With Silksong (likely) releasing in 2024, will this be the best year ever for Metroidvania?

The slate of upcoming Metroidvania’s in 2024 looks promising, to the point that this year might be the best the genre has ever seen in a very long time and possibly ever. We won’t know the definitive answer until the dust settles at the end of year, but with a strong potential for Hollow Knight: Silksong and Crownsworn to finally release, here are eight other reasons why 2024 might be the best year for Metroidvanias ever.

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

The Prince of Persia series occupies a part of my nostalgic gaming brain as I remember playing back in the early 90’s on the family PC, and being blown away by the movement and less blown away with having to switch floppy disks during the game. The other huge reason to be excited for this game isn’t the move to the 2.5D metroidvania genre, but who is making it.

Ubisoft Montpellier is leading development on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and if you are unaware, they were the studio who led development on the amazing Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends games. A reboot of the series that criminally undersold despite critical acclaim and has been dormant on the big stage since. When you combine the series, the studio in charge, and change to a metroidvania, The Lost Crown should be a great start to the year for the genre.

Ultros

One of the key elements of an excellent Metroidvania is atmosphere and Ultros appears to have an atmosphere like no other thanks to its psychedelic art style. If the art style looks familiar, it’s because, the game is being developed by El Huervo, also known as Niklas Akerblad, who is known well for his art contributions for the Hotline Miami series. In addition to the unique art style, the game also looks to have a lot of familiar elements to the genre including a female protagonist and a crashed ship on a foreign planet, which could also go a long way in making it feel modern and nostalgic at the same time.

Zau: Tales of Kenzera

After games like Immortals of Aveum, Wild Hearts and even comments from top brass at EA, it seemed that the EA Originals program was moving away from the innovative and unique indie experiences that it was founded upon.

However, Zau: Tales of Kenzera appears to put some faith back in the program. The debut title from Surgent Studios, that was founded by the actor who played Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins, is about his personal experience with his fathers death and what he would give to bring him back. Zau is inspired by the rich myths of Bantu cultures and takes you on a journey of a young man and his bargain with the god of death.

The trailer shows the character weilding cosmic powers and fighting mythological creatures that give hints of Wakanda. There is a lot to like about Zau from the 2.5D visuals, the inspiration for the game, it’s personal connection and the confidence provided from the EA originals publishing

Nine Sols

There is a demo of Nine Sols on Steam and it is very good. You play as Yi, who after being left for dead goes on a quest for revenge with a katana while dressed in yellow and black in this blood-soaked tale. It's hard not to assume that Nine Sols is drawing heavy inspiration from Kill Bill in this hand drawn 2D metroidvania with combat that the developers refer to as “Sekiro inspired with its deflection focused combat”. There is currently a Steam demo, which judging from this the combat is crisp, satisfying and very challenging with checkpoints not being something to take for granted in this world that blends cyberpunk with far eastern mythology in what the studio is referring to “TaoPunk”

BioGun

One of the other Metroidvanias that has captured my attention is Biogun, where you’re injected into a dog to take on evil on at microscopic level. Biogun features all of the necessary elements of a metroidvania including upgrading your equipment, absorbing new powers from vanquished enemies, hand drawn animations, and an interesting setting that hasn’t been overdone or even seen, unless you count the 1989 movie Innerspace, The bright color palette is a very welcome change of pace from the standard dark and dreary tones that dominate the genre.

Mandragora

Many have tried to combine the Metroidvania genre with the souls like genre, but most usually put the Metroidvania aspect first. Mandragora looks to be focusing first on the demanding combat, strong atmosphere and RPG elements.

In the words of the developers “they were inspired by the exploration from the original Castlevania games, the combat from Dark Souls, the emotional storytelling from Witcher 3, and the visuals from Ori”. The world looks harsh, combat seems calculated, the bosses look epic, the upgrade trees seems daunting, multiple classes, and then you also have a crafting system for weapons, armor and trinkets.

Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus

Bo is a 2.5D action platformer inspired by Japanese folklore. Even though Bo is hand drawn, it features a unique art style and have stated their inspirations mainly come from games like Okami, Celeste, and even Paper Mario. Just watching the trailer you can tell this will be a game focused on movement as you are reminded of Ori and how you chain dashes from one power source to the next.

Earthblade

Celeste was one of the best games of 2018. EXOK games are back with their follow up game Earthblade.

Although very little is known about Earthblade, based on their first title we can assume that the story will be high quality and we can already presume the controls will be incredible. The team has said that Earthblade isn’t a hardcore metroidvania but features a lot of elements from the genre so as not to box themselves in creatively.

When you combine the genre change, the quality of their last game and the story that will likely be the focus of Earthblade. EXOK games likely have another hit on their hands.

As always be kind to your fellow gamer, but more importantly, be kind to your fellow human.