The Hardest Metroidvanias on Steam, Ranked by Player Votes
Last updated: May 2026
At the top of this list, you will not find Hollow Knight. Nor Nine Sols, nor Blasphemous. Instead, you will find Aeterna Noctis, a Spanish-developed hand-drawn Metroidvania at 9.13/10, with Cathedral and Laika: Aged Through Blood just behind. Not exactly household names, but the hardest games rarely are.
Never fear, however, as your Metroidvania darlings might find themselves among the pantheon of hair-pullers. The question is where do each of them land? Find out below!
What Even Counts as a Metroidvania?
The genre name comes from two franchises, Metroid and Castlevania, but the edges have always been debated.
To keep things more contained, this list covers 2D platformer Metroidvanias on Steam. While this does cut out a genre staple in Metroid Prime and certainly genre derivatives like the Souls series, there are a plethora of 2D platformer Metroidvanias to give us plenty to think about and compare. 2D Soulslike platformers with Metroidvania structure absolutely belong here: Hollow Knight, Silksong, Nine Sols, and The Last Faith are all ranked below, while 3D Soulslikes like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Sekiro are not.
For Castlevania specifically, we draw the line at 1997. The classic pre-Symphony entries are linear action platformers, not Metroidvanias. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night introduced the non-linear interconnected world and ability-gated progression that defines the genre, and every Castlevania entry after it built on that template. Those games are included here; the ones before are not.
Full Rankings: Top 20 Hardest Metroidvanias on Steam
- 1
Aeterna Noctis
The highest-rated Metroidvania on the site, and one of the highest-rated games across the entire platform. With just 8 ratings, it remains criminally underplayed for something this extreme. Known within the genre for platforming sections that rival dedicated hardcore platformers: hand-drawn and relentless, with boss patterns that demand memorisation at a level most MVs never reach. Its difficulty curve is steep from the first hour, checkpoints are sparse, and basic enemies deal chip damage that accumulates fast. All 8 raters scored it 8 or above.
- 2
Cathedral
A retro-styled Metroidvania built on the design principles that make the genre punishing: enemies respawn, resources are limited, and progression is gated behind abilities scattered across a non-linear world. Seven ratings and an 8.71 average makes Cathedral a quiet outlier; most players who would rate it highly have not found it yet. The first area is accessible; after that the game expects players to have internalised its patterns. Four of 7 raters scored it 9 or 10.
- 3
Laika: Aged Through Blood
Six ratings, 8.50 average, almost no mainstream visibility. Laika might be the most overlooked game on this list. It is a motorvania: Metroidvania on a motorbike, set in a brutalist wasteland. Every combat encounter requires managing bike orientation and momentum while fighting. Standard action game instincts do not transfer; the physics-based movement means deaths arrive in ways that feel unfamiliar even to experienced genre players. All 6 raters scored it 7 or above.
- 4
La-Mulana
An ancient ruin Metroidvania where the real challenge is deciphering handwritten notes and tablet inscriptions before instant-kill traps reach you. Every room is both a puzzle and a platforming challenge; collecting items in the wrong order can leave a save file in an unwinnable state with no indication that anything has gone wrong. All 10 raters scored it 7, 8, or 9.
- 5
Nine Sols
The Sekiro of Metroidvanias, and the most-rated game in this category by a wide margin. Nine Sols builds its combat around a strict parry system: every enemy attack must be deflected at precise timing, then finished with a charged Talisman detonation. There is no stamina bar; the game enforces its parry logic from the first enemy to the last. Late encounters require extended parry chains against enemies that punish any lapse in concentration. With 34 ratings, Nine Sols has the most statistically robust score on the list.
- 6
Environmental Station Alpha
A Metroid-style sci-fi exploration game that earns its difficulty the old-fashioned way: no map markers, no hand-holding, and environmental hazards that kill before the player understands what happened. The world is dense and interconnected, with shortcuts locked behind abilities found far from where they are needed. ESA's visual modesty disguises one of the more demanding MVs on the platform. Twenty ratings, 8.00 average, almost no mainstream recognition.
- 7
Hollow Knight: Silksong
The sequel to Hollow Knight brings its own identity: faster and more aggressively combat-focused, with a boss roster clearly designed for players who already cleared the original. Where Hollow Knight escalates slowly toward its optional endgame, Silksong is adversarial from earlier in the run. Early community consensus places it harder than the base Hollow Knight experience, and the numbers agree.
- 8
Tevi
From the developers of Rabi-Ribi, Tevi merges 2D Metroidvania structure with bullet hell boss fights. The exploration side is accessible; the bosses are not. Tevi's difficulty is concentrated almost entirely in its fights: dense attack patterns that require reading multiple simultaneous projectile streams while managing repositions and punish windows. Players who found Rabi-Ribi manageable will find Tevi escalates faster.
