Platformer PC Games

2018 · Precision Platformer · PC / Steam

Celeste is a precision platformer that manages to be both punishingly hard and deeply compassionate. The controls are some of the tightest in the genre, the level design introduces and discards mechanics at a pace that keeps every chapter feeling fresh, and the story about Madeline's climb hits harder than most people expect from a game about jumping. Assist Mode ensures nobody gets locked out, even if the intended experience involves dying thousands of times. It's a short game that leaves a long impression, and the B-side and C-side chapters ensure that players looking for a real challenge will find one waiting.

2012 · Stealth / Platformer · PC / Steam

Mark of the Ninja is the purest stealth game ever made, translating the genre's core principles into a 2D format with such clarity and precision that it became the standard for how stealth mechanics should communicate information to the player.

2016 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Inside takes everything Playdead learned from Limbo and refines it into a tighter, more disturbing, and more mechanically polished experience that culminates in one of the most discussed endings in gaming history.

2024 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Animal Well is a meticulously crafted puzzle metroidvania that hides an astonishing depth of secrets beneath its compact, mysterious world, rewarding exploration and observation with one of the deepest rabbit holes in modern gaming.

2019 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Katana Zero is a near-perfect fusion of lightning-fast action and surprisingly deep storytelling. Every level is a violent puzzle solved in seconds, and the narrative that ties them together has more ambition and emotional weight than most indie action games attempt. The difficulty can be brutal, and the story ends on an unresolved note that has left fans waiting for years. But what's here is one of the tightest, most stylish action games on PC. It does everything right except end.

2015 · Platformer · PC / Steam

Ori and the Blind Forest is one of those rare games where every element works in concert. The platforming is precise and satisfying, the world is gorgeous and worth exploring, and the story hits harder than most games ten times its length. The Definitive Edition's added difficulty options and areas only strengthen the package. Escape sequences will test your patience, and the save system can amplify frustration in spots, but those are small costs for a game that has earned its place among the best platformers ever made. It's the kind of experience that sticks with you long after the credits.

2020 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a sequel that improves on its predecessor in nearly every meaningful way. The combat has real depth now, the movement is among the best the genre has ever produced, and the visual and musical presentation operates at a level most games can only aspire to. Some escape sequences frustrate more than they thrill, and certain abilities feel underused outside their introductory areas, but these are small complaints against a game that consistently reaches for something beautiful and lands it. Moon Studios built a platformer that resonates on an emotional level while still delivering satisfying action and exploration. That combination is rarer than it should be.

2014 · Platformer · PC / Steam

Shovel Knight, in its Treasure Trove form, is one of the most complete platforming packages available. Four distinct campaigns, each with its own character and mechanics, plus a local multiplayer mode, add up to a staggering amount of content for a game inspired by 8-bit classics. The level design is sharp, the music is fantastic, and Yacht Club Games managed to capture what made NES-era platformers great while quietly fixing what made them frustrating. Replaying similar stages across campaigns can wear thin, but the quality of each individual run is hard to argue with. This is retro done right.

2013 · Roguelike Platformer · PC / Steam

Spelunky is a precision-engineered roguelike platformer where every death teaches something and every run tells a different story. Its procedurally generated caves create endless variety while maintaining tight, fair design that makes failure feel like your fault rather than the game's. The daily challenge system and local co-op add layers beyond the solo experience, and the core loop remains as compelling as anything in the genre more than a decade after release.

2020 · Roguelike Platformer · PC / Steam

Spelunky 2 expands on the original's formula with deeper systems, branching paths, and online co-op while keeping the precise, fair design that made the series a genre benchmark. Runs move fast, deaths come faster, and the layers of interlocking mechanics create a game that reveals new depth hundreds of hours in. It's harder than the original and less forgiving about it, which keeps the ceiling high for dedicated players while making the entry point steeper for everyone else.

2009 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Braid is a landmark puzzle platformer that weaves time manipulation mechanics and emotional storytelling into an experience that changed expectations for what independent games could achieve.

