Platformers used to be a dominant gaming genre, but today they often feel like a relic of a bygone era. Even so, 2021 has seen the release of several stellar platformers. If you’re looking for a game that will challenge your hand-eye coordination and jumping skills, then look no further than this list. The following games all share common elements but carve a unique path in the genre. Listed in no particular order, here are 10 incredible platformers that you shouldn’t miss.
Solar Ash
Heart Machine has delivered a visually bold, kinetic platformer in Solar Ash. A voidrunner named Rei is tasked with collapsing the Ultravoid, a massive black hole on the verge of consuming her planet. Motion is central to Solar Ash with Rei’s abilities ensuring you’re always moving forward by smoothly skating, grinding, and grappling her way through vibrant, dream-like environments. Along the way, bosses known as Remnants must be taken out in service of ending the threat of the Ultravoid’s ceaseless hunger, providing epic large-scale encounters to the mix. Those looking for satisfying, often heartbreaking, lore can find it within side activities which also play into Rei’s personal development as she strives to save her home. With its silky traversal and stunning visuals, Solar Ash is a stellar journey to embark on. | Our Review
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
The Ratchet & Clank franchise was born on the PS2. While many of their contemporaries, such as Jak and Daxter or Sly Cooper, seem to have fallen by the wayside, this cosmic duo continues to churn out a good time. Rift Apart takes our best buds into a new reality and makes the most of Sony’s new hardware with a new rift mechanic. Ratchet and fellow protagonist Rivet can use rifts to teleport across environments or into entirely different realities in the blink of an eye. Ratchet & Clank’s traditional platforming-mixed-with-gunplay returns. We couldn’t get enough of Rift Apart’s zany weapons, such as the Cold Snap that encases enemies in giant, cocktail-ready ice cubes or the Topiary Sprinkler that turns enemies into stunning garden shrubs. | Our Review
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
This Switch rerelease of the 2013 Wii U platformer gave fans a chance to revisit Nintendo’s 4-player adventure – especially if they skipped the Wii U. As Mario and friends rescue the fairy-like creatures called Sprixies from Bowser’s grasp, they turn into cats and claw their way to the top of each flagpole. However, leave it to Nintendo to tag on a brand new side-game that shines just a bright as the original package. Bowser’s Fury might be short, but it has more great ideas than many full releases. This inventive new game tosses Mario into an open-world environment and tasks players with collecting Cat Shines before going toe-to-toe with a kaiju-sized Bowser. These bite-sized platforming challenges are so rewarding that it is easy to lose track of an entire night in one sitting. Bowser might be furious; we’re anything but. | Our Review
Astro’s Playroom
2018’s PSVR release Astro Bot Rescue Mission plastered a smile on our face, but we’re glad that even those who don’t have a VR headset can enjoy Astro’s follow-up adventure. Better still, Sony gave away the game; Astro’s Playroom comes free to anyone who owns a PlayStation 5. This lighthearted experience is also a love letter to the PlayStation brand, bursting with nods to many of our favorite consoles and gaming franchises. We loved hang-gliding through electrical canyons, collecting coins on frozen cliffs, and bouncing across lilypads in a mechanical frog suit. The title is also an impressive tech demo for Sony’s newest controller, and the DualSense’s haptic feedback offers realistic tactile vibrations, adding depth to the feel of walking on sand, standing in rainfall, or pushing against the wind. | Our Review