- 9
The Last Faith
Seven ratings and a 7.86 average makes The Last Faith a surprising entry for those unfamiliar with it. A gothic pixel Soulslike built in a Metroidvania frame, its boss fights hit hard and fast with multi-phase patterns that punish passive play. The Victorian horror aesthetic makes hitboxes harder to read at speed; several encounters deal enough damage in a single combo to kill regardless of health investment.
- 10
Rabi-Ribi
A bullet hell Metroidvania that leans harder into its bullet hell half than most genre hybrids. The exploration and platforming are standard MV fare; the bosses are not. Rabi-Ribi throws dense overlapping pattern waves that require reading, repositioning, and real-time decisions about which projectiles can be tanked versus which cannot. Difficulty modes go well beyond what most players will ever attempt.
- 11
La-Mulana 2
A puzzle-first Metroidvania where the difficulty is almost entirely cognitive rather than mechanical. Every room contains tablet inscriptions hinting obliquely at solutions that cannot be brute-forced; collecting items in the wrong order can permanently break a puzzle with no warning or feedback. No map markers, no quest log, no indication that something has gone wrong until the door simply refuses to open.
- 12
Death's Gambit
A 2D Soulslike with full Metroidvania structure: connected world, ability-gated progression, and a boss roster that controls access to each new area. Death's Gambit hits harder relative to the health pool than Blasphemous, and its death mechanics carry consequences beyond lost progress. Players who found Blasphemous too lenient often find this the more demanding of the two.
- 13
Astalon: Tears of the Earth
Seven ratings and a 7.57 average for a game that deserves more attention. Astalon is a roguelite Metroidvania where dying is the core mechanic for unlocking permanent upgrades: the world is hostile from the start, and the game relies on players repeatedly dying and returning to slowly extend their reach. Three characters with different abilities must be managed across each run; losing any of them has real consequences.
- 14
Hollow Knight
The baseline every Metroidvania is measured against. The core game is manageable for experienced action platformer players, but Hollow Knight extends far past its apparent ending: the Path of Pain contains precision platforming that rivals any dedicated platformer, and the Pantheon of Hallownest demands consecutive completion of 42 boss fights without checkpoints. Most players who finish the main story never encounter either. With 51 ratings, Hollow Knight has the most statistically stable score on the list.
- 15
Dead Cells
The roguelite structure erases every run: weapons, upgrades, and position reset to zero on death. Dead Cells scales difficulty through Boss Cells (up to five), each tier adding new enemy variants and more aggressive elites. By the higher cell counts, a single mistake in a poorly matched encounter is frequently unrecoverable without exceptional build synergy and health management.
- 16
Grime
A soulslike Metroidvania built around a parry-absorption system: most enemies can be consumed mid-combat to build the player's own traits. This creates an unusual incentive structure where dying costs not just progress but absorption opportunities. Grime's bosses require precise timing, and its upgrade path rewards players who engage with the absorption system rather than treating it as optional.
- 17
Blasphemous
Soulslike pacing in a 2D Metroidvania frame. Enemies hit hard relative to the health pool, attack patterns overlap, and death drops a guilt fragment at the location you fell: a passive Fervour debuff that persists until retrieved. The guilt system creates constant pressure to push forward; resting at checkpoints has a mechanical cost. 90% of our 21 raters scored it 7 or above.
- 18
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
The hardest of the GBA Castlevanias by player consensus on this site. Harmony of Dissonance introduces a dual-castle structure that adds navigational complexity on top of the Symphony-influenced formula. Magic sub-weapons add timing and resource management layers absent in simpler entries, and the enemy roster hits hard relative to the health pool from the start.
- 19
Blasphemous II
The sequel is more measured than the original but still operates in the same punishing tradition. Three starting weapons offer meaningfully different combat rhythms, and the map design forces backtracking through hostile areas before new abilities unlock. The optional content, including secret bosses and challenge rooms, is where the game's real difficulty ceiling becomes visible.
- 20
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
A GBA launch title and the first post-Symphony Castlevania for many players. Circle of the Moon is harder than Symphony of the Night across most of its runtime: enemy damage is high relative to the health pool, the DSS card system takes time to understand, and the endgame areas escalate enemy density considerably. Players approaching it expecting an accessible introduction to the series are regularly surprised.
Honorable Mentions
Just missed the top 20
These are genuine Metroidvanias that qualify by every criterion above but did not score high enough to crack the top 20.
