Best Platformer Games on the Switch

Platformer Games are one of the things the Nintendo Switch is genuinely for. The ones worth playing start with Super Mario Odyssey, Metroid Dread, Super Mario Wonder.

The Switch and Platformer Games

A home console you can take with you, which turns out to matter more than raw power. The strongest first-party library of any modern machine, plus an indie catalogue that fits portable play perfectly.

This is one of its strengths. First-party everything — platformers, adventure, strategy RPGs, party games — and indies, which suit handheld sessions better than they suit a television.

Filtering to platformer means you want the movement itself to be the pleasure. It is the right filter when the thing you liked was getting from one place to another.

The Platformer Games Worth Playing

  1. 1. Super Mario Odyssey

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  2. 2. Metroid Dread

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  3. 3. Super Mario Wonder

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  4. 4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  5. 5. Hollow Knight

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  6. 6. Celeste

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  7. 7. Shovel Knight

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  8. 8. Katana ZERO

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

What Makes a Good Platformer Game

A game you can judge in ten seconds. Platformers live or die on the jump, and a good one feels right before anything else happens.

Weight. Platformers rarely carry a story you will think about afterwards, and the collectible-led ones can become checklists if you let them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best platformer game on the Switch?

Super Mario Odyssey is the usual first answer, and there are 8 in the library we cover.

Was the Switch good at platformer games?

Yes — it is one of the things the machine is known for, and there are 8 in the library we cover.

What separates a good platformer from a bad one?

Whether the move set is complete early. The great ones give you everything in the first level and spend the rest asking better questions of it; the weak ones drip-feed abilities to disguise thin level design.

2D or 3D?

Different games. 2D platformers are about precision on a single screen; 3D ones are about reading space and camera. Each pick below says which it is.

How is this list put together?

From the games this site covers on the Nintendo Switch, matched against hand-mapped gameplay categories rather than a storefront's genre tag. A page only exists where there are at least four, which is why some console and genre combinations have no page at all.

Platformer Games on Other Consoles

More From the Switch

Or browse the whole Nintendo Switch library.