10 Best Metroidvania Games on PlayStation Plus (June 2026)

Looking for the best Metroidvania games on PlayStation Plus? Metroidvania games bring a perfect mix of action, platforming, and deep exploration. They let you unlock new powers, backtrack through hidden paths, and discover new areas as you grow stronger. With so many great options on PS Plus, it’s the right time to dive into this exciting genre. Here’s a list of ten fun and standout Metroidvania games you can play right now.

What Defines the Best Metroidvania Game?

A good Metroidvania game should give a sense of discovery through a connected world where paths link back to each other. Combat needs to be engaging, with enemies and bosses that test skill without becoming unfair. Progression works best when new abilities or tools open fresh areas, encouraging you to revisit earlier zones with a new purpose. Visual style and music play a big part too, which sets the right mood for long sessions. Considering all these things, we have put together this list of the best Metroidvania games that you can enjoy on PS Plus.

List of 10 Best PlayStation Plus Metroidvania Games in 2026

Each game on this list brings exciting combat, smart upgrades, and maps designed for deep exploration.

10. Strider

A cybernetic ninja slices through a dystopian city with relentless speed

Strider is set in a heavily militarized city controlled by a ruthless dictator named Grand Master Meio. The city is under total lockdown, monitored by soldiers, robots, and bio-engineered creatures loyal to the regime. You play as Hiryu, a top-ranked agent sent in to dismantle the entire power structure from the inside. The world has a cold, oppressive visual identity, built on industrial architecture, neon-lit corridors, and military installations stacked across multiple districts. The map expands as you collect new traversal abilities, and previously unreachable areas open up naturally over time.

Hiryu’s primary weapon is a plasma-edged sword called the Cypher, and slicing through groups of enemies with it feels aggressive and direct. The sword comes in different elemental variants discovered through exploration, and swapping between them is required to get past certain enemy types and environmental barriers. Movement is where the game truly separates itself, as Hiryu can run across walls, cling to ceilings, and chain jumps across vertical spaces with very little resistance.

9. Salt and Sacrifice

Chase powerful mages through hostile routes and survive brutal side-scrolling battles

Salt and Sacrifice is the follow-up to Salt and Sanctuary, and the sequel shifts the entire structure toward hunting down powerful Mages scattered across a dangerous frontier. The world is divided into distinct regions, and each one has its own visual identity, enemy behavior, and a ruling Mage controlling the area. The art style uses a detailed hand-drawn aesthetic with dark fantasy undertones. You take the role of a Marked Inquisitor venturing deeper into hostile territory to track down these Mages before they cause further destruction.

The world resists you at every step, and the further you push into new regions, the more aggressive the opposition becomes. The hunting loop is the defining feature of Salt and Sacrifice. When a Mage appears in a zone, you pursue it through waves of summoned minions before the confrontation itself, and those multi-phase boss encounters demand serious attention to positioning and attack patterns. Defeating a Mage yields rare crafting materials used to forge and upgrade powerful gear, and building the right equipment set becomes increasingly important as the difficulty scales up.

8. Celeste

A precision platformer about climbing a mountain and confronting inner struggles

Celeste follows Madeline, a young woman who decides to climb a notoriously difficult mountain despite having no climbing experience and a lot of personal baggage weighing her down mentally. The mountain is divided into chapters, and each chapter introduces a completely different visual theme alongside a new mechanical concept layered on top of the existing moveset. The pixel art is expressive and detailed throughout every section of the climb, and the soundtrack shifts in character to match the visual personality of each area.

Madeline’s moveset is deliberately minimal. She can jump, grab onto walls, and perform a single air dash in any direction before needing to reset on solid ground. The entire game is designed around those two actions, and the level design extracts an extraordinary range of challenges from that limited toolkit. Screens are self-contained obstacle sequences, and the difficulty escalates steadily through creative arrangements rather than overwhelming complexity. Celeste does not follow the traditional Metroidvania structure of interconnected maps and ability-gated progression, though the depth of its world and the density of its secrets place it comfortably alongside the best Metroidvania games on PlayStation Plus.

7. Source of Madness

Fight through shifting dark realms with spells against twisted creatures and bosses

Source of Madness is a side-scrolling roguelite set in a world perpetually consumed by cosmic horror. The creatures you encounter are generated by a neural network, and this means every run produces visually distinct enemies with different body structures, limb counts, and movement behaviors. The procedural generation extends beyond level layouts to the monsters themselves, so returning to the same biome on a second run feels genuinely different from the previous attempt.

The visual direction draws heavily from Lovecraftian horror, and the monster designs are unsettling in their fluid, asymmetrical anatomy. You play as a mage, and your offensive options are entirely magic-based. Spells are your primary tool for clearing through waves of enemies, and resource management during a run determines how long you survive before being overwhelmed. The skill tree is broad enough to support multiple viable paths, and discovering which combinations perform well against the procedurally generated enemies is a large part of what makes repeated runs worthwhile.

