Platformer Video Games Bucket List

Ferry the dead to the afterlife, hug them and cook for them; the cosiest game about death.

Wario Land at 200 miles an hour, drawn like a 1990s cartoon; the 2023 indie.

Hand-drawn 2D platforming with four players; Ubisoft's art team let loose.

The Genesis Sonic made by fans, officially; the best Sonic since 1994.

A bard who sings instead of fights, saving the world with a colour wheel.

Yoshi carries baby Mario through a crayon world; the SNES platformer at its most inventive.

Toys for Bob's sequel with masks that flip gravity; harder than the originals.

One-hit kills, slow motion and a samurai on drugs; Askiisoft's neon.

A bird climbs a mountain to get phone signal; ninety minutes of kindness.

Retro Studios' hardest and best banana platformer.

Raz inside more heads; Double Fine's sequel sixteen years later, and better.

Kirby swallows a car in a post-apocalyptic mall; the 3D Kirby.

Run-and-gun bosses drawn like 1930s cartoons; hard and gorgeous.

Two writers trapped in each other's stories, co-op only; Hazelight's 2025 hit.

Madeline climbs a mountain and her anxiety; the platformer with an assist mode and a message.

Talking flowers and Wonder effects that turn levels inside out; the 2D Mario reinvented.

Dimension hopping with no loading; Insomniac shows off the PS5.

Mae drops out of college and comes home to a dying town of animals; a game about being 20.

A platformer of PlayStation history and the DualSense; the 2024 Game of the Year.

A divorcing couple shrunk into dolls, co-op only; Hazelight's 2021 Game of the Year.

Kirby made of wool in a world of felt; the softest platformer.

Randomly generated caves where everything kills you and it is always your fault; the roguelike platformer.

Three hundred levels of instant death and instant restart; the hard platformer.

A guardian spirit through a dying forest; hand-painted, with an escape up the flooding Ginso Tree.

Rhythm levels to Black Betty and the best 2D platforming of its decade; Ubisoft Montpellier.

Classic and modern Sonic through the series' best levels; the birthday game.

An 8-bit knight with a shovel; the retro platformer done right.

Bigger, harder and with an owl; Moon Studios' sequel.

Retro Studios revives the ape; hard, beautiful platforming.

Sackboy and a level editor; play, create, share on the PS3.