Dr. Atominus
3 out of 5. It’s not particularly challenging, and it will likely be over in less than an hour, but that’s also part of the point. Dr. Atominus is another fun Mini Metroidvania experience.
Blasphemous: The Stir of Dawn
4 out of 5. With the latest patch, Blasphemous is a great value, with five new great bosses, fixes to old content, and three new modes to extend your play time in challenging ways.
Drilly Willis
2 out of 5. Drilly Willis has fun exploration and a lot of heart, but it can be broken and frustrating in other aspects. The first impressions you had looking at its screenshots are probably right.
Artifacts
3 out of 5. Strong level design in combination with novel concepts creates a fun risk/reward Metroidvania experience, even if a lot could be improved in terms of technical polish.
Aquaria
3.5 out of 5. In spite of some rougher edges around its gameplay, Aqauria’s world is like no other, and if you allow yourself to be immersed within it, it will doubtlessly bind itself to your memory.
Cybermage 0.0.3
2.5 out of 5. An excellent freeware 24 hour game-jam effort that you should check out if you enjoy Metroidvania game design concepts. Perhaps your inputs could make it into a fully fledged game.
Rain World
4.5 out of 5. It is beautiful and terrifying, and you’ll hate it a long time before you may fall in love with it. But if you make it to love, it becomes one of the most unique masterpieces out there.
Maptroid
3 out of 5. A fun (and free) 15-minute parody of the Metroidvania map system that is well worth taking the time to play.
HORROR TALES: The Wine
In a post pandemic world, there is one wine that can cure the disease that killed everyone else. Explore the abandoned world to find it – but can you be sure it’s actually abandoned?
Bone Appetit
4 out of 5. A delightfully open-ended Metroidvania that asks you to forge your own path to its final encounter, with a few twists to encourage resource planning and player expression.
Super Metroid
5 out of 5. A nearly perfect example of what a “Metroidvania” can accomplish. Even compared to the advancements found in later 2D Metroid entries, Super Metroid holds up remarkably well.
AM2R – Another Metroid 2 Remake
5 out of 5. AM2R manages to update Metroid II with Metroid Zero’s mechanics in a way that not only honors the original’s vision, but sets a standard that remakes and Metroidvania games can aspire to.
Metroid Zero Mission
5 out of 5. Thanks to numerous enhancements for both old and new Metroid series players, this remake of the original Metroid may be the best entry point into the Metroidvania genre.