We love a good Metroidvania, and you'll find 24 of our favorites in the Steam Autumn Sale for as low as $2, from Hollow Knight to The Messenger

Hollow Knight art work
(Image credit: Team Cherry)

The Steam Autumn Sale is well underway, offering steep discounts on everything from the biggest blockbusters to the quaintest indies until next week on November 28. Arguably the best thing about the discount fest, though, is that our 24 favorite Metroidvanias are on sale for as low as $2.

Metroidvanias are those zig-zagging, labyrinthine games inspired by the genre’s two namesakes: Metroid and Castlevania. You’ll need to progress to unlock new abilities, which will then let you go back and access other areas, bypass previously locked obstacles, and look uber-stylish while doing so. It’s essentially an exercise in learning a map like the back of your hand, and then untangling the big, knotted mess with super cool moves.

Our 25 Best Metroidvanias list runs through the genre’s highlights, and a whopping 24 of those are discounted in Valve’s latest sale. (Only the Mummy Demastered is missing.)

That includes our very favorite, the roguelike mash-up Dead Cells, which is enjoying a 40% discount and is available for £13/$15. The grim, bug-squashing masterpiece Hollow Knight has also slashed its price tag by 50% and is up for £6/$7.50.

Those are the two modern biggies, but what else is on offer? If you enjoyed the throwback RPG Sea Of Stars earlier this year, you might be interested in its Metroidvania predecessor that’s set in the same universe: The Messenger, currently £4/$5

Less fighting, more cool traversal? Well, Ori and the Blind Forest is also one of the very best modern platformers (plus it’s drop-dead gorgeous), and it’s just £4/$5. Yoku’s Island Express is another one that emphasizes slick movement thanks to its pinball protag. Essentially, you can get flung around a summery island with pinball physics for £3/$5. You can find every other discounted game in Steam’s Autumn Sale.

See our best roguelikes list to check what other gems are currently on sale. 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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