Top 10 Best Platformers on Xbox One

Top 10 Best Platformers on Xbox One

The Xbox One is home to a lot of excellent games, but some draw from genres that were popular in years gone by. Here are the ten best platformers on Xbox One.

Cuphead

Cuphead was released in 2017 on Xbox One and proved to be one of the best platforming experiences on the platform. This run and gun inspired by 1930s cartoons is extremely charming and aesthetically pleasing, but don’t let that fool you; difficult bosses and tricky platforming requires players to really learn the attack patterns of enemies.

Rayman Legends

Ubisoft’s reboot of the Rayman series ended up playing like a dream, a multiplayer platforming dream. Similar to New Super Mario Bros., you can play any stage with up to four other players which led to some pretty exhilarating gameplay and even better platforming segments that put teamwork to the test.

Inside

Playdead’s follow up to the creepy black and white platformer, Limbo, takes you through a dystopian world where you have to stealthily make your way through security systems and humans who are being controlled by some kind of higher being. Inside is quite the journey and if you’re up for a solid puzzle-platformer, this is the one to play.

Guacamelee 2

This 2D side-scroller takes tons of inspirations from Metroid and Castlevania but puts way more emphasis on combat and traversal. In Guacemelee 2, you play as a luchador who can not only transform into a chicken but can basically fly, ground pound, punch, and throw to defeat his foes.

Celeste

Celeste is a brutally difficult retro-styled platformer starring a girl named Madeline who is trying to fight her inner demons and make her way up Celeste Mountain. Although the challenging platforming segments can lead to multiple deaths, Celeste pushes the player to do better, and most of all, reminds the player to breathe and try again.

Ori and the Blind Forest

The hand-drawn aesthetics, Metroidvania-style of exploring, amazing score, and charming environments all make Ori and the Blind Forest one of the best Microsoft exclusives to date. The 2D platformer offers players a challenging and engaging story mode, all while still being easy for anyone to jump into and play.

Mega Man 11

Mega Man 11 made a comeback last year as the series took a little bit of a break – an 8-year break. But, the blue bomber came back in a big way with new bosses, stages, and a mechanic that allows you to speed up and slow down time, bringing in a new factor that the series has never seen.

Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania is a love letter to Sonic’s beginnings on the Sega Genesis and goes back to the classic retro music that we love so much. It’s Sonic like you remember him and as you blaze through the sidescrolling 2D stages, you’ll realize just how much fun Sonic could be without terrible 3D platforming.

Shovel Knight

Sporting an 8-bit retro aesthetic, Shovel Knight uses his shovel to defeat all of his enemies in this challenging 2D platformer. The successful launch of this game would cause an influx of pixel-art platformers into the world.

The Messenger

This time-traveling ninja platformer seems like your typical retro-inspired title, but once you get past a critical point in the game, everything switches up. You become able to jump between time, altering the game’s art style from 8-bit to 16-bit.