2022 · Roguelite Platformer · PC / Steam

Rogue Legacy 2 takes the original's proven formula and improves it in nearly every dimension. The expanded class system gives each run a distinct identity, the biomes are more varied and visually rich, and the accessibility options let players tune the difficulty without removing the challenge. The grind can feel heavy in the middle stretch, and some players miss the original's wilder randomness, but the overall package is one of the best roguelites available on PC.

2022 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Neon White is a speedrunning game disguised as a first-person shooter, and it pulls off that fusion with extraordinary confidence. The card-based movement system is brilliantly designed, levels are short enough to replay dozens of times without frustration, and chasing faster times becomes deeply addictive. The visual novel story segments will split the room, and the humor lands better for some than others. But the core loop of sprinting through heaven, discarding weapon cards for movement abilities, and shaving seconds off your best time is among the most satisfying action gameplay on PC in recent years.

2024 · Metroidvania / Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the metroidvania nobody expected from Ubisoft, delivering razor-sharp combat, inventive traversal powers, and a brilliantly designed interconnected world that earns its place alongside the genre's best.

2023 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is one of the most visually impressive games on PC, with a weapon arsenal that makes every encounter a creative playground and a dimension-hopping mechanic that showcases what modern hardware can do. The addition of Rivet as a playable character brings fresh energy to the franchise, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is consistently fun. The overall experience is on the shorter and easier side, the story hits familiar beats without taking many risks, and the platforming takes a back seat to combat. But as a showcase for visual spectacle and inventive weapon design, few games match it.

2021 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Little Nightmares II expands on the original with more varied environments, a compelling companion dynamic, and even more disturbing creature design, solidifying the series as the definitive atmospheric horror platformer.

2011 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Limbo is a haunting, perfectly paced puzzle platformer that proves a game doesn't need words, color, or length to create an experience that lodges permanently in your memory.

2013 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Fez is a deceptively deep puzzle platformer that hides an extraordinary layer of cryptographic complexity beneath its charming pixel art exterior, rewarding both casual explorers and obsessive puzzle solvers in equal measure.

2023 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Blasphemous 2 builds on its predecessor with tighter combat, smarter level design, and a weapon system that gives every run meaningful variety. The pixel art remains stunning and the religious horror aesthetic is as striking as ever, making this one of the strongest metroidvanias on PC for players who don't mind earning their progress the hard way.

2022 · 3D Platformer · PC / Steam

Tinykin is a joyful collectathon that borrows the best parts of Pikmin and 3D platformers, then wraps them in a world that's a constant delight to explore. Every room in the oversized house is packed with creative details, shortcuts to unlock, and puzzles that use the Tinykin types in clever ways. It's on the easy side, and it ends before its ideas run out, which is both a compliment and a mild disappointment. For anyone who misses the feeling of discovering secrets in a well-crafted game world, this is a treat.

2021 · 3D Platformer · PC / Steam

Psychonauts 2 is a game that leads with imagination and never runs out of it. Double Fine built something that looks, sounds, and feels like nothing else in the platforming genre, and the way it handles its themes of mental health gives the whole experience a warmth that sticks with you. Combat drags the package down a tier, and the difficulty won't push experienced players, but the level design alone makes this essential for anyone who cares about creative game worlds. Sixteen years between sequels, and the studio came back with something better than the original in almost every way.

2023 · Action-Adventure / Platformer · PC / Steam

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is the spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio that fans waited two decades for, delivering an intoxicating blend of skating, graffiti, and style that captures the original's spirit while carving out its own identity.

2020 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

The Pedestrian is a uniquely charming puzzle game built around a brilliant central concept, using public signage as puzzle spaces to create an experience that feels unlike anything else in the genre.

2017 · Puzzle Platformer · PC / Steam

Little Nightmares is a masterfully atmospheric horror platformer that turns childhood fears into interactive nightmares, delivering a short but unforgettable journey through a world designed to make you feel small and vulnerable.

