Cross-genre framework / Catalog view

Metroidvania Games

Discover connected worlds, unlock new routes with new abilities, and choose between exploration, platforming, and combat. Run-based hybrids are available as a separate option.

40 accepted games Taxonomy v3 Source scores weighted by evidence

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Find a world worth returning to.

Explore connected worlds where new abilities open routes and change how you move. Choose platforming, ability-gated routes, or combat. The starting view focuses on persistent worlds; run-based hybrids are available separately.

40 games before play-style filters. Filters combine. Games with unconfirmed details remain in All, and a game can support several activities or play modes. Start with all years to include older classics.

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40 games in Metroidvania Games

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Best reviewed blends the source score with rating volume. Release order is oldest first, and A–Z is title order. Unusually high scores with very small samples are treated as uncorroborated outliers until more players weigh in.

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Platformer 30 Root 2D Platformer 25 Subgenre Exploration 16 Gameplay facet Action 12 Root RPG 7 Root Action RPG 5 Subgenre Shooter 5 Root Action-Adventure 4 Root

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7 matching entries Metroid

A research-verified chronology of Metroid, spanning 1991–2025.

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Interconnected exploration gated by abilities that open previously inaccessible routes.

Include when

Ability-gated exploration materially changes route planning: acquiring a movement, tool, or traversal ability opens previously inaccessible areas.

Leave out when

Do not assign Metroidvania to a game merely because its map is interconnected, backtracking exists, or it has Soulslike checkpoints without ability-gated route progression.