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (6.75/10, 8 ratings). A confidently designed modern Metroidvania that withholds its real difficulty until the back half. Late-game platforming requires precise timing on a moveset that takes hours to internalise. The optional Trials of Sargon are explicitly designed to test mastery of every movement mechanic the game has introduced, and completing them is not expected on a first attempt.
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (6.73/10, 11 ratings). The best-regarded DS Castlevania overall, but the third-hardest in this cohort. Dawn of Sorrow introduced the Magic Seal mechanic (tracing patterns on the touchscreen to finish bosses), which adds a chaotic layer no other entry attempts. Enemy density in later areas is the more consistent source of difficulty.
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (6.64/10, 11 ratings). Widely named the hardest Castlevania in forum discussions, but the numbers put it below Harmony of Dissonance on this site. Its Glyph system limits available moves in ways that punish inflexible play, and several areas outside the castle are harder than anything in most other CV entries.
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (6.43/10, 14 ratings). The most accessible of the GBA Castlevanias by player consensus on this site. Aria of Sorrow's soul system makes players feel progressively overpowered as the game goes on; the early game tends to be harder than the late game for most runs.
On the cusp of Metroidvania
These games are either structured differently enough from the MV template to be excluded, or sit in a genuinely contested grey area.
- Tunic (7.17/10, 6 ratings). Tunic is 3D isometric, not a 2D platformer, which puts it outside the primary scope of this list. Its difficulty splits across two axes: combat against enemies with no readable moveset, and puzzles so well embedded in the world that most players finish the game without knowing they exist. The true ending requires solving a cipher the game never acknowledges is there. With 6 ratings and 7.17/10, it would place between Blasphemous and Harmony of Dissonance if included.
- Rain World (7.00/10, 6 ratings). Rain World has the full Metroidvania structure: interconnected world, exploration gating, no map markers. But its difficulty is survival-based rather than combat-based. Predators are not designed to be defeated, only escaped. Whether that qualifies as MV difficulty is a legitimate debate; what is not debatable is how hard it is.
- Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (7.00/10, 12 ratings). Harmony of Despair is co-op and stage-based, not an interconnected world. It takes maps from older Castlevanias and runs them as timed missions. The gameplay is recognisably Castlevania, but the structure is not a Metroidvania by any reasonable definition. It is listed here because players often ask why it is absent from the main rankings.
How This List Is Built
Every game on this list was rated by real players on How Difficult Is It?. The ranking is based on each game's average difficulty score, submitted by people who have actually played it. This list is a monthly snapshot. For live rankings that update every hour, see the rankings page.
- Source: Player-submitted difficulty ratings on How Difficult Is It?
- Genre scope: 2D Metroidvanias available on Steam, including post-1997 Castlevania titles
- Minimum ratings: At least 5 player ratings required to appear
- Sort method: Average difficulty score, highest first. Rating count breaks ties.
- Exclusions: Disqualified or flagged ratings are removed. 3D games, pre-Symphony Castlevanias, and pure Soulslike titles without Metroidvania structure are excluded.
- Update frequency: Monthly snapshot
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hardest Metroidvania on Steam according to player ratings?
As of May 2026, Aeterna Noctis ranks #1 with a difficulty score of 9.13/10. Cathedral (8.71) and Laika: Aged Through Blood (8.50) follow in second and third. Nine Sols, the most-rated Metroidvania on the site, sits at #5 with 8.06/10 from 34 ratings.
How is this ranking calculated?
Games are ranked by their average difficulty score submitted by players on How Difficult Is It?. Only games with at least 5 ratings are included. Disqualified or spam ratings are excluded. Games with equal average scores are sorted by number of ratings. The list covers 2D Metroidvanias available on Steam, plus post-1997 Castlevania titles that introduced the non-linear Symphony of the Night structure.
Is Hollow Knight the hardest Metroidvania?
Not according to player ratings. Hollow Knight ranks #14 with a difficulty score of 7.55/10 across 51 ratings. Nine Sols, Silksong, and a string of less well-known games all rate higher. Hollow Knight still has the largest rating sample in this category, making its score the most statistically stable on the list, but it sits in the middle of these rankings.
Where does Nine Sols rank, and what makes it so difficult?
Nine Sols ranks #5 at 8.06/10 from 34 ratings, making it the most-rated Metroidvania on the site. Its difficulty comes from a parry-first combat system modelled closely on Sekiro: every enemy attack must be deflected at precise timing before dealing damage, with no stamina bar and no option to roll through the parry requirement. The boss roster escalates to require extended parry sequences against fast, aggressive enemies.
Can I add my own difficulty rating?
Yes. Create a free account on How Difficult Is It? and rate any game you have played. Your rating is included in the community average and updates the live rankings within the hour.
