20 Best Platformer Games to Play in 2026

You can see the next ledge. You know when the obstacle moves. All that's left is making the jump, which somehow becomes much harder after telling yourself it looks easy. The best platformer games turn that small gap between a plan and a landing into hours of satisfying play.

Some build entire adventures around a handful of precise moves. Others give you big 3D spaces to search, a partner to swing across a gap, or a puzzle that makes you rethink the route altogether. This selection covers those different styles, with jumping and movement at the centre.

Several picks are available among the Steam game keys on GameBoost. You'll also find options for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo below, with separate notes for versions and multiplayer features that matter before buying.

1. Celeste

Celeste builds its climb around jumping, dashing, and grabbing walls. Those moves are easy to learn, then the mountain starts asking you to combine them across gaps that looked impossible a few rooms earlier.

Short checkpoints and quick restarts make failure manageable. Miss a dash, try again, and adjust the timing. Optional strawberries and tougher chapters give confident players more to chase without making every collectible necessary to finish the main story.

Madeline's personal struggles give the climb emotional weight. Assist Mode also lets you change parts of the challenge, making it easier to find a pace that suits you.

Why It Stands Out:

• A small move set supports increasingly demanding routes.

• Quick restarts keep practice moving.

• Optional collectibles reward riskier jumps.

• Tougher chapters extend the challenge.

• Assist Mode provides useful difficulty adjustments.

My Verdict: Celeste is my precision-platforming recommendation. Choose it if you enjoy improving one jump at a time and want a story that gives the effort meaning.

2. Rayman Legends

Rayman Legends keeps finding another use for running, jumping, and hitting things. One stage asks for careful exploration, another turns into a chase, and the music stages time your movements to a soundtrack that does half the encouraging for you.

Its local co-op makes those ideas easy to share. Friends can help rescue each other, compete over collectibles, or accidentally send a perfectly sensible plan into a pit.

Hidden Teensies and extra challenges provide reasons to return after reaching an exit. The linked offer is the Switch Definitive Edition. PC copies use Ubisoft Connect, so check the platform and launcher when choosing another version.

Why It Stands Out:

• Stages regularly introduce different obstacles and pacing.

• Music levels connect movement with rhythm.

• Local co-op supports shared play.

• Hidden Teensies reward attention to the scenery.

• Extra challenges encourage repeat visits.

My Verdict: Rayman Legends is my broadest 2D recommendation. It suits solo players and local groups who want variety, responsive movement, and plenty of reasons to replay a favourite stage.

3. Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts 2 sends Raz into people's minds, giving each major area a reason to look and behave differently. Platforming, psychic abilities, and unusual visual ideas grow from the person whose thoughts you're visiting.

Levitation and acrobatics help you move through those spaces, with combat and puzzles breaking up the jumps. Collectibles give you a reason to inspect corners you could otherwise pass without a second look.

The story deals with difficult subjects through characters who have more going on than their first joke suggests. Choose it when you want a platform adventure with strong writing and levels that stay memorable after you've left them.

Why It Stands Out:

• Mental settings give levels distinctive identities.

• Psychic abilities support movement, puzzles, and combat.

• Collectibles encourage careful exploration.

• Character stories connect to the spaces you visit.

• Difficulty options help adjust the experience.

My Verdict: Psychonauts 2 is my story-focused pick. It suits players who want inventive 3D levels and characters worth listening to between the jumps.

4. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy rebuilds the first three Crash games around tightly arranged stages. You run towards the camera, away from it, or across side-on sections, judging jumps around enemies, moving platforms, and crates.

Reaching an exit is only the first job. Breaking crates, finding gems, and attempting time trials turn familiar routes into more demanding tasks.

The original game's tougher sections can surprise anyone expecting an easy nostalgia trip. Take your time learning landing distances, then save the all-crate attempt for a run when the basic route feels comfortable.

Why It Stands Out:

• Three rebuilt games provide varied stage collections.

• Structured courses keep obstacles in focus.

• Crate challenges reward thorough runs.

• Time trials encourage faster, cleaner movement.

• Changing camera angles create different jumping tests.

My Verdict: N. Sane Trilogy is my classic obstacle-course pick. Choose it if you enjoy replaying a structured level until the awkward section finally feels routine.

5. Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Spyro Reignited Trilogy gives you room to wander. Charge through enemies, gather gems, and line up a glide towards a ledge that looked unreachable from the ground.

The collection rebuilds Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage!, and Year of the Dragon. Their hubs and individual areas make collecting feel like a tour through places with different characters and small problems to solve.

There's room for trickier tasks, especially when you're clearing every objective. Its appeal still comes from the steady rhythm of finding another route, collecting what you missed, and seeing where the next portal leads.

Why It Stands Out:

• Three adventures share a welcoming 3D movement style.

• Gliding makes distant ledges tempting targets.

• Gems and objectives reward searching each area.

• Hubs connect smaller destinations.

• Varied tasks keep collecting from following one pattern.

My Verdict: Spyro is my relaxed collecting pick. Choose it if you want colourful 3D spaces, manageable movement, and the satisfaction of clearing a level's checklist.

6. Sonic X Shadow Generations

Sonic X Shadow Generations combines a remastered Sonic Generations with a separate Shadow campaign. Sonic's stages switch between Classic Sonic's side-on routes and Modern Sonic's faster 3D sections.

Shadow adds different movement abilities and his own stages. The package gives you several ways to approach familiar series ideas without relying on one character's moves for the entire adventure.

Speed becomes more satisfying as you learn a route. Your first run can be about reaching the finish; later attempts are where shortcuts, cleaner jumps, and fewer collisions start making the stage feel completely different.

Why It Stands Out:

• Sonic and Shadow have separate playable adventures.

• Classic and Modern Sonic offer different stage formats.

• Shadow's abilities change how you approach obstacles.

• Alternate routes reward stage knowledge.

• Replay attempts encourage cleaner movement and faster times.

My Verdict: Sonic X Shadow Generations is my speed-focused recommendation. Choose it if learning a stage sounds as enjoyable as seeing it for the first time.

7. A Hat in Time

A Hat in Time follows Hat Kid as she recovers the Time Pieces scattered from her spaceship. Each chapter uses a different setting and mission style, giving the adventure room for jokes, unusual characters, and occasional surprises.

Movement is the constant. Double jumps, dives, and useful hats let you cross spaces in ways that become more comfortable with practice.

Its PC community adds another reason to stay around through Workshop content. Multiplayer features vary by platform and DLC, so check the exact version if sharing the adventure is part of your plan.

Why It Stands Out:

• Mission formats vary across the chapters.

• Jumping and diving support playful movement.

• Hats add useful abilities.

• Characters and dialogue give areas personality.

• PC Workshop support adds community-made content.

My Verdict: A Hat in Time is my playful 3D pick. It suits players who enjoy a varied adventure, expressive movement, and a cast with very little interest in behaving normally.

8. Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sackboy: A Big Adventure turns Craftworld into a set of 3D courses full of fabric, cardboard, and household-looking materials. Rolling, jumping, and grabbing keep the controls approachable as the stages introduce new obstacles.

Co-op is a major attraction. Up to four players can work through the adventure, with additional team-focused stages giving cooperation a more direct role.

The cheerful presentation leaves room for difficult optional trials. You can enjoy the campaign at a comfortable pace, then return for a sharper test once moving through a stage feels familiar.

Why It Stands Out:

• Up to four players can share the adventure.

• Crafted-looking scenery gives stages a consistent identity.

• Music stages add changes in rhythm.

• Optional trials provide tougher movement tests.

• Costume collecting gives groups another distraction.

My Verdict: Sackboy is my group-platforming recommendation. Choose it for a shared campaign that welcomes less experienced players and still has optional challenges waiting later.

9. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove starts with a shovel that works as a weapon and a way to bounce across danger. Its retro presentation supports carefully arranged stages where enemy placement and landing position matter.

The package also includes campaigns for Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight. Their movement styles change how you tackle obstacles, giving the collection more variety than another trip with a different costume.

Shovel of Hope includes local co-op on supported systems, and Showdown adds a separate battle mode. Those multiplayer features aren't available on the 3DS and PS Vita versions.

Why It Stands Out:

• Shovel bouncing connects combat and traversal.

• Four campaigns offer different playable characters.

• Retro stages reward learning enemy and obstacle patterns.

