The 10 best platform games that don’t star Mario or other Nintendo characters

Nintendo fans are spoiled for choice when it comes to platform games. On the Switch alone, there are more than a dozen games in the Super Mario series from all console generations that illustrate why Nintendo developers are the masters of the platform genre – and that doesn’t include games with Donkey Kong, Kirby and Nintendo’s smaller stars once included, like BoxBoy.

But there are many great platform games on a variety of systems that don’t star Mario, his friends and rivals. Here are some of the best 2D and 3D platformers you can enjoy on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch – games that are more “pure” platformers, as opposed to combat-oriented and exploratory Metroidvania-style games.

Pizza tower

Where to play: Windows PC

A lot of platform games try to be Mario. Pizza tower aspires to be its chaotic mirror world version of 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, explore and destroy the titular pizza tower by sprinting, jumping, and making your way through a stack of levels.

There is incredible variety in these levels. Many come with their own gameplay gimmick that must be learned in order to progress and escape under some level of speed platforming pressure. Paired with a soundtrack full of catchy tunes and a ’90s Nicktoons aesthetic, Pizza tower is one of the most imaginative and well-designed platformers in years. Not bad for an homage.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Shovel Knight is the most authentic retro game of all time, evoking 8- and 16-bit nostalgia for classic platformers – especially the popular NES game from 1989 Duck stories – and turning that memory ore into a sharp, finely honed adventure. Shovel Knight uses its titular tool to great effect, letting the player flip enemies, dig up treasure, and hop over obstacles, enemies, and spike pits.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is actually a collection and represents one of the best offerings for games. Besides the original Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Treasure trove includes spin-offs Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, Shovel Knight: Specter of TormentAnd Shovel Knight: King of Cardsas well as the multiplayer platform fighter Shovel Knight Showdown.

Penny’s big breakaway

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Created by developers behind it Sonic Mania, ​​Penny’s big breakaway builds its 3D platforming mechanics around a single tool: a yo-yo. Penny’s Yo-Yo (named Yo-Yo) accidentally becomes sentient and extremely hungry for snacks. Yo-Yo offers Penny various methods of transportation, acting as a sort of grappling hook, a high-speed Segway, and a helicopter to help her navigate a series of colorful worlds and evade an army of vengeful penguins.

​​Penny’s big breakaway has a retro aesthetic that doesn’t feel dated – its visual style is reminiscent of the cover art of 16- and 32-bit platformers, helping developer Evening Star’s 3D adventure stand out from the hand-drawn and pixelated styles other platform games.

Celeste

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Celeste is a 2D platformer that reduces the genre to its essentials. It features chunky, pixelated graphics and characters, as well as a number of simple movements. As Madeline, you can run, jump, climb walls and fly in the air. There are no power-ups or unlockable abilities. But when you climb the mountain CelesteThe game presents you with increasingly difficult challenges to test your ability to run, jump, climb walls and fly in the air.

In some ways, Celeste is a relapse. It is extremely difficult in the style of “Masocore” games great meat boy. Making your way through a level, let alone a single screen, requires both quick reflexes and calm under pressure. But Celeste is also thoroughly modern. It tells a compelling, personal story and includes a variety of accessibility and difficulty features to rotate Celeste from incredibly difficult to a moderately difficult challenge. It’s forgiving, so if you mess up you won’t be dragged back to the start of a level. You have the opportunity to try, try and try again.

Snake Pass

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

The 2017 game from Sumo Digital Snake Pass differs from all the other games on this list in that it is a platform game without a jump button. Instead, as Noodle the snake, players slither, twist and climb through the world of Haven Tor. Along with his animal friend Doodle the hummingbird, Noodle is tasked with collecting a series of building blocks by solving physics-based challenges.

Snake PassThe controls can take some getting used to. After all, you’re playing with the locomotion of a snake, not a two-legged mascot. But Snake Pass is such an inventive and engaging platformer that it’s worth sticking with until it clicks.

Rayman Legends

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Rayman Legends“Impressive variety, masterful scenery, and great art make it a confident, no-frills platformer.” It’s 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 sweet and charming. It may look and sound like a living cartoon world, but it’s definitely aimed at experienced players of the genre. Players ready to take on the challenge will find a range of varied worlds with equally diverse activities: swimming, flying, stealth, combat, racing and even musical rhythm games.

Sonic Mania

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

To create one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog games of the last decade, Sega turned to some of its biggest fans. Sonic Mania is a follower of the old-school branch of Sonic gameplay and design. It takes Genesis-era ideas to their logical extreme, while still staying true to the old design rules of Sonic the Hedgehog. If you have a fondness for Sonic (and friends), especially the 16-bit variant, Sonic Mania is for you. This is a game that Sonic the Hedgehog also loves.

Psychonauts 2

Where to play: Mac, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

We called Psychonauts 2 “One of the most imaginative platform games on the market, with a veritable deluge of joyful ideas and imagery” in our review of Double Fine’s 2021 platform adventure game. It also features one of the most compelling and imaginative stories of any game on this list.

As Psychonaut Raz, you’ll delve into people’s brains as they manifest as strange, creative worlds to help them battle their inner demons, unlock hidden memories, and release their emotional baggage using a range of psychic powers. Psychonauts 2 tackles weighty topics and complex psychological issues with warmth, compassion and humor – while serving as a competent, consistently entertaining platformer.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie series

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

This collection contains the original PlayStation game Klonoa: Door to the Phantomile and its PlayStation 2 sequel Clone 2: Lunatea’s Veil into the modern era, with updated looks and some quality of life features. Set somewhere between 2D and 3D, these underrated platformers allow players to explore a cute and colorful world as Klonoa, who can use his wind ring to grab and throw enemies. The Klonoa games aren’t particularly complex, but require puzzle-solving of level geography and thoughtful use of jumping abilities to conquer each world.

Astro’s Playroom

Where to play: PlayStation 5

Supposedly 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 of PlayStation history. And to be honest: Astro’s Playroom really has nothing to do with being as good as it is; It’s free, after all, and included with the PlayStation 5. But it’s an excellent platformer that boasts precise controls, fun movement mechanics, and thoughtful design details. As you play through it, you may be wondering why Sony doesn’t produce (and charge for) more of these games on a regular basis.