It feels almost sacrilegious that, in a year when a new Nintendo console was released, a Mario game isn't in the running for one of the year's Best Platformers. That doesn't mean 2025 was a slouch in terms of which games were the best at jumping from one ledge to another - just that it's not what anyone would've predicted going into 2025.
That said, there are Nintendo Switch and Switch 2-exclusive titles on this list, so Nintendo did have something for platformer fans to go along with their new console. Here are our picks for the best platformers in 2025.
Other Best Games of 2025 per Category: Fighting Games, Sports & Racing Games, Role-Playing Games, Horror Games, Indie Games, Action, DLC/Expansion, Shooter Games, Adventure Games, Multiplayer Games, Strategy & Simulation Games, Best Games
Donkey Kong Bananza (9/10)
One of the most surprising platformers of 2025, Donkey Kong Bananza was not the 3D platformer we thought we would get from Nintendo this year, but it more than surpassed any expectations we could have had. The platforming, world design, and most importantly, the smashing, and the different forms DK takes on his journey with a young Pauline make this one of Nintendo's more unique experiences in some time.
While it still might not reach the highs of a new 3D Mario platformer, Donkey Kong Bananza is able to deliver its own take on the Mario formula in a way that helped establish the character for a new generation of players and a new generation of Nintendo.
As Nathan Birch wrote in his review, "Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t monkey around, as it’s inarguably the biggest, most ambitious 3D platformer Nintendo has ever produced. Taking the formula established by Super Mario Odyssey as a starting point, Nintendo goes deeper, wilder, weirder, and punchier. Donkey Kong Bananza is perhaps a bit less refined than the near-immaculate Odyssey, but if you can overlook a few minor brown spots, this banana is very much worth peeling."
Hollow Knight Silksong
Once again, Hollow Knight Silksong's inclusion in one of our mainline lists comes because it simply cannot be ignored. Yes, Hollow Knight Silksong is a Metroidvania-style game. Yes, it has a lot of combat, and you might be able to make an argument for it being an action game.
But it is a platformer before it is anything else, and that is evident every minute you spend with Silksong. It is challenging 2D platforming at its finest, offering you the tools to expand your movement capabilities as you find new abilities while exploring, and then testing your skills and ability to string together an intricate series of jumps, wall-bounces, dashes, and double-jumps. Anything and everything that can be thrown at you to test how good you are at jumping, Team Cherry launches - and then some.
It's also incredibly impressive how Team Cherry mixes platforming into its combat, almost like, if you had never played a platformer that also included combat, but had just played hundreds of hours of platformers and understood the genre and gameplay deeply, you'd be able to play and beat Silksong.
Because your parry timings and ability to learn enemy patterns and strike when you have an opening matter less than being able to platform and manoeuvre in whatever tightly designed room Team Cherry has you squished into this time. The question in Silksong isn't can you fight. It is, can you jump?
Split Fiction (8/10)
Jumping back to the beginning of the year, Split Fiction was one of 2025's early Game of the Year contenders, as Hazelight Studios proved once again that it knows how to craft fun and entertaining co-op adventures.
Split Fiction was one of the year's biggest commercial successes, with over 1 million copies sold in two days, and there's already a film in the works with Wicked director Jon M. Chu in the driver's seat and Sydney Sweeney set to play one of the two lead characters.
While the story, which centers on two writers, Mio and Zoe (named after the two daughters of Hazelight's Josef Fares), failed to impress as much as Hazelight has with its previous co-op titles, the gameplay and inventiveness behind the situations you experience as you go through this co-op journey will stick with you long after the credits roll, making it one of the year's best platformers.
As Nathan Birch wrote in his review, "Split Fiction may tell a more conventional story than Hazelight Studios’ last couple of games, but it’s hard to get too hung up on that, given how expertly it builds on and refines It Takes Two’s unique approach to co-op action without sacrificing any of its ingenuity. Split Fiction may not end up being everyone’s favorite Hazelight joint, particularly if you’re not up for its sometimes-frustrating level of challenge, but the game is anything but by-the-books."
Revenge of the Savage Planet (7.4/10)
After Typhoon Studios was unceremoniously shuttered with Google shutting down its Stadia division, the team rose again as Raccoon Logic, and under its new name, with its newfound independence, released a sequel to its 2020 hit, Journey to the Savage Planet, with Revenge of the Savage Planet.
This 3D platforming action-adventure may not have the kind of intricate platforming challenges that can be found in the likes of Hollow Knight Silksong, but it has enough fun and entertaining whimsy in every element of its gameplay that carries the entire experience.
Its big issue is that you have to stick around long enough to see its best parts, as it gets off to a slow start. But if you can muddy through, you'll experience one of 2025's most enjoyable platforming experiences. As I wrote in my review, "Revenge of the Savage Planet is a fun mix of sharp satire and toilet humor, with whimsical and cartoon-y animations, character designs, and smart level design that strengthens the gameplay experience when it opens up to you fully. The problem, is getting to that point, with tedious missions and upgrade pacing that halt any momentum it starts to build, and with it lacking a story with any real punch, if the charm isn't working for you, it's unlikely, and understandable, if you don't stick around long enough for it to start clicking."
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (7.5/10)
After starting the list with Donkey Kong, he's also ending it with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. Even with this version of the game arguably not delivering enough for players who already blew threw this adventure on previous Nintendo handhelds, DK Country Returns is undeniably a wonderfully fun platformer.
As Nathan Birch wrote in his review, "Donkey Kong Country Returns HD still delivers its share of scintillating simian escapades, but aside from a visual spit shine, not much has been added to the game to keep it competitive with the many excellent 2D platformers that have hit the scene since 2010, including its own sequel. DK completionists and newbies looking for a surprisingly stiff "Nintendo hard" challenge will be happy with this package, but others might want to wait until the big ape has something truly new to beat his chest about."
Honorable Mentions
As is the case with every category, only five games can make it into the main selection, so there are a few that get left out. Here are our honorable mentions for platformers in 2025.
- The Rogue Prince of Persia
- Bionic Bay
- Constance
- Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
- Ninja Gaiden Ragebound
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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