For a brief period, the stream chats at each game reveal event were flooded with one of two comments: “Announce the Elden Ring DLC” or “Where is Hollow Knight: Silksong?” Now that Shadow of the Erdtree is out and has ruined us all, all that’s left are the calls for Silksong.

And I get it – Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight is one of the most ambitious and beloved games of its kind. I’d even go so far as to say it rivals classics like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in terms of immersive, labyrinthine map designs, fascinating lore, and fun travel options. Hollow Knight also boasts a slick, hand-drawn art style that makes every inch of its lengthy adventure memorable and distinctive. But – and I hate to say it – who needs Silkong right now when we have so many other great Metroidvania games to play?

I understand that it was announced five years ago, and I’m being a bit facetious here, as I want Silksong as much as anyone, but we Metroidvania fans aren’t exactly suffering from a drought. In fact, I’d argue that we’re in a Metroidvania Renaissance and heading toward a Golden Age. Three games in particular have forced this realization upon me: Animal Well, Nine Sols, and Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus.

While Animal Well is more akin to cryptic puzzle games like Fez than classic Metroidvanias, the core elements remain. Instead of beating up demons and throwing axes, the challenge is to solve puzzles as you search for colorful eggs in a surreal maze. Animal Well cleverly weaves its mind-bending journey with unique unlockables like a yo-yo, a bubble wand, and a hamster wheel you can ride in, replacing combat with creative brain teasers.

Our own Lauren Bergin gave it 8/10 in our Animal Well review, calling it “a bizarre but brilliant neon-drenched adventure that features mind-bending puzzles, intense platforming gameplay, and a ton of cute animals—almost all of whom are out to kill you.”

And it was tough. It currently sits at an average critic rating of 89% on OpenCritic, and Steam user reviews are overwhelmingly positive—not unlike the acclaim Hollow Knight enjoyed in 2017.

Nine Sols, on the other hand, went unnoticed by most. Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games temporarily pulled its last game, Devotion, from stores after it received a backlash over a joke comparing Chinese President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. This reportedly led to the publisher’s Chinese business license being revoked. All of this may have partially limited Nine Sols’ potential reach.

I would have missed it myself if I hadn’t met Ari Gibson from Team Cherry at BitSummit in Kyoto. I told him my idea for this article – that we wouldn’t need Silksong anytime soon, given the number of other great Metroidvanias – and he agreed for one reason: Nine Sols, a fantastic game that he couldn’t stop raving about. And no, he wouldn’t give me a release date for Silksong.

Gibson’s praise spurred me to pick up Nine Sols, and I quickly understood why it’s so beloved by critics and fans alike. Red Candle Games’ Metroidvania also features slick, challenging parry-based combat akin to Sekiro – an impressive feat in a genre that’s usually limited to simple attacks backed up by a handful of secondary abilities.

While my review of Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus was much more mixed, it’s clear from the game’s Steam user reviews that it’s a very popular alternative to Hollow Knight. I’ve written at length about how its movement mechanics are nothing special—sprints and glides and wall-clinging—but its charming cast and beautiful world inspired by Japanese myths make it well worth checking out.

The first NPC you meet greets you with an “Ugh,” and later calls you an “obedient, boring puppy” after you complete an introductory quest for him. By the end of the short and sweet adventure, you’ll find him tragically endearing. This also applies to a dozen other witty or bittersweet characters you meet, showing that Metroidvanias don’t have to be narratively light games focused on platforming challenges and exploration—they have ample room to evolve into adventures with story-rich narratives.

And those are just three of the best Metroidvanias I’ve played this year. I could have gone on and on about the exciting revival of the franchise in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the vibrant, sprawling world of Afterimage, the unparalleled pixel art of Blasphemous 2, and so on. Yes, it’s been a long wait for Silksong, and we’ll all have to wait a little longer, but there are more than enough great Metroidvania games to keep us busy in the meantime.