Ranking the Best and Worst METROIDVANIAS | Cannot be Tamed

Today I'm ranking games from one of my favourite, and currently most played, genres - metroidvanias. I have 49 to rank, so strap in for a long video. I start out with a description of what I think makes for a good metroidvania, so you can tell if our tastes align.

#Metroidvania #HollowKnight #Castlevania

00:00 Intro
00:13 What is a metroidvania?
01:48 What I look for in a good metroidvania
3:37 Rank descriptions
4:57 Rankings in alphabetical order - A
8:40 B
13:43 C
18:41 D
21:03 E
22:29 F
23:20 G
26:05 H
28:47 I
31:45 J
32:51 L
35:12 M
40:56 O
42:55 R
44:07 S
52:39 T
55:45 U
56:59 W
1:00:45 Final rankings

Video footage is mostly from trailers, some was recorded by me. Music in this video is from Hollow Knight.

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Intro artwork, logo and banner by: @theMagdalenRose

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[Whatthetrash]

Timestamps: (upvote so people can see)

4:57 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human
6:26 Axiom Verge
7:28 Axiom Verge 2
8:40 Batman: Arkham Asylum
9:50 Blasphemous
11:09 Blaster Master
12:22 Bloodstained Ritual of the Night
13:43 Carrion
14:38 Castlevania Symphony of the Night
16:22 Cave Story
17:20 Control
18:41 Dead Cells
19:42 Dust: An Elysian Tale
21:03 Ender Lilies
22:29 Finding Teddy 2
23:20 Ghost 1.0
24:42 Guacamelee
26:05 Headlander
27:02 Hollow Knight
28:47 Iconoclasts
29:35 Indivisible
31:01 Inmost
31:45 Journey to the Savage Planet
32:51 La Mulana / La Mulana 2
35:12 The Messenger
36:32 Micetopia
37:15 Monster Boy in the Cursed Kingdom
38:13 Monster Sanctuaury
39:29 The Mummy Demastered
40:56 Ori and the Blind Forest
41:44 Ori and the Will of the Wisps
42:19 Owlboy
42:55 A Robot Named Fight
44:07 Shadow Complex
44:42 Sheepo
45:45 Song of the Deep
46:26 Songbird Symphony
47:17 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
48:02 Steamworld Dig / Steamworld Dig 2
48:52 Strider
49:54 Super Metroid
51:08 Supraland
52:39 Teslagrad
53:44 Timespinner
54:28 Touhou Luna Nights
55:45 UNepic
56:59 Wonder Boy in Monster World

[Chris-Courage]

I'm so glad we don't all call these games Castletroids.

[BoulderPunch]

Blasphemous at S tier? Ah, good taste.

Sure, the platforming could be frustrating, but that atmosphere and style was so amazing.

[williamwolfe]

THANK YOU about Dead Cells not being a Metroidvania! I feel like im taking crazy pills when people say this. The abilities are just keys to go into a different level path instead of the first primary path, it has nothing to do with exploring or anything!

[rasul]

I appreciate you putting timestamps for everything, especially the timestamp for your explanation of the ranking. It makes it easy to go back to how you define the tiers later on in the video.

[chocolocojames]

I still play Symphony of the night once in a while just to listen to the music. So good 😊😊😊

[Genose]

Excellent content! This is exactly what I was looking for in terms of a ranking list. I love that you call out those games that try to paint themselves as a Metroidvania, but aren’t.

[craigfairweather]

This is an awesome vid! The Cave Story F rocked me to my core but, I fully see why someone might bump off it.

Fully cracked up when you called out the Control map as dogshit. I was screaming that the entire time I played this game. Gahhh!

[mariahtasker]

Just bought Blasphemous! Awesome to see you rank it so highly. One look at the trailer made it a must-buy for me. Also your cat name-sake is doing well!

[etxnjmu]

Hollow Knight shirt, Hollow Knight music over the video, gee I wonder if Pam likes Hollow Knight :D
Can't wait for Silksong omg

[bk-oo]

I've been looking forward to this video. I love your love of metroidvanias. Thanks!

[matthewbain]

Metroidvanias are my favorite, this video hit the spot in overviewing a bunch of these that I've never played. Thanks.

[codekhalil]

These are called Metroidvanias for a reason. And Super Metroid is the best of them. It can be tedious at times and that map can be daunting. But when I look at the other games on this list, that is the only one that can evoke the emotions that it does. While I don't fully agree with your views on the game, I respect the time and work you put into this vid. Cheers

[Phil_Lamarr]

I'm surprised Blue Fire and Metroid Prime aren't here, as well as the gameboy advance Castlevanias or DS ones. Aria of Sorrow ❤. I agree Dead Cells isn't a proper MV but...it needs more love lol..it's such a fun and addicting game. Great video, thanks for the content!

[Greydawg]

I found this video after looking up info on that "Record of Lodoss War" game & watching this video feels like mushrooms... but I'm so glad I found this & immediately subscribed. Thank you for what you do!

[hibryd]

Skip to 0:00 and check the upper-left third of the screen for a clue about where Hollow Knight probably ranks >.>;

I had a somewhat similar experience w/ Hollow Knight. Heard rants and raves about it, but after about 4 or 5 hours I shelfed it...still haven't gotten back to it yet though. What did it for me was that I found the combat to be a little stiff somehow. I really liked Ori though, and the second one was even better imo. But as a whole I'm not huge on MetroidVania's anyways.

[knighttrax]

This is an awesome video because it gives us recommendations for games we haven’t tried or heard of. Thanks for sharing your list. 👍

[thegameneededme]

Not gonna lie, I initially came here just to see where Hollow Knight would rank and then saw the Hornet shirt and a shade plushie in the background and went ah yes, this is going to be a good video.

[MattG-nlpp]

The elements of isolation and lack of dialogue are why I love the Metroid games. For me, an immersive experience draws me in more than a good story. I really hope the first three prime games get a switch release.

[telesway]

I'll say one thing for Super Metroid:
There's definitely a period when it feels clunky, but the more you play, the more fun it gets, and once stuff like mockball, single-wall wall jumps etc. become second nature, the initially clunky movement starts to feel incredibly fun and provides a lot of freedom and self-expression.

One 2D metroidvania I'd recommend is
Vigil: The Longest Night.
It's almost dressed up to look like 2D Bloodborne, it has some surprising story twists, fluid movement/abilities, a skill tree, the focus is more on combat and exploration rather than difficult platforming, and unlike most 2D MVs, when you change armor, the player character's look actually changes, you can see each individual armor/clothing piece on her, same with various weapons, spells etc. that each have unique models.

The art, atmosphere, and music are also great, the controls are tight, and while there are difficulty options, your "build" and weapon/spell selection also affects difficulty, so you have a lot of freedom to tailor the experience to your liking.