• Optional challenges extend the package.

• Supported versions include local multiplayer extras.

My Verdict: Treasure Trove is my retro-action recommendation. Choose it for several movement styles and campaigns that make each character feel worth learning.

10. Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy gets straight to the difficult part. Run up a wall, launch across a gap, and try to land somewhere that isn't currently occupied by a saw blade.

Short stages make repeated attempts easy to justify. A death costs a little time, and the next run gives you another chance to correct the jump that went wrong.

Optional bandages and harder level variants raise the demands further. Its appeal rests on responsive movement and the gradual change from barely surviving a room to crossing it with confidence.

Why It Stands Out:

• Short stages suit repeated attempts.

• Wall jumps support quick, demanding routes.

• Fast restarts reduce time between tries.

• Optional collectibles add risk to familiar courses.

• Harder variants provide a substantial extra challenge.

My Verdict: Super Meat Boy is my rapid-retry pick. It suits players who can enjoy a difficult ten-second stretch enough to attempt it another twenty times.

11. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair connects side-scrolling stages through a 3D overworld. Solving something outside a level can change what happens inside it, giving you a reason to investigate the paths between entrances.

Rolling, jumping, and keeping Laylee nearby form the main movement rhythm. Alternate stage states let familiar layouts become different challenges.

The Impossible Lair itself waits as a demanding final course. Rescuing members of the Beettalion gives you more protection for that attempt, turning progress through the wider game into useful preparation.

Why It Stands Out:

• Side-scrolling stages connect through an interactive overworld.

• Overworld puzzles can change level conditions.

• Alternate stage states reward return visits.

• Collectibles support further searching.

• Rescued bees help with the final challenge.

My Verdict: Impossible Lair is my traditional 2D adventure pick. Choose it if you want well-structured stages with puzzles and secrets between them.

12. Tinykin

Tinykin makes an ordinary house enormous by putting you in control of a tiny visitor. Furniture becomes a climbing problem, and crossing a room can involve finding a route through objects you would normally step around.

The tinykin you collect help carry items, create routes, and solve tasks. Your own movement includes gliding and sliding around on a soapboard, keeping the search for another collectible enjoyable.

Its rooms reward attention without making combat the main concern. Choose it for a gentler platform adventure built around movement, collecting, and working out how a space fits together.

Why It Stands Out:

• Oversized household objects create memorable routes.

• Different tinykin help solve environmental tasks.

• Gliding and soapboard movement keep travel playful.

• Collectibles reward searching each room.

• The adventure offers a break from combat-heavy games.

My Verdict: Tinykin is my low-pressure collecting pick. It suits players who want to poke around an interesting space and steadily turn difficult routes into familiar shortcuts.

13. Penny's Big Breakaway

Penny's Big Breakaway gives Penny a living yo-yo and builds the movement around what the pair can do together. Swinging, riding, and chaining actions make maintaining momentum part of the challenge.

The stages invite you to keep moving, with pursuing penguins adding pressure when you linger. Learning how one action flows into another makes a route feel better on a second or third visit.

Time Attack provides a reason to refine that movement further. Choose it if you enjoy an unusual control style and don't mind spending the first stages getting comfortable with its rhythm.

Why It Stands Out:

• Yo-yo abilities give traversal a distinct identity.

• Chaining moves rewards maintaining momentum.

• Pursuers add urgency to stage movement.

• Optional objectives encourage further searching.

• Time Attack supports cleaner, faster replays.

My Verdict: Penny is my movement-experimentation pick. It suits players who enjoy learning a new set of controls and gradually making an awkward route look effortless.

14. New Super Lucky's Tale

New Super Lucky's Tale mixes 3D stages with side-scrolling sections and smaller puzzle challenges. Lucky can jump, swipe with his tail, and burrow through the ground to deal with obstacles or find another route.

Its approachable tone makes it a comfortable introduction to the genre. Collectibles and optional tasks provide extra work without requiring every session to become a test of reflexes.

This is the revised New Super Lucky's Tale, with changes to the camera, stages, and movement from the earlier Super Lucky's Tale. Match that full title when choosing a listing.

Why It Stands Out:

• 3D and side-scrolling stages offer different formats.

