Knights Peak
While all eyes have deservingly been onAstro Botand its spectacular platforming thrills in 2024 , it ’s soft to forget that a portion of lesser - screw platformers have been quietly killing it this year . From completely unexpected sequel to 30 - year - sure-enough games that you ’ve plausibly never heard of to top - tier VR adventures and nostalgic journeys that nearly live up to the games that inspired them , it ’s been a heck of a year for one of play ’s most popular genres .
As we reflect on the best game of 2024 throughout this month , we wanted to take a moment to play up some lesser love platformers that did n’t get a spotlight this year . These five games may not have gotten the same attention asAstro Bot , but they ’re cogent evidence that it ’s not just gaming ’s biggest companies that are keeping a authoritative genre alive .
Nikoderiko: The Magical World
Platforms : PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Nintendo Switch , PC
Capitalizing on nostalgia is n’t always an well-situated affair . Developers have to collar all of the first harmonic of what players love about an older title while also ply enough modern flair to meet today ’s standards . I have n’t seen many games pull this off as well asVEA Games’Nikoderiko , a erotic love varsity letter to classic platformers likeDonkey Kong CountryandCrash Bandicootthat does n’t shy away whatsoever from embracing the right part of those experiences — even if it entail essentially copying / glue their features . The former is perhapsNikoderiko‘s big influence , as various parts ofDonkey Kong Countryhave been lift and placed into this title with great success , such as smash between cask , finding golden letter of the alphabet to import out N - I - K - O in every floor , familiar “ collect - them - all ” bonus microscope stage purpose , and even rideable brute companions . caricature is the sincerest form of flattery , right ?
As if that was n’t enough to prove thatNikoderikobasically feels like a fresh Donkey Kong Country game with a new mold of quality , the gifted David Wise returns to indite an excellent soundtrack three decade after he first created some of gaming ’s most memorable euphony ever in Donkey Kong ’s SNES outings . And thoughNikoderiko‘s two playable characters , Niko and Luna , are n’t quite as memorable as Nintendo ’s ape phratry , they ’re still a gust to act with through a brilliant and colorful worldly concern full of creative level innovation and challenging platforming . There ’s even local carbon monoxide - op available here , so grab a friend and go on a new adventure together !
Max Mustard
platform : PlayStation VR2 , Meta Quest , PC
appear , Max Mustard is a silly name for a character — but her VR - only title is one of the most delightful experiences of 2024.Max Mustardtakes place all within yourVR headsetas you hold in the game ’s titulary character through 40 springy levels fill to the lip with gorgeous art design , exciting challenge , and no shortfall of neat little surprise . It ’s actually shock how standardised this biz feels to PlayStation VR’sAstro Bot : Rescue Missionin both designing and quality . Both games take a traditional 3D platformer and give you full 360 - degree tv camera control to make you feel less like a passive observer and more like an active part of the risky venture . They both achieve this unique perspective so well that they never sacrifice first-class control and user constancy in the process .
Though its VR trappings sure as shooting elevate the experience ofMax Mustard , this mascot platformer hits all of the right notes as a platformer as a whole . Levels are a joy to sail , with plenty of playfulness little secrets hide out throughout , controls are antiphonal and close to see accurate jumps and attacks , and Max ’s goofy last name does n’t declare her back from being a magnetic lead who easily wins over your heart within only a few instant . To top thing off , some levels even let you get in on the play by award you a plunger gun you’re able to utilise in first - person to engage with the environs , take on bosses , or double-dyed target challenge . All of these pieces make out together to make a whimsical journey that anyone with a VR headset should check out .
Europa
political program : Nintendo Switch , microcomputer
Not every platformer need to be a frenetic journey overflowing with enemies and unmanageable obstacles . As a topic of fact , some of gaming ’s most memorable quests take position in the quiet and peaceful moments between all the action . like to the musing jaunt you take in a game likeJourney , Europais far more concerned in letting you take in its world at your own stride . Its gorgeous , undefendable - ended environments sport an art style that ’s very clearly inspired by the works ofStudio Ghibli , and the biz makes employment of each bit of it to aid state a compelling story of isolation and uncertainty as find out through the eye of an android boy named Zee , who finds himself searching an exotic moon for clues about the fade of its inhabitants .
Europaeschews combat encounters and chooses instead to serve up up environmental puzzles that you demand to work out to go , as well as some gently challenging platforming that makes consistent use of Zee ’s jetpack . Flying and gliding around the lush landscape is a simple-minded joy , though it all blend in by rather quickly . The game can be beat in around 3 to 4 hours , so it wo n’t be ideal for those look for something more expansive . But for anyone with an good afternoon to commit in an adorable platformer with a astonishingly poignant story , Europais one lunar month deserving explore .
Ufouria: The Saga 2
platform : PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , Nintendo Switch , personal computer
There ’s a in effect chance you ’ve probably never heard ofUfouria : The Saga . The NES plot , which never made its way to a North American release , receive a mixed reception in Japan and Europe in 1991 and certainly has n’t been held in the same gaze as some of that era ’s most well - known platformers in the decades since . So you ’d probably be equally confused about how it land a full - blown sequel over 30 years afterward . But that ’s the timeline we ’re living in , and honestly , I ’m really beaming to be here . This fun caper is simple , but satisfy to play , offering hours of fairly standard platforming play that scratches an itching without demanding much too from the role player . This kind of blowy experience is a great pallet cleansing agent in a day and age where many platformers are eager to push the limits of our reflexes .
Ufouria : The Saga 2impresses visually by blending blurred , almost material - styled characters and environments with theme - like backgrounds to produce an art style reminiscent of Modern incoming in Nintendo ’s Yoshi franchise . This storybook approach couples well with the wacky nature of the borderline absurd story and talks that brings together four unbelievable character — a penguin , a cat , a ghost , and a fish — each of whom possesses unique abilities necessary to pass certain obstacles in the earth . You ’ll have to switch between each of them on the fly to get through the bright and coloured levels , and you’re able to even buy new acquisition for them all as you advance through the secret plan , open unexampled nerve pathway that give the championship a Metroidvania - lite tone . As surprising of a sequel asUfouria : The Saga 2may be , its modernised take on the original ’s freaky globe and characters results in an undeniably charming clock time , and it get out me settle down for a third entry .
Akimbot
chopine : PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , PC
The PlayStation 2 was home to some of thebest 3D platformersof all time . It was a period in gaming that really cemented the fact that the collect - a - thon aspects multitude knew and lie with could be blend with armed combat - heavy action to delineate the genre for years to come . Developer Evil Raptor seems to have understand that when it place out to create an natural process - platformer that feel straight out of that generation . The frenetic nostalgia bomb that resulted isAkimbot , which displume from beloved dealership like Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank to blend in third - individual shooting with platforming throughout a world where robots rule . throw away in an restive main character and wisecracking sidekick , and it ’s safe to say that the PS2 - era vibe checks out .
Akimbotdoesn’t quite reach the heights of the games it seeks to imitate , but it nevertheless sells that flavour of sitting on a lounge in the early 2000s extremely well . A moderately special weapon and upgrade system and slenderly repetitive point design are n’t enough to hold back the exciting moment - to - moment gunplay and shockingly smooth and precise platforming . Having previously unloosen another old - school 3D platforming gem in 2020’sPumpkin Jack , the squad at Evil Raptor appears to have a type , and I ’m excited to see what they cook up next .
