10 Best Games Like Nine Sols (2026)

Nine Sols makes a good deflection feel like the beginning of an argument you can win. The games below echo different parts of that appeal: rhythmic combat, interconnected worlds, demanding bosses and stories uncovered through exploration. Some are close metroidvania companions; others trade the side-on view for a particularly strong version of the same combat tension.

Looking for somewhere to start?

• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for the closest match for deflection-driven duels.
• Hollow Knight: Silksong for agile exploration through a large kingdom.
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for readable, flexible metroidvania combat.

10. Death’s Gambit: Afterlife

Best for a class-based side-scrolling adventure · PC, PS4, Switch versions · Single-player

Sorun is offered a bargain by Death and sent into Siradon, a land where immortality has done little to make life comfortable. Death’s Gambit: Afterlife builds its mystery around that arrangement and the people who have already paid for similar promises.

Weapon choices and classes give combat a stronger role-playing framework than Nine Sols. Exploring unlocks movement abilities and paths, while boss fights test whether a build actually suits your habits. Heroic rematches add a more demanding project after an initial victory.

Take it for a darker action RPG with interconnected exploration. It won’t reproduce Nine Sols’ particular deflection rhythm, but it gives equipment and character choices more room. Afterlife is the expanded version to look for, rather than judging the game only by its original launch state.

9. Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus

Best for aerial movement and Japanese folklore · PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch versions · Single-player

A small celestial fox spirit descends into a world of spirits and unusual beings. Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus follows that visitor through a journey whose mythic setting provides a softer visual introduction than its platforming challenges might suggest.

An aerial reset mechanic rewards striking objects and enemies to remain airborne. Movement and combat feed into each other, so crossing a room well can be part of fighting well. Exploration provides new abilities and reasons to revisit earlier spaces.

This is for someone who enjoyed Nine Sols’ precise inputs and wants to redirect that attention toward traversal. It is less centered on holding ground for a deflection exchange. Expect some demanding platforming; the delicate illustration doesn’t mean every landing will be forgiving.

8. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Best for a flexible time-powered metroidvania · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

Sargon joins an attempt to rescue a kidnapped prince at Mount Qaf, where time and memory refuse to behave normally. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown uses that premise to make its interconnected location feel stranger as you learn your way around it.

Parries, launches and movement abilities create lively combat, while time powers also transform routes through hazards. Memory Shards let you mark an obstacle with an image, making return trips easier to plan. Difficulty and accessibility settings allow more control over which parts should provide resistance.

Choose it for the closest broad metroidvania alternative if Nine Sols’ strictness became tiring. Its combat has room for expressive combinations without requiring identical timing from every player. Exploration remains substantial, with enough demanding optional routes to reward practice rather than removing the challenge altogether.

7. ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist

Best for recovering a ruined world with companions · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

Lilac awakens in the Land of Fumes without a clear memory and discovers artificial beings whose minds have been damaged. ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist turns her ability to purify them into a search for what happened to the country and its people.

Rescued Homunculi become combat abilities, letting you arrange a set of attacks around your preferred rhythm. Exploring reveals more options and connects the landscape through new routes. Changing a companion setup can make a previously awkward encounter much more manageable.

It is a good follow-up when atmosphere and a gradually unfolding setting matter as much as exact parry timing. Its build flexibility provides a different kind of preparation from Nine Sols. You can approach it without a detailed plot explanation; discovering how the world reached this state is part of the reward.

6. GRIME

Best for absorbing attacks to change a build · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

A strange being with a black-hole head awakens in a world of living stone and unsettling bodies. GRIME makes identity and growth part of that surreal landscape, with the protagonist’s ability to absorb other creatures carrying obvious consequences.

Absorption acts as a defensive tool and a route to traits, connecting successful timing with character development. Weapons have distinct feels, while platforming and exploration gradually demand more confidence. The world often seems hostile before a creature has even started moving.

Try it for the combination of reactive defense and a genuinely unusual setting. It is heavier and more deliberate than a fast aerial metroidvania, so patience matters. If Nine Sols made you enjoy waiting for the right moment to answer an attack, GRIME gives that habit another purpose.

