Ori and the Blind Forest
Ori and the Blind Forest is a 2D Metroidvania where you play as Ori, a small spirit cat on a quest to restore life to the forest you live in. You’ll explore haunting landscapes, unravel a moving mystery, and hop-skip-jump your way towards success. The game came out about two years before Hollow Knight, and it is frequently cited as a likely contender for one of the most influential games on Hollow Knight, so it’s a mandatory play if you’re a fan of this genre. (Also, check out its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps). How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Spiritually, it’s basically a big brother of Hollow Knight. You’ve got big open-world exploration, a map you have to unlock, clever puzzle platforming, and you’re a small critter in a world full of hostile critters. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: Tonally, Ori is much brighter. It’s a vibrant game in the way that Hollow Knight is not. Also, the combat is really not the focus of Ori. Much more care and effort went into the platforming and movement (which is fluid and super satisfying by the way). This game is perfect for you if: A brighter version of Hollow Knight sounds fun to you.
Crypt Custodian
The most recently released game on our list, Crypt Custodian, is a lovely gem of a game where you play a dead cat. You’ve been sentenced to work as a janitor in the afterlife, and you go around “cleaning up” by killing evil spirits and freeing forest friends. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The balance between exploration and combat here is identical to Hollow Knight. The boss fights are also similarly difficult (although the back half of Crypt is much easier than the back half of Hollow Knight). How it’s different from Hollow Knight: It’s not 2D: you control your character on an isometric map. There’s a lot of comedy in Crypt Custodian* too (actual laugh-out-loud comedy, not ‘that’s funny in a cute way’). This game is perfect for you if: You thought Hollow Knight’s tone was a bit of a drag and you’re looking for basically the same experience but with a lighter energy.
Nine Sols
In Nine Sols, you play an alien cat thing that must overthrow a shadow government of human-eating robots by confronting nine powerful beings. It’s a challenging experience with combat that really rewards timing, careful planning, and quick reflexes. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The combat is arguably elevated in Nine Sols. Hollow Knight’s combat is great, but Nine Sols really takes things up a notch design-wise. Also, it’s a 2D Metroidvania, so it’s similar there, too. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The techno-fascist robot thing is pretty unique, but beyond that, it’s a very similar game. This game is perfect for you if: You want more Hollow Knight and/or you wish Hollow Knight had slightly more complex mechanics.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
Ender Lilies is a dark fantasy Metroidvania where you play a little girl who must defeat a world-ending plague. To do this, you cultivate the souls of warriors from times past and basically use their ghost moves to fight enemies and overcome environmental puzzles. It’s very anime and narratively kind of confusing, but it’s a pure 2D Metroidvania! How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: It’s a challenging 2D Metroidvania with tons of customization and unique enemies. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: It’s got a distinct anime art style, and the combat system is very odd compared to Hollow Knight. This game is perfect for you if: You want more Hollow Knight and you enjoy anime.
Blasphemous
Blasphemous is a 2D metroidvania with a very dark tone. You play as a nameless, silent knight with a magical sword who is on a pilgrimage. You’ll upgrade your weapon as you play, solve simple puzzles, and fight bosses to get where your deity beckons you. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The tone is super dark and bleak, and both games rely on a lot of environmental storytelling. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The combat in Blasphemous is a bit more old school in its texture and animations (the game has a decidedly 80s-style pixel art vibe). This game is perfect for you if: You loved Hollow Knight but you thought it could have used more body horror and religious iconography.
Cuphead
In Cuphead, you play a cartoon cup who is trying to defeat a cartoon devil by taking down all of the devil’s cartoon henchmen. The plot is playing second fiddle to the art style here, though. Cuphead is inspired by old-school Disney cartoons from the 1940s, and it absolutely nails the aesthetic. It’s just a very cool game to look at. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The combat, control, and movement are equally pristine in Cuphead, and the boss fights are equally memorable. It’s very hard to live up to Hollow Knight’s challenging bosses and airtight platforming, but Cuphead nails it. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: Cuphead is not a Metroidvania. In fact, there’s no exploration element at all here. That is a major departure from Hollow Knight and what makes it fun, but Cuphead really is just so focused on the combat and platforming that you’ll forget you ever wanted to explore in the first place. This game is perfect for you if: Your favorite parts of Hollow Knight were the boss fights and you love a challenging game.
