10
GocdkeysLV 10Staff
14 metroidvanias on PS4, from Hollow Knight to Castlevania Advance Collection, with PSN keys from €3.99 (no fees) and what an account costs instead.
Key facts
- Cheapest right now
- € Standard · Account · Global · Difmark
- Live offers
- 8 offers · 6 stores
- Our pick
- GOTY · PSN Key · Global · Amazon FR — €
Few consoles have as many good metroidvanias as the PS4. Nearly every one that made a name for itself on PC over the last few years was ported to it, and Konami's Game Boy Advance Castlevanias turned up too. These are the fourteen we'd pick, along with what each one costs this morning.
The starting point was every PS4 game in our catalogue whose PC version carries the «Metroidvania» tag on Steam and that had at least two offers in stock today. Steam tags are added by players and they stick to games that don't really fit, TUNIC and Supraland among them, so we only kept games built around a connected map that opens up as you gain new abilities. Anything with Mixed reviews, such as Curse of the Sea Rats, was left out. The scores are the Steam reviews for the PC version, since PlayStation has nothing comparable: share of positive reviews, then the total.
All of these run on a PS5 through backward compatibility, but if that's your console, our list of the best metroidvania games on PS5 is the better starting point.
A PSN key of your own, or a borrowed account
Ten of the fourteen have a PSN key in stock, which you redeem on your own account and keep. Nine of those keys come straight from the PlayStation Store, with no fee; the exception is Aeterna Noctis, more on that below. The cheaper option on almost every game is an account, mostly from Difmark: you get the login to a PSN account that belongs to someone else and already owns the game. You can play it on your console, but it isn't yours, and if the seller takes the account back, the game goes with it. Difmark prices below already include the Gocdkeys coupon.
For Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Afterimage we found only accounts. The PlayStation Store does sell them, we just don't have its price today, and some shops also have the disc version, which you'll see on each game's page.
Hollow Knight, Silksong and two more at the top
Hollow Knight by Team Cherry is still the one most people name first. You're a small, silent knight exploring Hallownest, a ruined underground kingdom of insects, with more than 130 enemies and around 30 bosses, and the game leaves you to find your own way. It's the most reviewed game here, 96% of 508,390 positive on Steam. No PSN key in stock today; the cheapest way in is a Difmark account at €9.69 (€10.13 with fees).
Hollow Knight: Silksong hands the lead to Hornet, the warrior princess from the first game, and sends her to a new kingdom with more than 150 enemy types, quests and the same hand-drawn art. Steam reviews are lower than the original's, 89% of 391,201 positive, which still puts it well up the list. The PlayStation Store sells the PSN key for €19.99 (no fees); a Difmark account is €10.24 (€10.70 with fees).
Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist comes from Adglobe and Binary Haze, the team behind Ender Lilies. You play Lilac, a Tuner who can save the Homunculi, artificial beings, in a ruined world called the Land of Smoke, with more than 30 skills to unlock. 95% of 17,405 positive. €24.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store, €16.79 (€17.55 with fees) for the Difmark account.
Nine Sols, from Taiwan's Red Candle Games, is probably the hardest of the four. Yi wakes up bent on revenge against the nine Sols who rule the world, and the Sekiro-inspired combat is all about deflecting at the right moment. The setting blends cyberpunk with Taoism and eastern myth. 94% of 41,210 positive. The key isn't cheap: €28.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store, against €19.31 (€20.18 with fees) for a Difmark account.
Castlevania and the old school
Castlevania Advance Collection bundles Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow from the Game Boy Advance, plus Dracula X, with a few new options added by Konami. If you want to see where half this genre comes from, start here. 91% of 2,257 positive. The PSN key is €19.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store, or €8.39 (€8.77 with fees) for a Difmark account.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is Lizardcube and Dotemu's remake of the Master System game. A curse turns you into a lizard man, and every dragon you beat gives you a new form (mouse, piranha, lion, hawk) that gets you into another part of the map. One button swaps between the new hand-drawn art and the original graphics. 86% of 1,991 positive, and its key is the cheapest on the list: €3.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store, the lowest we've seen it.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, by Game Atelier and FDG, takes the same transformation idea and adds more gear (armour, weapons, boots) and routes that open up as you go. 88% of 2,461 positive. The PlayStation Store wants €39.99 (no fees) for it, a lot when the key has dropped to €9.99 (before fees) in past sales. The Difmark account is €16.79 (€17.55 with fees). If you'd rather wait for the key, set a price alert for Monster Boy and we'll email you when it falls.