5. The Last Faith

Best for a gothic action RPG · PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

Eryk wakes with fading memories and a threat to his mind, setting out through a decaying world in search of answers. The Last Faith uses that uncertainty to draw you toward ruined places whose residents rarely make a journey feel safer.

Melee weapons, firearms and spells give combat a range of approaches. Character statistics and equipment introduce more build commitment than Nine Sols, while interconnected routes reward patient investigation. Bosses make the consequences of an awkward build difficult to ignore.

It fits players who want more gothic horror and conventional RPG development around side-scrolling exploration. The tone is bleak, and some paths can feel deliberately obstructive. Go in for the mood and equipment choices rather than expecting every duel to revolve around one shared deflection mechanic.

4. Blasphemous 2

Best for grotesque worlds and deliberate melee combat · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

The Penitent One awakens as another cycle of miracles brings suffering to Cvstodia. Blasphemous 2 sends the silent figure into a religious nightmare whose processions, architecture and enemies make the setting feel specific from the first steps.

Three main weapons change both combat and traversal. Unlocking their uses gives familiar routes new possibilities, while prayers and upgrades support different approaches to a fight. It rewards positioning and patience more than an uninterrupted stream of attacks.

This is the pick when Nine Sols’ world and visual storytelling were the main draw. Its imagery can be gruesome, and its combat has a heavier cadence. You can follow the immediate journey without a lore lecture; leave room for the setting to become clearer through what you see.

3. Hollow Knight

Best for a haunting interconnected kingdom · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch versions · Single-player

A small traveler enters Hallownest, a ruined insect kingdom whose quiet corners suggest a much larger history. Hollow Knight begins with curiosity rather than a fully explained mission, letting the reasons for continuing emerge from exploration.

A restrained initial moveset expands through abilities and charms. Mapmaking and route knowledge turn distant areas into parts of one mental picture, while bosses ask for careful spacing and observation. The pleasure is discovering that a place which once stopped you now has a workable path through it.

It is the natural comparison for Nine Sols players who want a wider emphasis on wandering and discovery. The combat doesn’t revolve around a universal parry. Expect to find your own direction at times; losing that certainty is part of how the kingdom becomes a place you actually learn.

2. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Best for agile combat and an unfamiliar kingdom · PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Switch 2 versions · Single-player

Hornet is captured and carried to Pharloom, a kingdom where her journey turns toward the distant citadel. Hollow Knight: Silksong gives its protagonist a clear predicament without explaining every resident or ritual before you encounter them.

Her movement is quicker and more acrobatic than the first Hollow Knight’s, changing how you cross rooms and handle groups. Silk abilities and tools add decisions around combat and recovery. Exploration connects those encounters to the larger task of understanding a new land.

Choose it when you want another substantial side-on adventure rather than a direct copy of Nine Sols. Hornet has her own rhythm, so familiar genre habits won’t answer every problem. The game’s appeal is learning that rhythm while a kingdom gradually reveals what it expects of you.

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Best for deflections that decide a duel · PC, PS4, Xbox One versions · Single-player

Wolf is a shinobi charged with protecting a young lord, and the attempt to fulfill that duty draws him into a dangerous struggle over an extraordinary power. Sekiro keeps that personal commitment visible even as its world becomes increasingly strange.

Successful deflections pressure an enemy’s posture, letting a sustained exchange become the route to a decisive opening. Dodging is still useful, but backing away from every attack can surrender the rhythm. Stealth and prosthetic tools give you ways to prepare before a demanding encounter.

It takes first place because the comparison is mechanical rather than merely visual. Nine Sols players who enjoy answering attacks at the last moment will recognize the satisfaction, even in three dimensions. There is no online co-op, so persistence and learning have to do the work of a summoned helper.

Which game should you play next?

Follow Sekiro for the strongest deflection comparison, or Silksong for a new side-on journey with its own movement rhythm. The Lost Crown is a useful alternative if accessibility options and exploration tools matter to you. For more connected-world adventures, explore Best Metroidvania Games Like Voidwrought.