Salt and Sanctuary
Salt and Sanctuary is a love letter to both Metroidvanias and Souls-likes. It’s a 2D pixel art game that is just pure Metroidvania-Souls gameplay. You explore, you fight bosses, you upgrade your weapon, etc. The plot is a little convoluted, but it involves helping a princess travel somewhere to get married. You don’t play this game for the plot, though—this is pure gameplay. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The gameplay is functionally identical in a lot of ways. Tough bosses, exploration, etc. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: It doesn’t have any of Hollow Knight’s incredible worldbuilding or contextual story. Really, the art direction of Salt and Sanctuary is often the biggest criticism, and Hollow Knight is beloved for its art. This game is perfect for you if: You loved Hollow Knight but you didn’t really care about the bug stuff, tone, or art.
Animal Well
Considered by many to be a modern masterpiece, Animal Well is a combat-free Metroidvania about a little blob lost in a big world. It’s probably the heaviest puzzle game on this list, but it’s a wondrous experience. It also has this very cool CRTV VHS aesthetic, and the game is kind of worth checking out for the art alone. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Animal Well really hits all of the spiritual notes that make Hollow Knight so loved. It has that je ne sais quoi. The enemies are just really well designed, the world is carefully crafted, and you feel smart as a player for solving the exploration-based obstacles. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: There is no combat here. You’re just a defenseless little blob. This game is perfect for you if: You loved the overall experience of Hollow Knight and wouldn’t mind a more puzzle-heavy variant of the game.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells is a 2D pixel art Metroidvania where you play a blob of infinite flesh trying to escape its creator. It’s the first (and only) roguelike on our list. Roguelikes are permadeath dungeon crawlers, so when you die in Dead Cells, that’s it! You have to start a new run over. The combat is the name of the game here. You have so many different upgrades, weapons, and tools at your disposal that every run feels different. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Both games have extremely smooth and refreshing combat combined with unique environmental storytelling. Levels are nonlinear in Dead Cells, as well. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The roguelike element makes it pretty distinct. You’ll start over from scratch every time you die. This game is perfect for you if: You kind of just enjoyed bouncing around randomly in Hollow Knight and beating tiny bugs to death.
Celeste
Celeste is a really lovely puzzle platforming game where you play Madeline, a young girl trying to climb the titular Celeste Mountain as a way to help treat her anxiety and depression. The story is really powerful and moving, and the 2D pixel art is vibrant, expressive, and fun. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The platforming is really interesting and well thought out in both games, and the environmental storytelling is great in both games. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: There’s no combat in Celeste. The tone is radically different, too. Hollow Knight gets pretty dark, but Celeste is a thoughtful, upbeat, melancholic journey. This game is perfect for you if: You loved Hollow Knight but want a lighter experience that focuses more on platforming.
Biomorph
Biomorph is a souls-like Metroidvania game where you play Harlo, a space explorer with amnesia who wakes up on a hostile alien ship. You’ll explore, fight weird futuristic robots, and try to solve the mystery of your situation. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Biomorph clearly took a lot of inspiration from Hollow Knight. The mechanics, platforming, and texture of the gameplay are all very similar. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The only major difference here is the character design and world. Hollow Knight is all about bugs, while Biomorph is a cyberpunk robot romp. This game is perfect for you if: You’re dearly looking for games that are identical to Hollow Knight and you’ve already played Ori, Nine Sols, and Crypt Custodian.
Rain World
Rain World is an aptly-named exploration survival game where a deadly rain appears periodically that you have to seek shelter from. You play as a little rabbit creature thing who wants dearly to find their kinsmen after a catastrophic accident. You’ll explore, solve environmental puzzles, and hide from deadly monsters (and the rain). How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The texture of the two games is very similar; the worlds are brooding, dark, and mysterious, and the game never goes out of its way to explain things. The exploration and difficulty are also comparable. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: In Hollow Knight, you start off as a fighter and become more powerful as the game goes on. You sort of become more vulnerable and unsafe the longer Rain World goes on, though. The games just have very different difficulty curves. This game is perfect for you if: You’re looking for a really challenging platformer with survival elements and you loved the environment and world design of Hollow Knight.