• Burrowing gives Lucky a useful extra movement option.

• Collectibles encourage exploring off the main path.

• Puzzle challenges break up the jumping.

• A friendly tone suits a first 3D platform adventure.

My Verdict: Lucky is my newcomer-friendly pick. Choose it for a straightforward, cheerful adventure with enough variety to make learning the controls enjoyable.

15. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake sends SpongeBob through themed Wishworlds after a wish goes badly wrong. The cartoon cast gives each stop plenty of familiar voices and jokes.

Platforming abilities such as the Fishhook Swing help connect the jumps with new obstacles. Combat and character tasks give the stages more to do than a straight run towards an exit.

Patrick accompanies the adventure as Balloon-Patrick, which doesn't make this a two-player game. Choose it for a solo cartoon platformer with varied settings and plenty of SpongeBob's usual nonsense.

Why It Stands Out:

• Themed Wishworlds provide varied locations.

• Traversal abilities add different platforming tasks.

• Familiar characters connect the adventure to the show.

• Collectibles and costumes give return visits a purpose.

• The campaign keeps its focus on solo play.

My Verdict: Cosmic Shake is my cartoon-adventure pick. It suits SpongeBob fans and players looking for a cheerful 3D platformer with combat and collecting mixed in.

16. Grapple Dog

Grapple Dog gives Pablo a grappling hook and plenty of places to swing from it. A good jump gets you started; timing the release is what sends you towards the next platform instead of the wall beside it.

Stages combine those swings with enemies, hidden collectibles, and routes worth revisiting. The hook gives familiar 2D obstacles a different pace without needing a huge list of abilities.

Time trials provide a sharper test once you've learned the layout. Accessibility options also let you adjust the challenge if you'd rather enjoy the route without repeating every difficult landing.

Why It Stands Out:

• Grappling changes how you cross ordinary gaps.

• Swing timing rewards practice.

• Hidden collectibles encourage investigating side routes.

• Time trials give stage knowledge a purpose.

• Accessibility settings offer ways to adjust the difficulty.

My Verdict: Grapple Dog is my hook-swinging recommendation. Choose it for a straightforward movement idea that keeps producing satisfying routes and better second attempts.

17. BZZZT

BZZZT puts a small robot through compact courses of moving hazards and carefully timed jumps. The pixel art gives the machinery personality, even when it's responsible for your latest failed attempt.

Its jump-and-dash movement suits short practice sessions. You can concentrate on one tricky sequence, improve the timing, and move on before a single stage turns into an entire expedition.

Difficulty options, time challenges, and tougher goals let you decide how much pressure to add. Choose it for precise platforming in small, readable portions.

Why It Stands Out:

• Compact stages keep individual challenges focused.

• Jumping and dashing support precise routes.

• Pixel art makes hazards easy to inspect.

• Difficulty options support different experience levels.

• Time challenges add reasons to refine a completed stage.

My Verdict: BZZZT is my short-session precision pick. It suits players who want a clear movement challenge they can work on a little at a time.

18. Unravel Two

Unravel Two connects two Yarnys with a strand of yarn, turning the distance between them into a tool. One can anchor a swing, help the other climb, or stay put as you work out the next step.

Its co-op rewards talking through a problem. A partner who spots the right place to stand can be just as useful as the player making the jump.

Solo players can control both characters and carry one through sections that don't need two separate actions. The built-in co-op is local, so plan for a shared screen rather than assuming it has ordinary online matchmaking.

Why It Stands Out:

• The connecting yarn supports swings and climbing puzzles.

• Two-player tasks reward communication.

• Solo play lets one person manage both Yarnys.

• Natural environments give small obstacles scale.

• Optional challenges add tougher movement tests.

My Verdict: Unravel Two is my two-player puzzle-platforming pick. Choose it for a shared adventure where helping someone reach the next ledge is part of the fun.

19. Kao the Kangaroo

Kao the Kangaroo follows the familiar 3D-platformer routine of searching hubs, entering stages, and collecting enough to reach the next part of the adventure. Boxing gloves add close-range combat between the jumps.

Elemental glove abilities connect fights with environmental tasks, giving Kao more to do than throw the same punch at every obstacle.

