Best Platformer Games
Platformers are built on movement — the physical act of navigating a world through jumping, running, climbing, and controlling your character in space. Great platformers are satisfying to move through before you encounter a single enemy: the momentum of Celeste, the weight of Hollow Knight, the aerial acrobatics of Super Mario Odyssey. The genre is one of gaming's oldest and most enduring, and it continues to produce some of the medium's finest games decade after decade.
Platform
197 games
8.9
−70%PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
It Takes Two
2021 · Action
$39.99from $11.99
8.8
PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
Hollow Knight
2017 · Action
from $14.99
8.8
−85%PCPlayStationXbox
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
2010 · Action
$19.99from $2.99
8.8
PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
INSIDE
2016 · Action
from $24.99
8.8
−67%PCXboxNintendo
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
2016 · Adventure
$19.99from $6.608.8
−67%PCXbox
Ori and the Blind Forest
2015 · Adventure
$19.99from $6.60
8.8
PCXboxNintendo
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
2020 · Action
from $29.99
8.8
−40%PCXboxNintendo
Katana ZERO
2019 · Action
$14.99from $8.99
8.8
Nintendo
Super Mario Odyssey
2017 · Platformer
8.8
PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
Hollow Knight: Silksong
2025 · Indie
from $19.99
8.8
Nintendo
Super Mario 64
1996 · Platformer
8.7
−30%PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
Cuphead
2017 · Action
$19.99from $13.99
8.7
PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
Celeste
2018 · Indie
from $19.99
8.7
PCPlayStationXbox
Psychonauts 2
2021 · Action
from $59.99
8.7
−17%PCPlayStationXboxNintendo
Little Nightmares II
2021 · Action
$29.99from $24.87
8.7
PlayStation
Astro's Playroom
2020 · Action
8.7
PlayStation
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
1998 · Action
8.7
PlayStation
ICO
2001 · Action
8.7
Nintendo
Super Mario Galaxy
2007 · Platformer
8.7
Nintendo
Super Mario World
1990 · Arcade
…
About Platformer Games
The platformer genre spans several distinct styles. 2D side-scrollers — Super Mario Bros, Celeste, Shovel Knight — navigate flat or interconnected maps in two dimensions. Metroidvanias — Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, Axiom Verge — expand on the formula with ability-gated exploration and backtracking, sitting closer to action-adventure than pure platformer. 3D platformers — Super Mario Odyssey, Crash Bandicoot, A Hat in Time — translate movement into three dimensions, adding camera management and spatial complexity. Precision platformers — Celeste, Super Meat Boy, Getting Over It — design around failure: you will die hundreds of times, and the satisfaction comes from eventually getting it exactly right.
Difficulty varies enormously across platformers — Celeste and Super Meat Boy demand intense concentration and hundreds of attempts per level, while Super Mario Odyssey is accessible to all ages. If you're buying for a younger player or someone new to games, check for difficulty settings and accessibility modes. Also consider length: focused precision platformers (VVVVVV, Super Meat Boy) run 4–10 hours, while exploration-driven metroidvanias like Hollow Knight can take 40+ hours to complete fully.
Nintendo platformers almost never go on meaningful sale — Super Mario Odyssey and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze hold their price for years on the Nintendo eShop. Third-party and PC platformers are far more deal-friendly. GameTheca tracks prices across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and third-party key resellers so you always know where the best price for any platformer currently lives.
197 platformer titles tracked — ranked by rating and popularity.