Games Like Super Mario Galaxy
Quick Answer
The closest games to Super Mario Galaxy are Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Astro Bot, Super Mario 3D World and A Hat in Time. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Super Mario Galaxy, and what does not.
What Made Super Mario Galaxy Work
Galaxy's structure is one idea per level, used properly, then dropped. Gravity is the toy — walking around a planetoid, falling upward, being flung between spheres — and the orchestral score does as much work as the level design. It is the most disciplined 3D platformer Nintendo has made.
Super Mario Galaxy is Nintendo EAD Tokyo's 2007 Wii platformer. Mario travels from Rosalina's Comet Observatory to galaxies made of small planets with their own gravity, collecting 120 Power Stars. Its orchestral soundtrack, by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo, is part of its identity. It was re-released in Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch in 2020. Fans usually want another 3D platformer with the same variety of ideas.
Also written as Mario Galaxy — same game, same list.
9 Games Like Super Mario Galaxy
1.Super Mario Galaxy 2
More of it, denser, and with Yoshi. Arguably the better game.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD Tokyo's 2010 Wii sequel packs in more galaxies, new power-ups and Yoshi.
What is different: More levels and harder ones, Yoshi returns, and a simple world map replaces the observatory hub.
Where to play it: Wii.
More about this game →2.Super Mario Odyssey
The successor, with a deeper moveset and less structure.
Why it fits: Nintendo EPD's 2017 Switch game uses more open kingdoms and a capture mechanic with Cappy.
What is different: Open sandbox kingdoms and a hat that captures enemies; there are no small planets or gravity tricks.
Where to play it: Switch.
Games like this →3.Astro Bot
The only recent platformer with as many ideas per hour.
Why it fits: Team Asobi's 2024 PS5 platformer builds almost every level around a new idea.
What is different: Built around the DualSense controller, with a new gadget in many levels and bots to rescue instead of stars.
Where to play it: PS5.
Games like this →4.Super Mario 3D World
The same one-idea-per-level discipline, in four-player co-op.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD Tokyo's 2013 Wii U game, re-released on Switch in 2021 with Bowser's Fury, has four-player co-op and the Cat Suit.
What is different: Fixed-camera obstacle courses with four-player co-op and a cat suit; nothing bends gravity.
Where to play it: Wii U; later Switch.
More about this game →5.A Hat in Time
The best indie take on this era of 3D platforming.
Why it fits: Gears for Breakfast's 2017 game is an indie 3D platformer with varied chapters.
What is different: Open hub chapters, a heavier sense of character, and hats that give each power.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →6.Psychonauts 2
Every level a new concept, executed properly.
Why it fits: Double Fine's 2021 game has levels built around different minds and visual styles.
What is different: Each level is the inside of someone's head, with a bigger story and psychic powers.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
More about this game →7.Kirby and the Forgotten Land
3D platforming built to be kind and full of small inventions.
Why it fits: HAL Laboratory's 2022 Switch game is a 3D platformer with transformations called Mouthful Mode.
What is different: Kirby's first full 3D game, gentler, with Mouthful Mode letting him swallow cars and cones.
Where to play it: Switch.
Games like this →8.Super Mario 64
The origin, and the moveset is still the deepest part.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD's 1996 Nintendo 64 game established the 3D Mario template of collecting stars.
What is different: Open levels with stars hidden around them, a free camera and no gravity planets.
Where to play it: N64; the remake is on DS.
Games like this →9.Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Galaxy's diorama levels turned into a whole puzzle game.
Why it fits: Nintendo EAD Tokyo's 2014 Wii U game, later on Switch and 3DS, is a puzzle game built from compact diorama levels.
What is different: Toad cannot jump, so every stage is a small diorama puzzle to turn and study rather than a run.
Where to play it: Wii U, 3DS and Switch.
More about this game →
Where to Start
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the natural next game — same team, even more ideas. Super Mario 3D World is the pick for the same discipline in co-op. Outside Nintendo, Astro Bot is the closest in spirit.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick is a 3D platformer, or a close relative, with strong level design and many ideas. We gave priority to Nintendo's own 3D Mario games and to modern games of similar quality.
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How These Picks Match Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy is catalogued here as a 3D platformer on the Nintendo Wii. All nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — nine platformers and four adventures among them.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, two can be played on PC, three can be played on a PlayStation, seven can be played on a Nintendo system and two can be played on an Xbox. A Hat in Time is from a small or self-published studio. Like Super Mario Galaxy, every one of them can be played by a child and an adult together.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Super Mario Galaxy | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 | Platformer, Family, Adventure | Platformer, Adventure | Wii. |
| Super Mario Odyssey | Platformer, Family, Adventure | Platformer, Adventure | Switch. |
| Astro Bot | Platformer, Family, Action | Platformer | PS5. |
| Super Mario 3D World | Platformer, Family | Platformer | Wii U; later Switch. |
| A Hat in Time | Platformer, Indie, Family | Platformer | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Psychonauts 2 | Platformer, Adventure, Family | Platformer, Adventure | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. |
| Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Platformer, Family, Action | Platformer | Switch. |
| Super Mario 64 | Platformer, Family, Adventure | Platformer, Adventure | N64; the remake is on DS. |
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | Puzzle, Platformer, Family | Platformer | Wii U, 3DS and Switch. |
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