8 Metroidvanias That Hide Their Best Content Behind the Most Unexpected Paths

Metroidvanias are known for many reasons, but one of the main ones lies in their boldness in hiding much of their most interesting content through mechanisms that border on the obscure.

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Every so often, a title in the genre emerges that seems firmly determined to prevent players from discovering all its secrets, as they are encased in layers upon layers of mysteries only the most avid explorers will be able to penetrate.

However, they do so knowing that the satisfaction provided by making such discoveries is virtually unparalleled in the video game industry, impressively rewarding the most inquisitive minds.

Therefore, if you are among those players who enjoy hitting every wall until you find a hidden area, I exhort you to play these eight Metroidvanias that hide their best content behind the most unexpected paths.

8 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

A Revived Gimmick

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Action RPG Metroidvania Side-scroller Released June 18, 2019 ESRB T For Teen due to Blood, Partial Nudity, Violence Developer(s)ArtPlayPublisher(s)505 GamesEngine Unreal Engine 4 Genre(s)Action RPG, Metroidvania, Side-scroller Powered by ExpandCollapse

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is clearly inspired by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but its approach to hidden areas is, ignoring the time gap, one of its strongest points in comparison.

Instead of simply discovering upgrades for health or weapons, Miriam accesses a whole world of possibilities by unlocking the Invert Shard, which allows her to flip gravity and enter the highest areas of each room, concealing more than just high-level loot.

From nods to the NES to hidden bosses, the plethora of reasons to strive for 100% completion of this title is endless, but to achieve it, you need a keen eye to pinpoint the locations where a more thorough inspection is needed.

It's conceptually simple compared to many of its peers on the list, yet it's a magnificent subversion of Symphony of the Night's gimmick, particularly because of how the reward is far greater than simple level increases.

7 Aeterna Noctis

The Power of Teleportation

Aeterna Noctis Platformer Metroidvania Released December 15, 2021 ESRB T For Teen // Blood, Violence, Partial Nudity Developer(s) Aeternum Game Studios Publisher(s) Aeternum Game Studios Engine Unity Genre(s)Platformer, Metroidvania Powered by ExpandCollapse

Besides being among the most difficult Metroidvanias of all time, Aeterna Noctis stands out for its teleportation mechanic, which transforms each room into an infinite array of options if you know where to aim your arrows.

Beyond the sheer spectacle it provides, this movement mechanism grants access to typical upgrades, but almost always behind platforming challenges that border on the absurd and can easily keep you hooked for hours.

Musical scores, art fragments for The Collector, the Astral Gates, the Trials of the Kings... I've never bothered to measure it, but the percentage of optional content is among the highest in the entire genre.

Furthermore, much of it is necessary to access Aeterna Noctis' hysterically complex true ending, making it a superb option for those who enjoy intricate gameplay.

6 MIO: Memories in Orbit

Revealed Realities

MIO: Memories in Orbit Metroidvania Platformer Action Adventure 9/10Released January 20, 2026 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Language Developer(s) Douze Dixièmes Publisher(s) Focus Entertainment Genre(s)Metroidvania, Platformer, Action, Adventure Powered by ExpandCollapse

Since playing it, it's been pretty clear to me that MIO: Memories in Orbit belongs in the conversation of the most outstanding Metroidvanias of all time, and much of said assertion has to do with how it handles hidden paths.

Its world is gigantic and highly interactive thanks to the movement upgrades you unlock, which ostentatiously benefit the most imaginative players who really want to explore the combined possibilities they offer while controlling Mio.

Secret bosses, modifiers, platforming challenges... The typical elements are present, but even more important is the narrative, as the game hides the full explanation of its events and the fate of its characters behind walls of secrets.

Considering it has one of the genre's best stories, with magnificent NPCs and remarkable worldbuilding that sends shivers down your spine, MIO: Memories in Orbit's deliberate concealment of such a tale is daring but also highly rewarding.

5 Tunic

A Fragmented Guide

Tunic Adventure Released March 16, 2022 ESRB e Developer(s) Andrew Shouldice Publisher(s)FinjiEngine Unity Genre(s)Adventure Powered by ExpandCollapse

Some Metroidvanias hide bosses and areas while others conceal stories and lore, but Tunic goes much further and does something completely unprecedented: it masks the explanations of how the game works.

With unintelligible language, nonexistent tutorials, and an expansive world whose traversal is complex and highly interactive, the title becomes a passive witness to your growth as an adventurer, remaining silent as you lament not knowing where to go next.

Eventually, you'll find the guide pages necessary to progress, though the first ending is only half the journey. In reality, the truly majestic part lies in the real climax's pursuit, for which you'll have to jump on invisible slabs, input obtuse commands, walk behind deceptive waterfalls, and more.