6. Child of Light

Travel through a fairy-tale world and lead Aurora’s party in battles

Child of Light is set in a darkened fantasy kingdom where the sun, moon, and stars have been stolen, and you play as Aurora, a young girl trying to restore light to the world. The entire game is rendered in a watercolor art style that genuinely looks like a moving painting, and the hand-crafted environments shift in color and design as you travel through different regions. Aurora gains the ability to fly early in the game, and aerial navigation opens up the world in a way that separates Child of Light from most other titles in the genre. Hidden paths and optional encounters are tucked throughout the world for those willing to explore beyond the obvious route.

The battle system is turn-based, and the order of actions is determined by a moving bar at the bottom of the screen that tracks both your characters and the enemies. Hitting an enemy while their turn is about to trigger will interrupt their action and push them back on the bar, and this mechanic becomes increasingly important as enemy encounters grow more demanding. Aurora travels alongside a small firefly companion named Igniculus, and in two-player mode, a second person can control Igniculus directly.

5. Rain World

Survive a decaying industrial world where you are prey as much as predator

Rain World is set in a flooded, post-industrial world on the verge of total collapse, and you play as a small creature called a Slugcat separated from its family. The world is not structured around guiding you forward. Massive predators roam the environment with their own independent behavior, and they are not scripted to appear at convenient moments. They patrol, hunt, and respond to sound and movement regardless of what you are doing. The ecosystem operates on its own logic, and your survival depends on reading that logic correctly.

The environments are dense with pipes, ruins, and flooded chambers, and the rain cycle forces you to find shelter before deadly downpours flood the open areas entirely. Slugcat moves through the world by crawling into pipes, leaping between platforms, and using grabbed objects as weapons or distractions against threats. Food scavenging is tied directly to progression, as Slugcat must eat enough before each shelter rest to survive to the next cycle. The experience is unlike anything else on this list, and its refusal to simplify the world for the player’s convenience is precisely the reason it holds a spot among the best PlayStation Plus Metroidvania games.

4. Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition

Fight enemies by leaping across floors and ceilings

Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition is a Metroidvania built entirely around a movement system that breaks from every convention the genre has established. Dandara cannot walk or run. Her entire traversal is based on launching herself between anchor points scattered across walls, floors, and ceilings, and the world itself is designed around this gravity-defying mechanic at every level. The environments are constructed with impossible geometry, and the architecture deliberately ignores the rules of physical space in ways that constantly reframe your sense of direction.

The launch mechanic is the defining challenge of Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition. Every surface jump requires you to read the available anchor points ahead of time and plan your trajectory before committing, and repositioning mid-encounter against aggressive enemies demands spatial awareness that takes real time to develop. Enemies fire projectiles in structured patterns, and Dandara responds with a ranged attack that must be aimed deliberately between each movement. The two actions, repositioning and attacking, must be coordinated carefully because poor positioning leaves you exposed with limited options for escape. This game earns its position among the best PS Plus Metroidvania games through a movement system that is genuinely unlike anything else in the genre.

3. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

Transform between creature forms to overcome obstacles across a vibrant interconnected world

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a direct successor to the classic Wonder Boy series, and the game carries that lineage with obvious care in every aspect of its production. You play as Jin, a young man chasing after his uncle who has cast a chaotic spell over the kingdom and transformed its citizens into animals. Jin himself gets caught in the curse and must recover various animal forms across the journey to progress through the world. The hand-animated 2D artwork is exceptional throughout, and the character animations are fluid enough to rival productions with far larger budgets.

The world is structured in the classic Metroidvania tradition of interconnected areas, and new regions open up as Jin collects additional forms. Each animal form Jin acquires carries a completely distinct set of physical abilities, and the game constantly introduces new environmental situations that require switching between forms to advance. Puzzles are designed around the specific capabilities of particular forms, and the solutions are rarely telegraphed directly. You have to experiment with your available options to find what works in each situation.

2. Dead Cells

One of the most popular Metroidvania games of all time

Dead Cells is a roguelite Metroidvania where the island you explore is structured across distinct biomes connected through a branching progression path. The route through those biomes on each run determines which weapons and encounters you face along the way, and the branching paths mean repeated runs do not always unfold in the same order. The world has a dark medieval aesthetic rendered in fluid pixel art, and the animation quality for both the player character and the enemies is exceptionally polished. Dead Cells secured a high position on our best PS Plus Metroidvania games 2026 list mainly through the sheer volume of its content.

