Silksong fans may have another wait ahead. Team Cherry announced the Sea of Sorrows expansion a few months after Hollow Knight: Silksong launched, with the free DLC planned for sometime in 2026. With only four months remaining in the year, patience is wearing thin.
There is also a chance the expansion could arrive later than expected. Silksong itself began life as downloadable content for Hollow Knight before becoming a large standalone sequel, so a delay would not be unprecedented. Whether the wait lasts months or much longer, these seven games offer different ways to enjoy precise platforming, exploration, demanding combat and unusual takes on the metroidvania formula.
1. Blue Fire
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Blue Fire translates the metroidvania into 3D while retaining the demanding movement that appeals to Silksong players. Its small, masked hero, Umbra, carries a sword and explores a world built around fast platforming, dashes and wall climbs.
The spirit system serves a similar role to the crests and charms found in the Hollow Knight games. Blue Fire also has its own identity, adding three-dimensional features such as blocking and Z-targeting. Those mechanics may appeal to players who enjoy the action-adventure design of 3D Zelda games.
2. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Where to play: Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online NES library
Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link was one of several NES games that helped inspire Hollow Knight, alongside Metroid, Faxanadu and Mega Man. It stands apart from the rest of the Zelda series with side-scrolling action and RPG elements that bring Castlevania to mind.
It is also widely regarded as the toughest Zelda game. Quick enemies, limited lives and a death penalty that sends Link back to the beginning make every attempt demanding. For players who enjoy difficult encounters and lengthy runbacks, it remains a revealing part of the genre’s history.
3. Cuphead
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Cuphead is a run-and-gun boss-rush game with visuals inspired by 1920s rubber-hose animation, while Silksong focuses more heavily on open-world exploration and platforming. Their shared strength is uncompromising difficulty.
Success depends on learning attack patterns, reading projectiles and reacting at the right moment. Cuphead’s multi-phase battles make players run, jump and duck through dense barrages, delivering the same kind of tense repetition that makes a difficult Silksong boss satisfying to overcome.
4. Tunic
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Tunic combines isometric action-adventure with metroidvania-style exploration. Its central idea is wonderfully unusual: instead of receiving a complete guide, you collect pages from an instruction manual as you progress. The pages gradually reveal the world and its broader story, although much of the text uses a unique script. Fan translations are available for players who need help interpreting it.
You control a small fox in a green tunic, carrying a sword and shield after waking on the shore of the game’s world. Hidden routes fill the attractive overworld, while new items and abilities open access to previously unreachable areas. That emphasis on discovery makes Tunic a strong choice for players who enjoy exploring every corner.
5. Mina the Hollower
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Mina the Hollower is aimed squarely at players who welcome a serious challenge. Its difficulty arrives early, and learning the limits of its rigid combat system takes patience. Optional modifiers can soften the experience for anyone who wants the secrets and story without the full level of pressure.
Rather than drawing primarily from NES-era games, Mina the Hollower looks to the Game Boy Color, especially Zelda titles such as Link’s Awakening. Its map and story are packed with secrets, giving Silksong and Hollow Knight fans plenty to investigate.
6. Rain World
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Rain World begins with a vulnerable creature in an unfamiliar environment and offers very little guidance. Its slugcat protagonist must survive in a hostile post-apocalyptic ecosystem where predators behave like part of a functioning food chain.
This is not a progression-focused adventure where upgrades steadily make the hero stronger. Instead, survival depends on finding food, reaching shelter before recurring rainstorms and avoiding deadly animals. Players looking for atmosphere, uncertainty and a platformer that treats its world as an ecosystem will find something distinct here.
7. Yoku’s Island Express
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One
Yoku’s Island Express is a metroidvania built around pinball. You play as Yoku, a dung beetle postie charged with saving Mokumana Island, but there is no conventional jump button. Instead, Yoku is attached to a ball and propelled through tracks, chutes and the wider map by pinball flippers.
The result is a genuinely different take on exploration and platforming. Players who found Hornet’s diagonal pogo difficult to master may appreciate the fresh challenge of navigating an interconnected world through launchers and paddles rather than standard jumping.
While waiting for Sea of Sorrows, it is worth looking beyond traditional metroidvanias. From Blue Fire’s three-dimensional movement to Yoku’s pinball traversal, these games cover a broad range of ideas while retaining the exploration, precision and challenge that make Silksong so appealing.
For readers bringing that arcade spirit home, RETROCADE’s arcade blog covers gaming and arcade news, while the arcade machine buying guide can help compare options. Compact setups are collected in the bartop arcade range, and hands-on builders can explore DIY arcade kits.
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