Thus, Tunic presents one of the most extreme, intricate, and elaborate challenges I've ever witnessed in the genre, opening the Mountain Door, but I'll emphasize that your experience with the game won't be complete until you open it.

4 Super Metroid

Becoming One with the Environment

Super Metroid Action-Adventure Metroidvania Released April 18, 1994 ESRB e Developer(s)NintendoPublisher(s)NintendoGenre(s) Action-Adventure, Metroidvania Powered by ExpandCollapse

When it comes to daring forms of exploration, Super Metroid has come and gone while most haven't even started walking, because Nintendo really took seriously the task of hiding... everything.

Between main and side paths, optional and mandatory upgrades, and shortcuts and one-way access points, the game forces you to scrutinize every pixel of every screen, because there's a good chance a mystery is waiting to be uncovered.

When you realize you have to use a bomb to break a window and enter Maridia, a mechanic you only use once in the entire game, you understand you have to perfectly grasp your surroundings' organic functioning, as only then will you find your way around.

Nevertheless, I must admit the benefit of doing so isn't as great as in previous entries on the list, since the charm lies in the very act of discovering how Super Metroid makes you connect with Zebes, altering your mindset every time you play it like no other game in the genre.

3 Salt and Sanctuary

Embracing the Enigmatic

Salt and Sanctuary Action RPG Released March 15, 2016 ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence Developer(s)Ska StudiosPublisher(s)Ska StudiosEngine FNA / Microsoft XNA Game Studio Genre(s)Action RPG Powered by ExpandCollapse

Salt and Sanctuary took its Dark Souls inspiration a little too seriously, choosing to hide a vast amount of its components behind unexpected paths you tend to avoid, assuming you'll meet your demise.

The game is still a Soulslike, and losing your salt is always problematic, but that didn't stop Ska Studios from building castles in the air behind invisible platforms or opaque caves you access by following drops falling from the ceiling.

If you approach exploration properly, entire areas, bosses, creeds, weapons, armor, powers, NPCs, worldbuilding, and more await you after unintuitive platforming sequences and constant deaths from trial and error, which is wonderful.

You can get through Salt and Sanctuary barely seeing half of what it has to offer, so the recommendation is that you don't forget it's still a Metroidvania and, therefore, you have to backtrack extensively every time you unlock a new ability.

2 Animal Well

An Infinite Spiral

Animal Well Metroidvania PuzzleReleased May 9, 2024 ESRB E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Shared Memory Publisher(s) Bigmode Engine Proprietary Engine Genre(s)Metroidvania, Puzzle Powered by ExpandCollapse

Animal Well is just as capable of hiding a simple Easter egg behind miles of sequences where you have to use four different tools as an ARG-style puzzle that can only be solved by an entire community of players, because Billy Baso is a mad genius.

The entire title revolves around unexpected paths because you constantly think it's unlikely that the interactions the game hints at were pre-planned, though it always ends up proving anything is possible.

It feels like a sandbox in that the limits seem set by your own imagination, but it's a giant, fully pre-designed cognitive challenge that turns every room into a testing ground for all the mechanics at your disposal.

The standard ending is straightforward, yet what comes after the first set of credits is a cascade of mysteries considerably more exciting and captivating than the first, which conceals the true wonder that is Animal Well.

1 Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Impossible Made Standard

Hollow Knight: Silksong Metroidvania Action Adventure SoulslikeReleased September 4, 2025 ESRB Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood Developer(s) Team Cherry Publisher(s) Team Cherry Engine Unity Genre(s)Metroidvania, Action, Adventure, Soulslike Powered by ExpandCollapse

The previous entry demonstrates size isn't necessarily the only variable to consider when evaluating a video game's success in introducing secrets, but it's precisely the one that makes Hollow Knight: Silksong such a stunning anomaly.

After every ten hours, you deeply appreciate Team Cherry's talent for creating a naturally interconnected world, but when they continue to do so after fifty, you realize you're witnessing a generational marvel.

Hollow Knight: Silksong would still be a masterpiece even with half the content it has, but each act is a string of eureka moments hidden behind false walls, off-screen jumps, NPC memories, breakable floors, switch puzzles, kilometer-long climbs, and more.

Conceptually, they won't be groundbreaking, but reaching 90% completion after a month of playing and realizing you still have two hidden areas and their respective bosses to discover is the kind of thrill you probably haven't felt since childhood.

To speak of Hornet's adventure is to speak highly, as it is the only standard to which it can be subjected, and it's probably the sole video game in the entire genre to which such a degree can be attributed.