Metroidvanias

Reviews are surprisingly good. I didn't find one below an 8.5

A Souls-Like Western full of Eldritch horrors. Explore the accursed Wild West town of Tombwater and lay bare the darkness that lies beneath. Survive blood-spilling combat in this gruesome 2D action-RPG that may just drive you to madness.

🎮 Steam ✅

• COGconnected
• The Punished Backlog
• Gameliner
• The Gaming Outsider
• VDGMS

Can't find any reviews of it yet 🤷🏼

Explore a dream world as the iconic Little Nemo, armed with toys, candy, and stuffed animals in this cute & colorful Metroidvania adventure. Experience NES-era platformer gameplay in a vast, non-linear world that has been hand-animated frame-by-frame, as you unlock new abilities to progress.

🎮 Steam

Reviews make it sound like it's just a more polished version of the original, which was already beloved.

Become the stealer of forms in GRIME II, a surreal action-adventure metroidvania. Launch tendrils made of hands to absorb foes and summon molds in their shape, as you explore a bizarre lived-in-world obsessed with art.

✅

• DayOne
• COGconnected
• Loot Level Chill
• SDHQ
• Noisy Pixel
• Gaming Boulevard

🎮

• Steam
• Playstation
• Xbox

Below the Root mentioned. Haven't thought about that since I was a kid playing it on my Grandfather's Amiga in the early 90s...

If there is no "Kodo" and "Podo", we all should riot (this is a reference for anyone close to 50)

A classic hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania action game, it's time for revenge! Use your Beastmaster skills to unleash your inner beast, fight with your heart-devouring sword and end the threat to Arborea, you decide the ending.

🌐 Steam

A 2D action game redefined through Extreme Destruction. Every impact is physical. Enemies aren’t health bars—destroy them outright, or dismantle them until they can’t fight back. You’ll explore a world fallen silent, navigating its weathered ruins sealed in ice to uncover the secrets it buried.

🌐 Website, Steam

They've recently released a demo on Steam

Consumed by a mysterious curse, restore a once lush forest and its inhabitants to their natural state in this action adventure tale. Experience fast-paced combat, puzzles, and the beauty of nature captured in handcrafted pixel art.

🌐 Steam, Kickstarter

I'm betting this comes to all major platforms as the first game was, but only a PC release is currently confirmed.

Become the stealer of forms in GRIME II, a surreal action-adventure metroidvania. Launch tendrils made of hands to absorb foes and summon molds in their shape, as you explore a bizarre lived-in-world obsessed with art.

🎮 Steam

Full release planned on all major platforms

A story-driven Metroidvania where the allies you choose to bond with change how you fight and explore. Journey through the high-fantasy world of Raoah, uncover lost civilizations, and forge bonds that shape your path through a land on the brink of collapse.

🎮 Steam 🌐 Website

I heard that some people liked the demo

Explore a dream world as the iconic Little Nemo, armed with toys, candy, and stuffed animals in this cute & colorful Metroidvania adventure. Experience NES-era platformer gameplay in a vast, non-linear world that has been hand-animated frame-by-frame, as you unlock new abilities to progress.

🎮 Steam

Seems like it's a shadow-drop. I can't find any reviews, but their previous game got rave reviews and this takes place in the same universe.

Forgotlings is a cinematic action-adventure set in a magical realm inhabited by sentient forgotten objects. Unite five tribes through diplomacy—or your sword—in a hand-drawn journey with tough choices, an inspired soundtrack, and full voice acting.

🎮 Steam

I just completed this. It's fun. I like how they handle movement mechanics and circumvent some expectations around them.

Spoilers about movement:

The story was ok. Some bits go unanswered, and some of the conflict doesn't make sense. All around pretty decent game tho.

Solateria is a hand-drawn action Metroidvania with parry-focused combat. A small fire warrior journeys to find the Primordial Flame, the world’s last hope against the Shadow Plague. Defeat foes with stylish parries and explore mysterious realms to uncover the world’s secrets.

🎮 Steam

Become the Incredibug: Control a cute pill bug, unite your fellow critters and rise up against a menacing smart home system in this physics-based platformer with metroidvania elements. Play together with a friend as Lumi the firefly in single-screen couch-coop.

🎮 Steam

A wordless journey of foggy wastelands, abandoned machinery and robot kinship. Explore and uncover meaning without guidance or dialogue.

🎮 Steam

No reviews yet as it's a shadow-drop, but people seem to be enjoying it.

Every legend has a beginning – before he was a God, before he was a father, Kratos was a young Spartan! Experience an untold chapter in Kratos’ journey set during the harsh years of Spartan training alongside his brother Deimos. Through endless trials, their minds, bodies, and hearts have been molded to become Spartan soldiers for whom duty and honor mean everything. After a fellow cadet goes missing, Kratos and Deimos vow to find him and embark on an adventure that will put their training and Spartan spirit to the test.

🎮 PS5

Not a roguelike!

Crimson Curse —Will Your Fate Bloom in Despair or Salvation Set 23 years after Castlevania Dracula's Curse - follow a young Belmont's journey in an all new 2D Action-Exploration title from KONAMI, Evil Empire and Motion Twin.

I could only find 1 review, but they loved it.

Lost in the kingdom of the white beast, will you find your way out? The Perfect Pencil is a story-driven action platformer that throws you into the innermost depths of the human mind. Navigate surreal worlds punctuated by bizzare personalities, tense boss battles and secrets. She’s waiting for you.

🎮

• Steam
• Nintendo

✅ GameGrin

A wordless journey of foggy wastelands, abandoned machinery and robot kinship. Explore and uncover meaning without guidance or dialogue.

Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion.

🎮

• Steam
• Nintendo
• Playstation
• Xbox

✅

• Polygon
• Region Free
• The Game Slayer
• Destructoid
• Checkpoint Gaming
• ctrlr

Lost in the kingdom of the white beast, will you find your way out? The Perfect Pencil is a story-driven action platformer that throws you into the innermost depths of the human mind. Navigate surreal worlds punctuated by bizzare personalities, tense boss battles and secrets. She’s waiting for you.

🌐 Steam

Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion.

🌐 Website

People either love it, or think it's solid, but it's a surprisingly wide range.

Deadly sharpshooter Sylux has finally caught up with renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran! After an unexpected accident in the wake of their clash, Samus finds herself transported to Viewros—a mysterious planet once inhabited by an ancient race. Now she must explore this planet, all while battling the strange creatures that inhabit it, to find her way home.

🎮 Nintendo

✅

• Giant Bomb (10/10)
• Game Informer (8.75/10)
• TechRadar Gaming (4/5)
• GamesRadar+ (3.5/5)
• Video Games Chronicle (3/5)
• Eurogamer (3/5)

Metacritic has it at an 84 right now, which is pretty good.

Constance is a 2D hand-drawn action adventure featuring a paintbrush-wielding artist, striving to escape from a colorful but decaying inner-world, created by her declining mental health.

🎮 Steam

✅

• Noisy Pixel
• Checkpoint Gaming
• 4P
• Loot Level Chill
• Game Blast
• Dual Shockers