Highlights
- Indie platformers have stepped up to fill the void left by AAA developers, delivering some of the best games of the last decade.
- These platformers offer vibrant worlds, challenging gameplay, and a sense of wonder that keeps the genre alive.
- From puzzle-platformers like Fez to metroidvanias like Hollow Knight, there's something for everyone, satisfying gamers' longing for past platforming experiences.
AAA platformers have been in a bit of a slump as of late. It seems many developers have chosen to forget about the genre and instead focus on their action-packed, open-world shooter franchises. This has caused many indie studios to take up the mantle and create some excellent platformers over the years, many of which have become some of the best games of the last decade.
These indie games manage to create a sense of wonder with their platforming mechanics, and players can spend hours in these vibrant worlds, hunting for collectibles and traversing some tricky landscapes. There's a bit of something for everyone with these games, but they all work together to keep an amazing genre chugging along and have quenched the thirst of many gamers wishing for a return to the past.
10 Mark Of The Ninja
Metacritic Rating: 90
Mark of the Ninja is an excellent side-scrolling, stealth platformer where the player controls a ninja exploring a world conflicted by ancient traditions of the ninja and increasing modern technology. Featuring some excellent hack 'n slash mechanics, the gameplay in Mark of the Ninja is smooth and rapid.
Players will find themselves platforming over a series of rooftops, sliding and somersaulting their way through various buildings, and traversing ancient temples and cities. It's got an amazing Saturday Morning Cartoon art style to it, which works together with the soundtrack to create one of the best atmospheres in a platforming game.
9 Fez
Metacritic Rating: 89
Fez takes a unique approach to platforming by framing the world in a rotational four-part 3D environment. It's essentially platforming with puzzle mechanics, as the player can rotate the screen in one of four configurations, revealing different pathways and solutions. This has always been an innovative feature, and it's clearly something that has inspired other developers since its release in 2012.
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Fez also features a beautiful pixel art style filled with vibrant colors and interesting characters and enemies. It's a fantastically captivating platformer that will put players' brains to the test!
8 Spelunky
Metacritic Rating: 87
Spelunky is a game that has evolved through the years to become one of the most entertaining platformers of all time. Gamers can easily sink hundreds of hours into this game, spelunking their way through the vast procedurally-generated cave levels and mineshafts, where each playthrough will be completely different from the last.
Spelunky is a classic example of easy to play but hard to master, as landing on any traps or falling victim to enemies will mean starting over from scratch. Players can collect gold, archaeological artifacts, and jewels to increase their scores as they progress through the levels whilst maneuvering past enemies. Combat is simple but fun and the crack of the character's whip will always be satisfying!
7 A Hat In Time
Metacritic Rating: 79
A Hat in Time is a return to form for the platforming genre, giving fans an opportunity to return to a vibrant 3D, fully-explorable environment in the style of Spyroand Super Mario 64. This is one of the few modern games that successfully captures that 3D platforming charm, possibly because the developers wanted it to fill the void of the platforming genre from its very conception.
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The plot is strange but suitably engaging. Players control Hat Kid, who wears a top hat and spends the entire game attempting to return to her home world. Hat Kid ends up on a variety of different planets and locations, encountering all sorts of humorous creatures and characters, some who aid her and some who hinder her. It's a blast from the past and any fan of platformers will have a great time with this title.
6 Little Nightmares
Metacritic Rating: 78
Little Nightmares is a platforming game that looks quite cute and innocent on the surface, but it's actually deeply disturbing. This game features one of the most twisted worlds in gaming, and definitely the strangest and most dreadful of any platformer out there. The enemy designs are often frighteningly grotesque and there's a constant sense of dread lingering in the atmosphere.
It features one of the most memorable settings in gaming, taking place on the Maw, an iron vessel of where a variety of creatures and monsters live. From killer chefs to crazy opera performers, this is a platforming game like no other where players will feel continuously stressed as they avoid their foes and traverse the Maw.
5 Ori And The Blind Forest
Metacritic Rating: 88
It's debatable whether Ori and the Blind Forest actually counts as an indie release due to it being published by Microsoft. However, this was developed by Moon Studios and while Microsoft bought the rights to the intellectual property, they had little input on the actual development.
Regardless of indie definitions, Ori and the Blind Forest instantly captivated players around the world and received critical acclaim upon its release. The visuals are stunning, the platforming and gameplay are fun and immersive, the story is great, and it's a wholeheartedly engaging experience that will appeal to all platforming fans.
4 Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Metacritic Rating: 91
Shovel Knight is an amazing 2D side-scrolling platformer that is often considered one of the best indie games ever made, and that's no small claim. Originally released in 2014, the game has since received a number of major updates and the original campaign now goes by the retronym Shovel of Hope, with the full game releasing under the moniker Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (which includes several DLC campaigns).
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Shovel Knight adopts an 8-bit art style and takes clear inspiration from retro 2D action platformers from the past. Players fight enemies who are part of the Order of no Quarter as they platform their way across levels, collecting treasure and digging up items as they progress. For fans of classic arcade platformers, Shovel Knight is a must-play.
3 Hollow Knight
Metacritic Rating: 90
A critically acclaimed masterpiece, Hollow Knight is a metroidvania platformer that excels in its approach to difficult but accessible gameplay. This isn't a game for novices of any genre to play, as players will find punishment quite extreme, but for those who can wrap their heads around the innovative mechanics, Hollow Knight can be a real treat.
This is a game that features quite a somber atmosphere, with bleak backgrounds and a desolate world. However, players can find solace in the beautiful music and compelling combat. Hollow Knight features some of the best boss battles in a 2D game and will put veteran gamers to the test.
2 Super Meat Boy
Metacritic Rating: 90
Super Meat Boy is everything that platformer fans could ever want. It's got some of the best platforming mechanics in the genre, and its levels contain hundreds of interesting varieties. It's a difficult game and the 300+ levels feature different traps, enemies, and dangerous environments that the player has to overcome.
If players want to make their way successfully through all the game's levels, they will have to carefully master their timing skills in certain scenarios and learn to recognize environmental cues in others. The boss battles can be challenging, but in the end, success all comes down to mastering the platforming mechanics.
1 Celeste
Metacritic Rating: 92
There are games that can be played for mindless fun, to waste away a few hours, and keep a player's brain engaged. And then there are games that are actually something truly special. Celeste falls into the latter category as a masterful work of beauty. Everything in this game is perfect, from the art design to the jaw-dropping soundtrack. It's a rare example of a perfect game.
Taking place on Celeste Mountain, the story follows Madeline's ascension to the summit of the mountain in order to overcome a series of personal challenges. It's heartwarming, touching, and just so special. It's the best platformer in years, and one of the best games ever made.
