Nintendo fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to platform games. On Switch alone, there are more than a dozen games in the Super Mario franchise from different console generations that illustrate why Nintendo developers are the masters of the platforming genre – and that’s not even including games featuring Donkey Kong, Kirby and the smaller stars of Nintendo. , such as BoxBoy.
But there are plenty of great platformers, on a wide range of systems, that don’t star Mario, his friends, and his rivals. Here are some of the best 2D and 3D platformers to enjoy on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch – games that are more ‘pure’ platformers, as opposed to Metroidvania-style combat-oriented and exploratory games.
Pizza Tower
Image: Tour de Pizza
Where to play: Windows PC
A lot of platform games try to be Mario. Pizza Tower aims to be its chaotic mirror world version, Wario, and this fast-paced 2D platformer from indie developer Tour De Pizza pays homage to Nintendo’s Wario Land games. As hero and restaurateur Peppino Spaghetti, you explore and destroy the eponymous Pizza Tower by sprinting, jumping and bashing your way through a stack of levels.
There is an incredible amount of variety in those levels. Many come with their own gameplay gimmick that must be learned, under some degree of speed platforming, to get through and escape. Combined with an earworm-filled soundtrack and a ’90s Nicktoons aesthetic, Pizza Tower is one of the most inventive and refined platformers in years. Not bad for a tribute.
Shovel Knight: Treasury
Image: Hunting club games
Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One
Kick Knight is the most authentic retro game ever made, mining 8- and 16-bit nostalgia for classic platformers – especially the beloved 1989 NES game The Scrooge McDuck series “Ducktales – and forge that commemorative ore into a sharp, finely honed adventure. Kick Knight uses its titular tool to great effect, allowing the player to flip enemies, dig up treasure, and bounce over obstacles, enemies, and spikes with spikes.
Shovel Knight: Treasury is actually a collection and represents one of the best deals on games. Besides the original Kick Knight: Kick of Hope, Treasury including spin-offs Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, Shovel Knight: Specter of tormentAnd Shovel Knight: King of Cardsas well as the multiplayer platform fighter Kick Knight Showdown.
Penny’s Great Escape
Image: Evening Star/Private Division
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series
Created by developers behind it Sonic mania, Penny’s Great Escape builds its 3D platforming mechanics around a single tool: a yo-yo. Penny’s yo-yo (named Yo-Yo) accidentally becomes sentient and is extremely hungry for snacks. Yo-Yo offers Penny several ways to get around, acting as a sort of grappling hook, a high-speed Segway and a helicopter to help her navigate a series of colorful worlds and avoid an army of vengeful penguins.
Penny’s Great Escape has a retro aesthetic that doesn’t feel dated; the visual style harkens back to the cover art of 16- and 32-bit platformers, setting developer Evening Star’s 3D adventure apart from the hand-drawn and pixelated styles of other platformers.
Celeste
Image: Maddy makes games
Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One
Celeste is a 2D platformer that reduces the genre to its essence. It features thick, pixelated artwork and characters and a simple movement sequence. As Madeline you can run, jump, climb walls and run in the air. There are no power-ups or unlockable skills. But as you climb the mountain Celestethe game throws increasingly difficult challenges at you to test your ability to run, jump, climb walls and run in the air.
In some respects, Celeste is a retrospective. It’s intensely difficult along the lines of ‘masocore’ games like Super meat boy. Blasting your way through a level, let alone a single screen, requires both quick reflexes and staying calm under pressure. But Celeste is also thoroughly modern. It tells a compelling, personal story and includes a variety of accessibility and difficulty levels that are subject to change Celeste from impossibly difficult to moderately challenging. It’s forgiving, so if you mess up you won’t be dragged back to the start of a level. You get the chance to try, try and try again.
Snake pass
Image: Sumo Digital
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One
Sumo Digital’s 2017 game Snake pass stands out from all the other games on this list because it is a platformer without a jump button. As Noodle the snake, players slide, roll and climb through the world of Haven Tor. Together with animal friend Doodle the Hummingbird, Noodle is tasked with collecting a series of cornerstones by solving physics-based challenges.
Snake pass‘the controls can take some getting used to; After all, you are playing with the locomotion of snakes, and not with a bipedal mascot. But Snake pass is such an inventive and clever platformer that it’s worth sticking with it until it clicks.
Rayman Legends
Image: Ubisoft Montpelier/Ubisoft
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series
Rayman Legends‘Impressive variety, masterful set design and beautiful art make it a confident, simple platformer. It is mechanically simple; As Rayman or one of his hero friends, you run, jump and hit things. But it’s also a precise platformer with a wide variety of levels and hidden secrets that encourage players to explore.
Legends is cute and charming. It may look and sound like a living cartoon world, but it’s definitely aimed at experienced players of the genre. Players up for the challenge will find a diverse set of worlds with an equally varied set of activities: swimming, flying, stealth, combat, racing and even musical rhythm games.
Sonic mania
Image: Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games/Sega
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series
To create one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog games of the past decade, Sega turned to some of its biggest fans. Sonic mania is an enthusiast of the old-school branch of Sonic gameplay and design. It takes Genesis-era ideas to logical extremes, while still being slavish to Sonic the Hedgehog’s old design rules. If you have any affection for Sonic (and friends), especially the 16-bit flavor, Sonic mania is for you. This is a game that also likes Sonic the Hedgehog.
Psychonauts 2
Image: Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Where to play: Mac, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series
We called Psychonauts 2 “one of the most imaginative platformers out there, with an absolute flood of cheerful ideas and visuals” in our review of Double Fine’s 2021 platformer adventure game. It also features one of the most engaging and inventive stories of any game on this planet list.
As Psychonaut Raz, you delve into people’s brains, which manifest as strange, creative worlds, to help them battle their inner demons, unlock hidden memories and resolve their emotional baggage using a range of paranormal powers. Psychonauts 2 tackles heavy themes and complex psychological issues with warmth, compassion and humor, while also serving as a capable, consistently enjoyable platformer.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
Image: Bandai Namco
Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series
This collection includes the original PlayStation game Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and the PlayStation 2 sequel Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil to modern times, with updated visuals and some quality of life features. These underrated platformers sit somewhere between 2D and 3D, allowing players to explore a cute and colorful world as Klonoa, who can use his Wind Ring to grab and throw enemies. The Klonoa games are not particularly complex, but require puzzle-like geography and thoughtful use of jumping skills to conquer each world.
Astro’s playroom
Image: Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment
Where to play: PlayStation 5
Ostensibly a tech demo for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, Astro’s playroom is an excellent 3D platformer that also serves as a nostalgic tour through PlayStation history. And to be blunt, Astro’s playroom there’s really no point in being as good as it is; after all, it’s free and included with the PlayStation 5. But it’s an excellent platformer with tight controls, enjoyable movement mechanics and thoughtful design details. Looking through it, you might wonder why Sony doesn’t make more of these games on a regular basis (and charge for them).