Harder, darker and mostly cheaper
Blasphemous, made by The Game Kitchen in Seville and published by Team17, casts you as the Penitent One in a world soaked in twisted religious imagery, with tough fights and a lot of pixel-art gore. 90% of 55,677 positive. The PSN key is €6.24 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store and the Difmark account €4.39 (€4.59 with fees), so the account saves you less than two euros.
Aeterna Noctis, from Spanish studio Aeternum Game Studios, is hand-drawn and owes a lot to Hollow Knight, with very demanding platforming and fast, mobile combat. Its reviews are the weakest on this list, 76% of 1,736 positive, but it's the only game with a reseller PSN key: Kinguin has a European key for €4.98 with code NOVGOC10 (€5.73 with fees), against €29.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store. It's for a European PSN account. A Difmark account costs €3.82 (€3.99 with fees). All the shops are on the Aeterna Noctis PS4 key page.
Afterimage, by Aurogon Shanghai, is a hand-drawn 2D action RPG set in the world of Engardin, with plenty of bosses and skills to build your character around. 79% of 7,066 positive. Accounts only, from €7.55 (€7.89 with fees) at Difmark.
Four that bend the formula
Dead Cells by Motion Twin is a roguelite with a metroidvania map: every death sends you back to the start of the island. It has the best score of the fourteen, 97% of 157,452 positive. Like Hollow Knight, today it's only available as an account, €10.07 (€10.52 with fees) at Difmark.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, from Ubisoft Montpellier, turns the series into a 2.5D metroidvania set on Mount Qaf, with time powers and a lot of combos. 83% of 7,265 positive. There's no PSN key in our shops, but GamesPSN has an account for €1.44 (no fees), the lowest price we've ever tracked for it.
F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch, by TiGames, stars Rayton, a rabbit with a huge mechanical fist, trying to free the city of Torch from a robot legion. 86% of 6,731 positive. €8.99 (no fees) for the key at the PlayStation Store, the lowest we've seen for it, or €5.37 (€5.61 with fees) for the Difmark account.
Ghost Song, by Old Moon, is the quiet one: science fiction on a distant planet full of ruins, melancholic in tone with a touch of cosmic horror. 84% of 1,004 positive, from a small number of players. €19.99 (no fees) at the PlayStation Store or €8.39 (€8.77 with fees) for the Difmark account.
Here are all fourteen side by side:
| Game | Steam reviews (PC version) | PSN key | Cheapest account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollow Knight | 96% (508,390) | no price today | €9.69 (€10.13 with fees), Difmark |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong | 89% (391,201) | €19.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €10.24 (€10.70 with fees), Difmark |
| Dead Cells | 97% (157,452) | no price today | €10.07 (€10.52 with fees), Difmark |
| Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist | 95% (17,405) | €24.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €16.79 (€17.55 with fees), Difmark |
| Nine Sols | 94% (41,210) | €28.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €19.31 (€20.18 with fees), Difmark |
| Castlevania Advance Collection | 91% (2,257) | €19.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €8.39 (€8.77 with fees), Difmark |
| Blasphemous | 90% (55,677) | €6.24 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €4.39 (€4.59 with fees), Difmark |
| Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom | 88% (2,461) | €39.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €16.79 (€17.55 with fees), Difmark |
| Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap | 86% (1,991) | €3.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €2.68 (€2.80 with fees), Difmark |
| F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch | 86% (6,731) | €8.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €5.37 (€5.61 with fees), Difmark |
| Ghost Song | 84% (1,004) | €19.99 (no fees), PlayStation Store | €8.39 (€8.77 with fees), Difmark |
| Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | 83% (7,265) | no price today | €1.44 (no fees), GamesPSN |
| Afterimage | 79% (7,066) | no price today | €7.55 (€7.89 with fees), Difmark |
| Aeterna Noctis | 76% (1,736) | €4.98 with code NOVGOC10 (€5.73 with fees), Kinguin, EU | €3.82 (€3.99 with fees), Difmark |
If you're only buying one, make it Hollow Knight. Played it already? Silksong or Nine Sols. On a tight budget, the Wonder Boy key is €3.99 and the Aeterna Noctis key stays under €6 even with fees.
Prices checked on the morning of 10 November.
The best souls-like games on Nintendo Switch: Dark Souls Remastered, Hollow Knight and Blasphemous
Buying guidesThe best dating sim games on PS5: Persona 3 Reload, Date Everything, Please Be Happy and 10 more
Buying guidesThe best split-screen games on Xbox: F1 25, Wobbly Life, Outward and 10 more
Buying guidesThe best cat games on PC: Stray, Little Kitty, Big City, Mewgenics and 13 more
What do you think? Share your take on this post below with other players.
Italiano
English
Español
Português
Deutsch
Français