This atmospheric indie gives off serious Hollow Knight and Metroid vibes, and Steam players are here for it.
Developed by Old Moon, Ghost Song is a 2D Metroidvania that borrows heavily from Team Cherry's masterpiece with beautifully hand-drawn visuals that bring its haunting world to life in spectacular fashion. Set on the desolate moon of Lorian, you take control of the Dreadsuit, a sturdy battlesuit with a blaster that lets you take down all manner of alien opponents in a similar way to Metroid's Samus Aran.
"Journey beneath the surface on an atmospheric 2D adventure of self-discovery, ancient mysteries, and cosmic terror," reads the game's description on Steam. In typical Metroidvania fashion, you'll explore winding environments in search of items to expand your repertoire of abilities, granting you access to new areas. Along the way, you'll also find upgrades for your suit and blaster, which come in handy when facing off against the game's fearsome foes.
Having launched last week, Ghost Song is currently sitting pretty with a "very positive" user rating on Steam. Players praise everything from its art style and atmosphere to its gameplay mechanics and combat. One reviewer describes it as "something of a love letter to the early Metroid games", adding that it "does a good job of evoking that specific sense of lonely alien exploration while still very much being its own thing." Another says it's "easily the best Metroidvania since Hollow Knight and captures the feeling of 2D Metroid games like no other."
With a release date for Hollow Knight: Silksong still nowhere in sight, Ghost Song looks like the perfect game to make the long wait for the highly-anticipated sequel a little less painful. If you're keen to give it a whirl, it's out now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Game Pass.
For more great titles from independent developers, check out our guide to new indie games 2022.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