Weapons are collected from defeated enemies and treasure rooms throughout each run, and Dead Cells has an enormous weapon pool spanning swords, bows, shields, traps, and grenades. The interactions between different weapon types produce emergent combinations that shift significantly between runs, and discovering a pairing that performs exceptionally well for a particular attempt is one of the most satisfying aspects of the experience. Permanent upgrades earned between runs gradually expand your starting options and increase the power available from the outset of each attempt.

1. Hollow Knight

Explore a vast underground insect kingdom packed with secrets and brutal boss encounters

Hollow Knight is set entirely underground in the ruins of an ancient insect civilization, and the scale of the world is genuinely staggering for an independently developed title. The kingdom spans dozens of interconnected areas, and each one has its own distinct visual identity, enemy roster, and environmental personality. The hand-drawn art style uses a restrained color palette that shifts meaningfully between regions, and the background music is one of the most cohesive soundtracks the genre has produced. Every area of the map feels purposefully constructed rather than procedurally arranged.

The Knight’s moveset expands steadily through exploration, and newly acquired abilities unlock access to previously unreachable sections across the entire map. Boss encounters are a defining strength of Hollow Knight. It tops this list of the best Metroidvania games on PlayStation Plus because the volume of content, the consistency of the world design across its full length, and the depth of its optional challenge all exceed what every other title on this list offers. Very few games in the genre have matched the combination of world scale, mechanical refinement, and raw content density that Hollow Knight sustains from the opening hours through to its final hidden ending.

FAQs

1. Is PlayStation Plus worth it for Metroidvania fans?

PlayStation Plus regularly includes Metroidvania titles across its library, and the catalog has grown significantly over recent years. Games like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Rain World are available through the service, and each one offers dozens of hours of content. If you enjoy exploration-heavy games with progression tied to unlocking new abilities, the library covers a wide range of styles within the genre.

2. Which PS Plus Metroidvania game is best for someone who wants a long experience?

Hollow Knight is the longest and most content-dense option available. The base game alone can take anywhere from 30 to 60 hours depending on how thoroughly you explore, and the optional boss encounters extend that significantly. Dead Cells also has exceptional longevity through its roguelite structure, since each run produces different weapon combinations and the difficulty tiers keep unlocking as you progress.

3. Which PS Plus Metroidvania is the hardest?

Rain World is arguably the most demanding on this list because the difficulty is not just mechanical. The world operates on its own ecosystem logic, and the game provides no guidance on how to navigate it. Dead Cells and Salt and Sacrifice are also punishing, though both follow more conventional difficulty curves that reward persistence and pattern recognition over time.

4. Are any of these PlayStation Plus Metroidvania games good for players who prefer lighter difficulty?

Child of Light is the most accessible entry on this list. The turn-based battle system is forgiving compared to action-heavy titles, and the world is designed to be explored at a comfortable pace. Celeste has an assist mode that lets you adjust the challenge to a level that works for you, making it accessible without removing the core experience entirely.

5. Which PS Plus Metroidvania games have the best boss fights?

Hollow Knight has one of the most celebrated boss rosters in the genre, and the optional encounters sit well above the difficulty of the critical path. Dead Cells also has memorable boss encounters that serve as gates between difficulty tiers. Salt and Sacrifice builds its entire progression around multi-phase Mage encounters, and those fights are the defining challenge of that game.

6. Do any of these PS Plus Metroidvania games support co-op?

Salt and Sacrifice supports online co-op, and bringing a second player into Mage hunts changes how those encounters unfold. Child of Light allows a second player to control Igniculus, the firefly companion, during both exploration and battles. These are the two most notable co-op options across this list.

7. Which of these games has the most unique movement system?

Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition has the most unconventional movement of any game on this list. Dandara cannot walk or run, and all traversal is based on launching between anchor points on walls, floors, and ceilings. Rain World also has a distinct movement system with physical weight and momentum that behaves differently from most platformers in the genre.

8. Are these Metroidvania games available on PS4 or only PS5?

Most titles on this list are available on PS4, including Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Child of Light, Celeste, and Rain World. Availability through PlayStation Plus can vary depending on your subscription tier, and the specific plan you hold determines which titles are accessible for download at no extra cost.

9. Which PS Plus Metroidvania is best if you enjoy roguelite progression?

Dead Cells is the strongest roguelite option on this list. Each run starts fresh, weapons are collected during the run, and permanent upgrades carry forward between attempts to gradually expand your starting options. Source of Madness also follows a roguelite structure, and its procedurally generated enemies make each run feel visually and mechanically different from the last.

10. Which game on this list is best if you want stunning visuals?

Child of Light and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom are the two most visually distinctive entries. Child of Light renders the entire world in a watercolor art style that looks like a moving painting throughout every region. Monster Boy uses hand-animated 2D artwork with fluid character animations that rival productions with far larger development budgets.