Summary
- Metroidvania genre stems from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid, offering a blend of gothic fantasy and sci-fi elements.
- Chasm is unique with procedurally generated dungeons using Seeds, providing a different experience for every player.
- Shantae: Risky’s Revenge features a half-genie protagonist who uses her hair as a weapon, with upgrades and animal transformations for traversal.
Metroidvania predominantly evolved from two big games from the 90s: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had a gothic fantasy setting like the rest of the series, and Super Metroid was a sci-fi epic.
Most Metroidvanias are either based on fantasy or sci-fi, with a few falling somewhere in-between. To get hyped up for Hollow Knight Silksong, which may come out one day and prove the hype to be real, let’s take a look at the best fantasy Metroidvanias. How well they use their fantasy settings will be taken into account along with how good the overall experience is.
Chasm
Procedural Generated Action
Chasm is a unique Metroidvania because every player can potentially have a different experience. The game works on Seeds, which will randomly generate the overarching dungeon players will explore. The power-ups and bosses are the same, but the layout will be different each time. That said, players can share their Seed with friends if they all want to experience the same run together. It’s a typical RPG Metroidvania beyond the Seeds with leveling up, equipment, and a nice pixel art style.
Souldiers
A Three-Way Tie
Souldiers gives players the option of three different heroes from the start: Scout, Caster, and Archer. There are advantages to each, like having range with the Caster and Archer, and three characters give players more reasons to replay the game several times.
The setting is in a typical medieval fantasy world with monsters everywhere, all waiting to be slain. Start in a cave, fight monsters, and then upgrade at shops and checkpoints.
Indivisible
Turn-Based Exploration
Indivisible is the most diverse Metroidvania yet because, on the surface, it looks like a 2D action-platformer. The protagonist, Ajna, will gain various items and abilities to progress forward, like an axe to chop through materials like vines.
The twist is that it’s also a turn-based RPG as touching an enemy will trigger a battle. Ajna’s Mind Palace can store spirits of characters she meets along the way, and players can assign them a face button in battle. The battle system is similar to Valkyrie Profile for PS1 fans in the house.
Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night
The Return Of The Igavania
Castlevania fans in the know called entries like Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Igavanias because they were produced at Konami by Koji Igarashi. Igarashi eventually left Konami to make a spiritual successor series via a Kickstarter campaign, and the result was Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
The visual style is different than most Castlevania games with cel-shading and a stained glass aesthetic, but it plays like most of them. For those who missed it originally, now is as good a time as any since a sequel is set to release in 2026.
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge
Whip Your Hair Back And Forth
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge originally released as a downloadable game on the DSi’s store, but it has since been ported to a cavalcade of consoles. Most Shantae games follow similar trends, like the titular Shantae relying on her hair to whip enemies as a weapon.
She can’t level up, but players can buy her upgrades at stores, like making her hair stronger or faster. Shantae, as a half-genie, can magically dance to transform into animals, like a monkey, which act as the game’s traversal abilities. It’s a world covered in monsters, pirates, and pixelated fan service.
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinth
From Light Novel To Anime To Game
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is based on a Japanese light novel series that began in 1988 as sort of an homage to Dungeons & Dragons. 90s anime fans may have grown up watching the Record of Lodoss War OVA which is a decent watch.
Jumping ahead decades, this game stars a female elf, Deedlit, on a typical quest set in a castle fighting monsters to level up. Visually and gameplay-wise, it’s the closest thing to replicate Castlevania: Symphony of the Night yet, but it isn’t just a mere copy.
Hollow Knight
A Bug’s Life
Next to a Metroid or Castlevania game, Hollow Knight might be the most recognizable Metroidvania on the planet. Set in a dark underworld filled with bugs, players will have to fight off creatures in pursuit of their memory with their trusty nail.
Players can upgrade their bug hero’s weaponry, boost some stats like health, and gain new traversal abilities like a double jump. It’s a challenging game on the scale of Soulslikes, so players going in for the first time should be prepared to die.
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Long Live The King
What would a fantasy-based Metroidvania list be without a Metroidvania game? Castlevania: Symphony of the Night remains an important step in the evolution of the genre, but unlike a lot of first steps for genres, this game nailed everything it needed to.
Alucard can level up, get equipment, new powers, and so on. Dracula’s castle is huge, varied, and there are plenty of secrets worth pursuing. The dialogue is laughable years later, but it adds to the game’s charm.
