I dunno, I play a lot of indie games and stuff but I won’t pretend to be some kind of refined critic or anything; many of my favorite games are pretty standard fare. But I do have my opinions and I’m happy to share them.

Are we talking just metroidvanias, or games in general? I’ll start with metroidvanias:

First off, some people consider Shovel Knight a metroidvania, I don’t really, but if you do then Shovel Knight is absolutely top of my list. That’s basically a perfect game for me.

But after that, my favorite metroidvanias are, roughly in order:

Ori & the Blind Forest - what a game! People often say the best part of Hollow Knight is the atmosphere and environment and I think Ori’s is at least as strong, and with an art style I enjoy more.

Guacamelee 2 - Look, I’ll concede that some of the jokes (especially background gags) were questionable from the start and have aged like milk, but in literally every other way I think Guacamelee 2 is an actual masterpiece. Just does an incredible job of taking the metroidvania formula and adding great touches of beat 'em ups and precision platforming. Incredibly tight, fluid, and intuitive combat and controls, and I loved how the vast majority of moves/upgrades were equally utilized as combat options and traversal tools. I think a lot of people bounce off the aesthetic and some of the questionable humor before getting into the game, but goddamn I personally can’t recommend it enough on sheer gameplay alone.

Guacamelee (1) Super Turbo Championship Edition - Everything I said about Guacamelee 2 just 2% less enthusiastically and about 8% less tight in controls.

The Messenger - Kind of Hollow Knight meets classic Ninja Gaiden? I feel like if you liked Hollow Knight then The Messenger is a really safe bet.

And now expanding outside the genre, here are some of my favorite non-Metroidvania games, but this time the only order they’re in is indies/small games first:

Enter the Gungeon - I think this the hardest game I’ve ever played, period. It’s also an actual masterpiece. I’m not good it, but I still absolutely love it. I’m late to the party and just purchased it in the beginning of 2026 and I already have over 100 hours in the game and I’ve only killed the past (“beaten” the game) once but I’m still obsessed.

Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark - If you, like me, rank Final Fantasy Tactics as one of your GOATs, you should play Fell Seal. It’s not a perfect game, but it is the closest experience I’ve ever had to FFT (including FFTA and FFTA2!) while not feeling at all like just a clone game. More people should play this one.

Cassette Beasts - Everything I said about Fell Seal & FFT, except about Cassette Beasts and the classic Pokemon games.

Celeste - Everyone should play Celeste, and it has one of the best sets of difficulty options in gaming so everyone can play Celeste. On standard, it’s delightfully hard as balls (at least the extra/side content), but if you’re not interested in that kind of challenge it never makes you feel lesser for choosing to make the path easier for yourself. The gameplay is fantastic, the art is adorable, and the storyline is better than both. Play Celeste.

Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale - This one is super niche but if you like cozy shopkeeper games or spent way too long in chapter 3 of Dragon Quest 4, then you should play Recettear. Peak of the genre, imo, though if this is your niche then Moonlighter is a very close secondary recommendation.

Valfaris - Realistically this probably isn’t quite “favorite” tier but it’s damn close, and considering that I constantly see this game on sale for under $4 I think it merits mention. A really fun retro shooter a la Contra with some interesting mechanics (like having to choose whether to sacrifice max health to establish checkpoints) and one of the best, clearest parry mechanics I’ve experienced. Add in a metal-centric soundtrack composed by an actual touring metal musician and I just think Valfaris is an excellent little hidden gem that almost nobody knows about. I do not like the sequel very much though, sadly.

Hades 1 & 2 - I feel like these games are already huge but imo they deserve every drop of praise they receive. Great games and some of the best dollar values ever in gaming.

Disgaea 5 - I love the whole Disgaea series for so many reasons but 5 is unquestionably the peak of the series, imo.

And then finally just for context, my other favorites that are big enough I don’t feel like they need to be recommended:

FFT (as mentioned), Dragon Quest 4 (best game on the NES and still underrated, imo), FF7, the Playstation Spider-Man games, Portal 1 & 2, Persona 5, Sid Meier’s Civilization 6, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (yes I think TPS is better than BL2).

Cheers ✌