Metroidvania heads are eating good in 2024 with two certified bangers releasing back to back this week - and we're still only in January.
What are those bangers? Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has been in the limelight for a while at this point thanks to news of its technical prowess on all consoles, innovative map feature that every game should take note of, and an excellent demo that convinced many this was the refresh the series needed.
Gamesradar's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review said it was "filled with intrigue, neat brain-teasing puzzles, masterful platforming, and spectacle-fueled boss battles." Many others have compared it to other genre heavyweights like the soaring Ori games or the studio's own Rayman Legends, making me even more excited to jump into the time-twisting adventure when it releases on January 15.
The other early Metroidvania hit is the recently released Momodara: Moonlit Farewell, the first game in the long-running series in eight whole years. The almost-painful waits seem to have been worth it, though, based on the "Very Positive" user reviews on Steam.
Many players had glowing praise for the sequel's crisp movement and screen-filling combat, as well as what you'd expect from the genre: exploration that has you detangling an intricate map and big, big boss battles. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell currently enjoys a 10% introductory offer on Steam, should you want a pixel twist in this month's Metroidvania fix.
What's most exciting is that the rest of the year is also absolutely stacked with promising genre highlights. February pushes out the spectacularly colorful Ultros, which looks like an action-platformer took some magic mushrooms. April sees publisher EA Originals enter the ring with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, a game heavily inspired by Bantu mythology.
And then, of course, we have the one and only Hollow Knight: Silksong which is still slated for release later this year. I’m gathering all my copium to generate some news soon, don’t worry.
Who knows what our best Metroidvanias list will look like when 2024 is done.
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