Games Like Hollow Knight: Silksong — 10 to Play Next

Silksong is out. Here's what to play next, arranged by what made Silksong click for you — the parry rhythm, the atmosphere, the map full of rooms you haven't opened yet.

If you're still getting oriented in the genre, the best metroidvania games list covers the broader field. This one stays close to Silksong specifically.

Nine Sols

Developer: Red Candle Games. Released: 2024.

The closest thing on this list to what Silksong does. Nine Sols is a taopunk action-platformer drawing on Sun Wukong mythology — a dense world, lore hidden in item descriptions, secrets inside secrets. The combat is Sekiro-style parry: slow and deliberate between the explosions, then a perfect deflect, and you watch the boss fall apart. Bosses are difficult on first contact and become satisfying once you understand their patterns. If Silksong's combat was the thing that kept pulling you back, start here.

Dead Cells

Developer: Motion Twin. Released: 2018, still updated.

Faster and more random than Silksong. Dead Cells is a roguelike Metroidvania: no persistent map, no slow world-building, runs instead of save files. But the movement feel — the way attacks cancel into dashes, the way weapons chain together — is close enough to Silksong's combat feedback that it earns a spot. Early runs give a genuine sense of discovery as the biome connections reveal themselves. Good for players who want Silksong's responsiveness without committing to a 25-hour map.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Developer: Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios. Released: 2020.

The most beautiful game in this list, and the easiest. Ori is about movement: Bash reflects projectiles and launches you off enemies, Grapple and swim are unlockable, and late-game traversal is fast enough to feel like flying. The platforming demands precision without punishing failure hard. The story is told with images more than words and hits harder than it should. If Silksong's acrobatics were your favourite part and you want something that leans further into that without the difficulty spike, this is the pick.

Animal Well

Developer: Shared Memory / Bigmode. Released: 2024.

Almost no combat. Animal Well is a puzzle-exploration Metroidvania about a small creature moving through a dark world full of animals that mostly ignore you and sometimes don't. It has the same quality Hollow Knight had — the feeling that the game is holding something back, that the rooms you've passed through know more than they're telling. The secrets go very deep. If Silksong's atmosphere was the draw and you'd rather think than fight, this is worth the time.

Blasphemous

Developer: The Game Kitchen. Released: 2019.

Catholic iconography, heavy platforming, and a lore system that gives you fragments and lets you piece the rest together. Blasphemous is a Soulslike Metroidvania in a Spanish city of penitents and guilt. Combat is slower than Silksong and more grounded — no Hornet-style acrobatics. The Wounds of Eventide DLC added platform challenges that push harder in that direction. The world design is vertical and dense, and the atmosphere is unlike anything else in the genre.

Ender Magnolia: Heir of Amnesia

Developer: Binary Haze Interactive. Released: 2025.

Quiet and melancholy. Ender Magnolia is an action-Metroidvania with a smooth upgrade arc and a story about a girl waking up in a world that has already ended. Less punishing than Nine Sols — closer to the middle of the difficulty range — but the world design and the atmosphere earn it. Good for players who want the genre feel and a coherent story without the hours of repeated boss deaths. One of the better releases of 2025 in this space.

Metroid Dread

Developer: MercurySteam / Nintendo. Released: 2021.

The genre is literally named after this series, and Dread is the best modern entry. The map design is tight — backtracking reveals new routes instead of dead ends, and the power-up pacing is deliberate. EMMI sections, where you're being hunted by an unkillable robot and need to move without triggering it, are the best chase-sequence design the genre has produced. Faster and more action-focused than Silksong, but if you want to see how the fundamentals are done at the highest level, Dread is the answer.

MIO: Memories in Orbit

Developer: Alchemy Immersive. Released: 2026.

A derelict space station overrun by alien plant life. MIO is cel-shaded and emotional, with world-building that trusts the player to piece things together. One of the stronger Metroidvania releases of 2026 if you want something recent rather than going back through a backlog. The atmosphere is different from Silksong — warmer, more melancholy than oppressive — but the exploration structure will feel familiar.

Hyper Light Drifter

Developer: Heart Machine. Released: 2016.

Top-down, not a side-scroller. Worth mentioning anyway because the atmosphere and the exploration rhythm are close enough to Hollow Knight that fans regularly recommend it in the same breath. No dialogue, no text — the story is told entirely through visual detail and environmental design. Combat is punishing in its own way. If you've finished everything else on this list and want something from a different camera angle that carries the same feeling of a world with a history, this is it.

KUTO: The Lock of Time

Full disclosure: this is our game, currently in development.

The Lock of Time is a time-bending action Metroidvania built around five time powers: Recall (rewind), Dilation (slow-motion), Leap (dash through space-time), Fracture (break gravity, walk on walls), and Stillness (stop time entirely). The tone is darker than Silksong — no Hornet's wit, no bright bug-city. The structure is run-based, so runs replace a persistent map. But if you're specifically after Silksong because it sits at the intersection of precise combat, exploration, and movement powers, that's the same crossover this game is aimed at. It's worth a wishlist if you want something genuinely new in the space.

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Most of these are on PC and available now. Nine Sols and Dead Cells are the right starting points if you want to stay close to what Silksong does; Ori and Animal Well if you want to move in a different direction. KUTO: The Lock of Time is the one to wishlist while you wait for something that hasn't shipped yet.

If Silksong's true ending left you with questions, that piece covers the lore in detail.