Games Like Jak and Daxter

What Made Jak and Daxter Work

The first Jak is a seamless open platformer — no loading, one continuous world, collectathon structure with genuinely good movement. The sequels turned into open-world action games, so what you want next depends on which Jak you mean.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was made by Naughty Dog and released for the PlayStation 2 in December 2001. Jak II (2003) and Jak 3 (2004) turned the series into open-world action with guns and vehicles. The trilogy was remastered in the Jak and Daxter Collection on PS3 in 2012, and the PS2 versions were re-released on PS4 in 2017.

Also written as Jak & Daxter, Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy — same game, same list.

9 Games Like Jak and Daxter

1. Ra

   1.Ratchet and Clank(2002)

   Insomniac's PS2 counterpart to Naughty Dog's Jak — weapon-focused rather than movement-focused.

   Why it fits: Insomniac Games, PS2, 2002. Built with some of Naughty Dog's own Jak and Daxter rendering technology, which Naughty Dog offered to share; its weapon-led platforming suits fans of Jak II and 3.

   What is different: Weapons are the whole game — the platforming is there to get you to the next fight, and there is no seamless world.

   Where to play it: PS2 originals (HD collection on PS3); the 2016 remake on PS4 and Rift Apart on PS5 and PC.

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2. Sl

   2.Sly Cooper(2002)

   The third pillar of the PS2 platformer trio — stealth and heist structure.

   Why it fits: Sucker Punch Productions, PS2, 2002. The third of the big PS2 mascot platformers alongside Jak and Ratchet, built on stealth, sneaking and heists.

   What is different: Stealth and pickpocketing rather than open exploration, and levels are hub-based rather than seamless.

   Where to play it: PS2; collected in The Sly Collection on PS3.

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3. Ba

   3.Banjo-Kazooie(1998)

   The collectathon done at its best, if that was the part you liked.

   Why it fits: Rare, Nintendo 64, 1998 (Xbox 360 in 2008). The collectathon at its best: notes and jiggies placed by hand in worlds built like puzzle boxes, as in Jak's first game.

   What is different: Enclosed levels behind a hub instead of one continuous world, and a much heavier collecting load.

   Where to play it: N64; Xbox 360 and Rare Replay on Xbox One; Nintendo Switch Online with the Expansion Pack.

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4. Ps

   4.Psychonauts(2005)

   Platforming built around genuinely inventive level concepts and writing.

   Why it fits: Double Fine Productions, 2005, on PC, Xbox and PS2. A 3D platformer set inside people's minds, with the strongest writing of the era.

   What is different: The platforming is looser than Jak's, and the draw is the writing and level concepts rather than the movement.

   Where to play it: PC, PS2 and Xbox; the sequel on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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5. A

   5.A Hat in Time(2017)

   A modern collectathon that understands what made these games move well.

   Why it fits: Gears for Breakfast, PC in 2017, then PS4, Xbox One and Switch. A crowdfunded modern collectathon that understands why the PS2 platformers felt so good to move in.

   What is different: Chapter-based rather than one open island, and much more comic in tone.

   Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.

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6. Su

   6.Super Mario Odyssey(2017)

   The high-water mark for movement in a 3D platformer.

   Why it fits: Nintendo EPD, Switch, 2017. The best movement in any 3D platformer, and open kingdoms with collectibles everywhere.

   What is different: No story to speak of and no partner banter; the pleasure is pure movement across separate kingdoms.

   Where to play it: Switch.

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7. Ap

   7.Ape Escape(1999)

   PS1's best 3D platformer, built around the dual-stick gadget system.

   Why it fits: Sony's Japan Studio, PlayStation, 1999 — the first game to require the DualShock's two analog sticks. A gadget-filled PlayStation platformer from the generation before Jak.

   What is different: Older and stiffer, with the right stick controlling gadgets — it takes an hour to relearn.

   Where to play it: PS1; also in the PlayStation Plus classics catalogue.

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8. Su

   8.Sunset Overdrive(2014)

   If you preferred Jak II — open world, traversal-led combat, same irreverence.

   Why it fits: Insomniac Games, Xbox One, 2014 (PC in 2018). For fans of Jak II rather than Jak 1: an open city, guns, and getting around by grinding and bouncing.

   What is different: A shooter first; there is almost no precise platforming, just grinding and bouncing.

   Where to play it: Xbox One (plays on Xbox Series X|S) and PC.

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9. As

   9.Astro Bot(2024)

   The most joyful modern platformer, and the closest thing to Jak 1's polish.

   Why it fits: Team Asobi, PS5, 2024. The most polished PlayStation platformer since the PS2 era, with the same sense of a team showing off what the hardware can do.

   What is different: Level-by-level rather than an open world, and there is no story or partner to speak of.

   Where to play it: PS5.

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Where to Start

For the first game's feel — seamless world, gentle collecting — play A Hat in Time or Astro Bot. If it was Jak II and 3 you loved, with guns and an open city, go to Ratchet and Clank or Sunset Overdrive instead; they suit that half of the series much better.

How We Picked These Games

Every pick is a 3D platformer or action-platformer built around good movement in hand-made worlds. Some lean towards the first game's collecting, some towards Jak II's guns and city, and each pick says which.

Which One to Play, by What You Liked

If you liked Jak and Daxter for collecting power cells and orbs, try Banjo-Kazooie and A Hat in Time. Both reward poking into every corner of a hand-built world, which is what the first Jak was about before the sequels added guns.

If you liked Jak and Daxter for Jak II's guns and Haven City, try Ratchet and Clank and Sunset Overdrive. Weapon-led platforming in Ratchet, and an open city you cross by grinding in Sunset Overdrive.

If you liked Jak and Daxter for Daxter's running commentary, try Psychonauts. Psychonauts has the funniest writing of any platformer from that era, and a cast that talks back to you.

If you liked Jak and Daxter for that PS2 era feeling, try Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank. Naughty Dog, Insomniac and Sucker Punch defined PS2 platforming together; the other two thirds of that trio are the obvious next stop.