The 10 best platforms to play right now

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 have a good time. Rift Apart takes our best friends to a new reality and takes full advantage of Sony’s new hardware with a new crack mechanic. Ratchet and protagonist Rivet can use rifts to teleport through completely different environments or realities in the blink of an eye. The traditional platformer mixed with weapons from Ratchet & Clank is back. We couldn’t get enough of Rift Apart’s quirky weapons like the Cold Snap that wraps enemies in giant cocktail-ready ice cubes or the Topiary Sprinkler that turns enemies into stunning garden bushes. | Our review

This Switch remake 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 his friends rescue the look-alike creatures To fairies called Sprixies from Bowser’s hands, they turn into cats and scratch their way to the top of each flagpole. However, let Nintendo label it in a new secondary game that just shines like the original package. Bowser’s Fury may be short, but it has more great ideas than many full releases. This nifty new game launches Mario into an open-world environment and asks players to collect Cat Shines before going head-to-head with a kaiju-sized Bowser. These bite-sized platforming challenges are so rewarding it’s easy to lose track of an entire night in one sitting. Bowser could be furious; we are anything but. | Our review

The 2018 PSVR release, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, put a smile on our face, but we’re glad that even those without a VR headset can enjoy Astro’s follow-up adventure. Better yet, Sony gave away the game; Astro’s Playroom is free to anyone with a PlayStation 5. This joyous experience is also a love letter to the PlayStation brand, filled with nods to many of our favorite game consoles and franchises. We loved hang-gliding through electric cannons, collecting coins on icy cliffs, and jumping over water lilies in a mechanical frog suit. The title is also an impressive technical demo for Sony’s newest controller, and the DualSense’s haptic feedback delivers realistic tactile vibrations, adding depth to the feeling of walking on sand, standing in the rain, or pushing against the wind. | Our review

Nineteen years is a long time to wait for just about anything, and many fans think they would never see a sequel to Double Fine’s beloved Xbox-era platformer. The young acrobat and gifted psychic Raz returns for new mischief; This time, she left Talent Summer Camp to join the world-famous organization that gives the series its name. Unfortunately, a mole within the organization threatens to awaken a long-buried secret that could destabilize the world’s governments, so Raz must travel to a number of damaged minds and help people recover from their past traumas. We never knew what to expect next, from a casino-themed hospital to a cooking game show to a ’60s psychedelic band tour. | Our review

Mario is the king of platformers, so it shouldn’t surprise you to see him on this list more than once. Naturally, we had to pick Mario’s big outing on Switch because it’s still a nonstop roller coaster of brilliant ideas. Each level is packed with engaging and interactive moments, from traversing a forest like a tyrannosaurus rex to bouncing off springy flowers in an icy desert and jumping off a wall for a 2D platformer sequence reminiscent of Mario’s early days. In Odyssey, Mario’s iconic headdress has also come to life, allowing Mario to possess any entity that wears the hat. Sure, possession sounds scary, but who wouldn’t want Nintendo’s plump plumber running on their head? | Our review

Hazelight Studios pioneered their cooperative-only approach to action games with 2018’s A Way Out, but the team really took a big step with 2021’s It Takes Two. Cody and May are a married couple who stare into the barrel of a Life-changing divorce when your daughter makes a wish, and the couple’s souls end up inside a pair of handmade dolls. Sure, the narrative sounds like a bad Disney movie made for television, but the resulting antics are refreshingly original. Cody and May must work together to break through the treetops, help the squirrels fight a hive of angry wasps, and use magnets to place platforms in a series of gears. No two moments in It Takes Two are exactly the same, ensuring your cooperative action is unforgettable. | Our review

These days, it’s easy to poke fun at Sonic, but 2017’s Sonic Mania wasn’t just a throwback to Sonic’s 2D glory days, it was easily one of the best Sonic games to date. After the events of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic and his friends discover that something is wrong on Angel Island. Dr. Eggman is one step ahead of the speedsters, and his EggRobos team plans to mine a magical gemstone for evil. Designed by members of the ROM hacking community who made their mark by working on the Sonic fangame, and then on the official mobile ports, Mania understands what makes Sonic special. Many of the levels in Sonic Mania begin as riffs in familiar settings of yesteryear, but quickly evolve into exciting self-platforming experiences. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles race across the sand-swept deserts, dodging the trash compactor’s deadly traps, and using the new drop board to race past Dr. Eggman once more. | Our review

Fall Guys isn’t the first game you’d think of when creating a list of the best platformer games, but this thrilling competitive experience is so compelling that there’s no question that it should be here. A mix between Battle Royales and game shows like Takeshi Castle and Clean up, Fall Guys pits 60 players against each other in a series of competitive platforming challenges that are as fun to watch as they are to compete in. Whether we’re playing ping-pong from one bouncing platform to the next, running through disappearing floors, or navigating a field of spinning windmills, we couldn’t resist the pull to start “just one more match” every time. we land on our face. | Our review

The Switch has no shortage of great original platformers, but it also helps us relive some titles that might have been overlooked during the Wii U years. The Retro Studio sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns is a beloved throwback to the platforming days of SNES. The Kong just sat down to celebrate DK’s birthday when a group of arctic invaders attack their island, turning their tropical home into a popsicle paradise. The adventure that follows offers a considerable challenge, but the Switch version features Funky Kong as a playable character, and this surfer ape can double-jump, float, and walk on spikes. Better luck next time, arctic invaders. | Our review

Since the release of Crash Bandicoot: Warped in 1998, we’ve seen dozens of games starring this goofy marsupial. However, as the name implies, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a fit return to the glory days of the platformer that put Naughty Dog on the map. Developer Toys for Bob did a fantastic job bringing back the magic of 90s era 2.5D rigs while keeping the action fresh thanks to inclusions from quantum masks that slow down time, turn the world upside down, and cause everything. kind of havoc. Additional playable characters help revolutionize the action. For example, Tawna comes equipped with a grappling hook for high-flying action, and Dingodile’s powerful vacuum allows it to suck boxes from the other side of the screen. | Our review