While you wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong, try this Kirby-esque Metroidvania

It’s been a long few years for Hollow Knight fans. The Metroidvania’s long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was announced five years ago. Since then, we’ve barely heard a peep about it outside of one high-profile trailer in 2022 that claimed it would launch within 12 months. That didn’t happen, and we’ve been in the dark ever since. Maybe it’ll surprise drop this year. Maybe we won’t see it until 2025. All we can do is wait.

The only way to fight that excruciating impatience is to play some games that scratch the same itch – and you’re in luck if you need a new game like that. Biomorph is a new 2D Metroidvania that draws some clear inspiration from Hollow Knight. Just look at its moody art style and lead critter hero. Though it might not be as sprawling or secret-loaded as Hollow Knight, there are enough fresh twists here to warrant a playthrough, especially if you need something to stop you from twiddling your thumbs in anticipation.

The structure of Biomorph is immediately familiar. I’m quickly thrown into a dreary world rendered in a cartoon-like 2D art style. I’m given control of a small animal in a spacesuit with pointy ears. Combat and movement aren’t too different from other games in the genre at first. The main mobility twist is that I can press a trigger to turn into a puddle and slide briefly, letting me dash under tight spaces. It all plays smoothly, matching its clean art style.

It’s not long until I find its special hook, though. After defeating an enemy, I learn that I can transform into it and temporarily inherit all of its powers. That idea doesn’t just diversify combat but widens out its Metroidvania hook. Rather than hunting down new tools to unlock new areas, I can solve some problems with the power of biomorphing. One creature will let me plow through sandy walls that are blocking my path. Another lets me swim up water streams. Once I possess a creature enough times, I’m able to take its form anytime so long as I equip it in one of three