Lone Fungus
Lone Fungus is an adorable Metroidvania where you play a little mushroom guy. It’s a very simple game in design, but the platforming and level design are arguably better than even Hollow Knight. It’s a bright adventure with a very fair combat system and near character design. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: You level up the same way, explore the same way, and customize your abilities the same way (they even call them charms). The boss fight and structure of gameplay is identical, too. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: It’s a bit…fairer? We’re tempted to use the word easier, but the game isn’t actually all that easy—there is challenge here. It’s just not as punishing as Hollow Knight. The tone is also much brighter. This game is perfect for you if: You want more Hollow Knight but you wouldn’t mind if Hollow Knight were a little more joyous and fair.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a Japanese-inspired Metroidvania that relies heavily on its character development and narrative. You play the titular Bō, a little cat-fox creature thing with magical earrings who is trying to prevent the end of the world. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: It’s an open-world, nonlinear explore-a-thon with challenging combat and tough boss fights. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The Japanese-inspired 2D animation is a big departure from Hollow Knight’s vibe. This game is perfect for you if: You have already played Nine Sols and you want more of that aesthetic/gameplay, or you’re looking for a Hollow Knight experience but with much more complex gameplay.
Rusted Moss
Rusted Moss is a really innovative and slept-on Metroidvania. It’s a twin-stick shooter, where you play Fern, a young witch seeking to restore the world to how it was. It’s the only game on our list where you get a gun and a grappling hook, which should be more than enough to sell you on this one. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Both games are Metroidvanias with a big emphasis on combat upgrades. They have very similar challenge curves, too. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: The gun and grappling hook thing really changes things up, combat-wise. Fights are much more chaotic. The pixel art is also a big departure. This game is perfect for you if: You’re looking for innovative combat and difficult gameplay.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
One half of the inspiration behind the word “Metroidvania,” Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the original explore-a-thon. You play as Alucard, a vampire who seeks to destroy Draclua’s castle. It’s the second-oldest game on this list (it debuted in 1997), but it’s still a very fun adventure even today. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: You beat up baddies and explore a vast world! The game is also quite challenging, which the two have in common. How it’s different from Hollow Knight: Due to its age, the controls and movement aren’t as fluid in Castlevania. This game is perfect for you if: You want to explore a bit of gaming history by checking out the game that helped create Hollow Knight’s genre.
Metroid
We’re putting the original 1986 Metroid on this list, but honestly, you could play any of the early Metroid titles and get a lot out of it. This is where the “Metroid” part of “Metroidvania” comes from. You play as Samus, the iconic hero who seeks to explore and upgrade her weapon to defeat enemies (there’s an actual plot here, but it’s so convoluted we can’t even begin to explain it here). How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: Weapon upgrades! Exploration! Environmental puzzles! How it’s different from Hollow Knight: You’re in space and you’re fighting robots. Like Castlevania, some of the gameplay elements will feel dated. This game is perfect for you if: You’re in the mood to explore gaming history and want to see the other major spiritual predecessor of Hollow Knight.
Dark Souls
We’ve covered the Metroidvania’s origins, but what about souls-likes? The name comes from Dark Souls, the original “oh my goodness, this is hard” game. Developed by From Software, Dark Souls single-handedly invented a genre. It’s iconic, and even if it’s not for you, it’s worth checking out if you’re a gaming enthusiast. When you’re done with this one, check out From Software’s other major games: Bloodborne, Dark Souls 2 & 3, and Elden Ring. How it’s similar to Hollow Knight: The difficulty and big boss fights are essential to any souls-like for a reason. They started here! How it’s different from Hollow Knight: It’s a third-person open world game and there’s no platforming element. This game is perfect for you if: You’re a big fan of tough games and you want to see their biggest inspiration!
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