This recommendation is the 2022 game, separate from the original Kao the Kangaroo and Round 2. Choose it for a straightforward collecting adventure with a bit more punching than Spyro or Lucky.

Why It Stands Out:

• Hubs connect a series of 3D stages.

• Boxing gives combat a direct, physical feel.

• Elemental gloves interact with obstacles.

• Collectibles encourage searching beyond the main route.

• Traditional stage design makes the structure easy to follow.

My Verdict: Kao is my familiar 3D-adventure pick. It suits players who want collectibles, simple combat, and a conventional platformer to settle into.

20. Braid, Anniversary Edition

Braid, Anniversary Edition makes time part of the level design. Rewinding can correct a mistake, and different areas change the rules around what moves backwards and what keeps going.

The harder questions involve working out a sequence of actions. You might know how to reach a platform and still need to understand when an object must arrive beside it.

The Anniversary Edition adds repainted artwork and creator commentary. Choose it for a puzzle-platformer that asks you to stop, think, and test an idea rather than solve every problem through faster reactions.

Why It Stands Out:

• Time manipulation changes the meaning of a missed jump.

• Different areas introduce new puzzle rules.

• Collectible puzzle pieces require more than reaching an exit.

• Repainted artwork updates the presentation.

• Commentary offers insight into the design.

My Verdict: Braid is my thinking-player's recommendation. It suits anyone who enjoys figuring out why a route doesn't work before attempting the jump again.

Best Platformer Games on Each Platform

Best Platformer Games on PC

All 20 recommendations have PC versions. Celeste, Super Meat Boy, BZZZT, and Grapple Dog suit players who want movement challenges. Psychonauts 2, Spyro, A Hat in Time, and Tinykin offer more room to look around between jumps.

Sackboy adds local and online co-op, and Unravel Two is a strong shared-screen option. Braid gives you a puzzle-focused change of pace.

Your next weekend challenge could be among the PC game keys on GameBoost. Check the launcher on each offer: Rayman's PC version uses Ubisoft Connect, and Unravel Two has EA app listings alongside its Steam release.

Best Platformer Games on PlayStation

PS5 has native versions of Sackboy, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Penny's Big Breakaway, Tinykin, The Cosmic Shake, Kao the Kangaroo, and Braid, Anniversary Edition.

PS4 releases such as Celeste, Rayman Legends, Crash N. Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Psychonauts 2 add more options through backward compatibility. Psychonauts 2 uses its PS4 version on PS5.

For another adventure between bigger releases, the PlayStation game keys selection gives you more PS4 and PS5 options to consider.

Best Platformer Games on Xbox

Psychonauts 2, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Penny's Big Breakaway, Tinykin, The Cosmic Shake, Kao the Kangaroo, Grapple Dog, and Braid provide native Series X/S options from this list.

Xbox One versions of Celeste, Rayman Legends, Crash, Spyro, A Hat in Time, and Unravel Two add further choices through backward compatibility. Super Meat Boy uses its Xbox 360 release on compatible newer Xbox consoles.

Planning a few evenings of crate breaking or precise jumps? Match an offer from the Xbox game keys catalogue to your console and activation region before choosing.

Best Platformer Games on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

Original Switch has most of these recommendations, including Celeste, Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition, Crash, Spyro, A Hat in Time, Shovel Knight, Super Meat Boy, Impossible Lair, Tinykin, and Unravel Two.

Sonic X Shadow Generations also has a dedicated Switch 2 version. That is separate from using an original Switch release through backward compatibility, so check which edition an offer provides.

For co-op, Rayman Legends and Unravel Two are useful shared-screen choices. Several other entries focus entirely on solo play, including Tinykin, New Super Lucky's Tale, and The Cosmic Shake.

The Nintendo game keys selection can help fill the next gap in your portable library. Match the region and required system before picking an offer.

FAQs About the Best Platformer Games

Final Words

Celeste rewards precise movement, Rayman Legends brings variety to 2D stages, and Psychonauts 2 gives 3D platforming a strong story. Spyro and Tinykin suit a slower collecting session, and Sackboy or Unravel Two give friends a reason to share the next jump.

Choose the part you want to repeat: a difficult landing, a faster route, another hidden collectible, or a puzzle that finally makes sense. These games give that small success plenty of room to grow.

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