2013 · Roguelite Platformer · PC / Steam

Rogue Legacy nailed the formula that made roguelites accessible: die, upgrade, try again, and get a little further each time. The generational inheritance system and character traits inject humor and variety into every run, while the persistent upgrade tree ensures that even failed attempts contribute to long-term progress. The difficulty runs hot and the enemy variety could be deeper, but the core loop is addictive enough to keep pulling you back for one more heir.

2019 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Blasphemous is a striking metroidvania built on a foundation of religious horror, gorgeous pixel art, and punishing combat. The atmosphere and visual design are extraordinary, creating a world unlike anything else in the genre. Backtracking without enough fast travel points and some cryptic quest logic hold it back from greatness, but the sheer artistry on display carries it through those frustrations. Anyone drawn to dark, challenging platformers with a strong sense of identity should put this near the top of their list.

2024 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Nine Sols is a beautifully hand-drawn action platformer that builds its entire combat system around parrying and talisman detonation, creating fights that feel like violent puzzles. The boss encounters are exceptional, the art direction is stunning, and the Chinese mythology-inspired setting gives it a cultural identity that stands apart from the crowd. Brutal difficulty and some pacing issues in the story keep it from universal appeal, but players who click with its deflection-focused combat will find one of the most satisfying action games in recent years.

2017 · Survival Platformer · PC / Steam

Rain World is one of the most unique and uncompromising games on PC. Its procedurally driven ecosystem creates a living world where you're not the protagonist but the prey, and surviving in it demands patience, observation, and a willingness to accept that the game won't hold your hand. The difficulty and opaque design will turn many players away, and the early hours can be genuinely miserable before the game's beauty reveals itself. But for those who push through, Rain World offers an experience that nothing else replicates. It's a game that earns its devoted following the hard way.

2016 · Puzzle / Platformer · PC / Steam

Human: Fall Flat turns clumsy physics controls into a surprisingly deep puzzle game that shines brightest when shared with friends, offering consistent updates that have kept it relevant for years.

2018 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

La-Mulana 2 is a demanding metroidvania that rewards the specific kind of player willing to take notes, think laterally, and accept that the game will never meet them halfway. Jump control and general movement are meaningfully improved over the original, and the puzzle design remains some of the most intricate in the genre. It's a brilliant game that actively resists broad appeal, and that's exactly the point.

2024 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Pepper Grinder turns a single mechanic, drilling through terrain at high speed, into a thrilling platformer that delivers pure kinetic joy for its brief runtime, even if it doesn't quite have enough ideas to fill a longer game.

2019 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

My Friend Pedro delivers on its promise of balletic gun violence guided by a sentient banana, and the best moments create shareable clips of slow-motion acrobatics. The split-aiming, bullet time, and environmental physics combine to produce sequences that feel like action movie choreography. But the highs are inconsistent, with level design that doesn't always support the freedom the mechanics promise, and the campaign runs out of ideas before it runs out of levels. It's a great concept that a tighter, shorter game would have served better.

2022 · Roguelite Platformer · PC / Steam

Revita builds its entire identity around a single bold trade-off: your health is your currency. Every powerful item in the game costs hit points, creating a constant tension between staying safe and becoming strong enough to survive what's ahead. The twin-stick platforming is crisp and responsive, the soundtrack is excellent, and the tower's progression system keeps runs feeling purposeful even in defeat. The difficulty can be punishing and the visual clarity occasionally suffers during intense encounters, but the health-as-resource mechanic gives Revita a risk-reward loop that few roguelites can match.

2024 · Metroidvania / Platformer · PC / Steam

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a visually gorgeous metroidvania steeped in Japanese folklore that nails its platforming and art direction while falling short on combat depth and map design compared to genre heavyweights.

2021 · Action Platformer · PC / Steam

Axiom Verge 2 is a bold departure from its predecessor that replaces the original's combat-heavy formula with exploration-focused gameplay and a parallel dimension mechanic. The shift alienated some fans expecting a bigger, louder sequel, but players who connect with its quieter, more contemplative design find a densely interconnected world worth getting lost in. It's a different kind of metroidvania, and that's both its greatest strength and the reason it divides its audience.