Similar games to HK!

[kodkarma]

Hello! I've passed the first 3 HK finals, now I'm going for the other two and the achievements. But I would like to ask if you know any game like HK, with lore and that is metroidvania, since after finishing it I want to start a new one.
Thanks ^^
PS: I have Dead Cells and Hades on hold.

[Salfaden]

Dead cells and Hades are great but they're Rogue-likes.

For metroidvania, I suggest checking out:

- Ori and Blind forest, Ori and Will of the Wisps
- Tails of Iron
- Blasphemous
- Ender lillies
- Steamworld Dig 2
- Castlevania series
- Metroid series

I donno if these come under the metroidvania genre but they're worth checking out too:

- Little Nightmares 1 and 2
- Grime
- F.I.S.T. (Forged in Shadow Torch)

But be wary dude, HK set such a high bar for the genre, playing any other metroidvania game after HK might feel boring, so don't compare all those other games to HK and play them as their own, guaranteed to enjoy them. Happy playing!

[🉑 rezno[R].technology]

I personally think there are no such games as Hollow Knight. HK is unique (at least for me).

But I may point you to the titles of some of the platformer games with or without metroidvania elements that I personally enjoyed as a big Hollow Knight fan:
✅ Hollow Knight (2017)
✅ Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (2015–2016)
✅ Ori and the Will of the Wisps (2020)
✅ SteamWorld Dig 2 (2017)
✅ SteamWorld Dig (2013)
✅ Yoku's Island Express (2018)
✅ GRIS (2018)
✅ Rayman Origins (2011)
✅ Rayman Legends (2013)
✅ Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (2013–2014)
✅ Guacamelee 2 (2018)
✅ Hob (2017)
✅ Unravel (2016)
✅ LIMBO (2011)
✅ INSIDE (2016)
✅ The Messenger (2018)
✅ Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021)
✅ Psychonauts 2 (2021)

You may or may not enjoy these games. As with all personal favourites lists, this is a subjective list. Have fun!

[II Wingless II]

Depends on what you mean by similar...if you mean artistic, story-driven side scrollers/platformers? Braid, Limbo, Little Nightmares I & II, and INSIDE come to mind.

Otherwise for games that are most similar to HK I'd suggest Salt and Sanctuary and Blasphemous, and maybe Ghosts N' Goblins Resurrection but I have not played those myself.

Also as far as Metroid games go, Super and Dread, and Zero Mission are the closest. I haven't played Castlevania games but Symphony of the Night is supposed to be the peak of the series.

[kanna]

Just piping up to back the suggestions of Little Nightmares. It's not a metroidvania mind you, as it's very linear, but it's got action and is a memorable series for sure. If you enjoy delving into lore about a mysterious character in an overall mysterious story), LN has that mood. (The DLCs are good too, if you enjoy the base game.)

I tend to gravitate more toward these types of games too, regardless of genre.

[SvensPron]

Environmental Station Alpha is a great metroidvania with big lore stuff in the post game if you enjoy solving really obtuse puzzles.

[Hotel Security]

PS: I have Dead Cells and Hades on hold.

I haven't played this myself but everything I know and hear about Hades is it's nothing like HK at all. I avoided stuff like Dead Cells and Sundered myself since I don't like the randomly-generated stuff.

Closest games to HK where it excels at a mix of combat and platforming are Blasphemous, The Messenger, and Guacamelee. All are awesome games.

The Ori series is much more platforming based while games like Salt and Sanctuary, Timespinner, Bloodstained, Momodora and such are more like Castlevania where there's not much emphasis on platforming. Axiom Verge is basically the closest thing to a Metroid game if you want something like that. All of those are great games. Obviously if you haven't played the classic Metroid and Castlevania games then hurry up and get to those.

Other good Metroid-ish games I've enjoyed are Blaster Master Zero, Elliot Quest, Bunny Must Die, Strider, Outland, Chasm, Iconoclasts, and Shadow Complex.

I never heard of Tails of Iron and that looks pretty intriguing. F.I.S.T. is on my list as well.

[residentleever]

You could also play the games/series that influenced it the most:
Super Metroid
Mega Man X & Zero series
Zelda 2
Faxanadu

[Dehra]

Play Blasphemous, i think the game is the closest to it. You can't nail bounce on enemies, but the game has a robust parry system. It also has spells that you need to charge up like in Hollow Knight.

[HunterXCooL]

Ori and the blind forest
Blasphemous
Guacamelee 2

And there is a lot other but it doesn't even comes close to HK imo... even that three is still lose if compared to HK

[Crane]

seeing alot of good answers but missing bloodstained ritual of the night

[Hotel Security]

Mega Man X & Zero series

I've played every one of these games and, outside of them both being side-scrollers, I don't think these are like HK at all. And why not classic Mega Man!?

Play Blasphemous, i think the game is the closest to it.

I agree. There's a lot of HK feel in Blasphemous and I really like the lore in the game as well. It's probably a bit easier than HK as a whole but I still struggled in some fights.