first Blasphemous featured some jaw-dropping boss encounters that helped to highlight the game’s gruesome yet gorgeous art direction, but Blasphemous 2 takes the best parts of its predecessor a step further in the way that all great sequels do. Boss fights in Metroidvanias are traditionally a way to both shake up the flow of gameplay and highlight how the player has improved and expanded their suite of abilities, and the size and design of some of Blasphemous 2‘s bosses will stay with players long after the credits roll.

The Last Faith (Satisfying Ability Upgrades and Traversal)

All Metroidvanias involve at least some amount of backtracking as players make their way back to previously visited areas with new abilities allowing them to explore further, and The Last Faith expertly sidesteps some of the tedium involved by providing players with a satisfying drip-feed of enjoyable upgrades. Each of Eryk’s new abilities transforms how players make their way across the game’s large map and the pace at which these upgrades drop equates to always discovering something new in one of the best platformers of 2023.

Afterimage (Compelling Lore and Massive Interconnected Map)

In addition to being an incredibly visually impressive Metroidvania, Afterimage has a deep mythology underpinning its world. It’s possible to skip the game’s lore and dialogue entirely, but doing so would be a disservice as it provides some interesting context for Afterimage‘s world and characters. On top of that, the map of Afterimage is absolutely massive and one of the largest worlds in any Metroidvania from 2023.

Rusted Moss (Responsive and Challenging Platforming)

Rusted Moss takes the grappling hook from Super Metroid and builds an entire Metroidvania around it, requiring players to quickly come to grips with the flow and precision of its movement in both traversal and combat. The result is one of the more interesting and overlooked Metroidvanias from this year. Rusted Moss has the challenge and “just one more try” pull of platformers like Celeste, but mixes those inspirations with a quality Metroidvania underneath.