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We've seen a resurgence recently of good platformers on modern systems and PC over the past decade. There are more than enough great platformers to choose from these days. I think it would be fun to put together a list of great modern platformers worth playing. Here's what I've got so far.

Edit: broke out the list into 3 lists.

PLATFORMERS
Rayman Legends & Origins (the best modern platformers IMO)
Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze
Pupeteer
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Super Mario 3D World & 3D Land
Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
Spelunky
SteamWorld Dig
Cloudberry Kingdom
Mutant Mudds
Knytt Underground
New Super Mario Bros. U
Mighty Switch Force!
Sonic Colors
Sonic Generations
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
'Splosion Man & Ms. 'Splosion Man
LittleBigPlanet 1 & 2
Wario Land: Shake It!
Kirby's Epic Yarn
New Super Mario Bros. series
Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2
Mirror's Edge
Duck Tales Remastered
Epic Mickey (I actually enjoyed this one...)

ACTION PLATFORMERS
Strider (360, PS3, PC)
Alice: Madness Returns
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
La-Mulana
Outland
Rochard
Shadow Complex
Megaman 9 & 10
Ratchet and Clank Future series
Castlevania Lords of Shadow 1, 2 & 3
Skylanders series
Guacamelee!
Shinobi (3DS)
Capsized
Mark of the Ninja
Shank 1 & 2

PUZZLE PLATFORMERS
Thomas Was Alone
Braid
VVVVV (geez this game is good)
Dustforce
Lost Winds 1 & 2
Limbo
Fez
Runner 2
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Teslagrad
Trine 1 & 2
Stealth Bastard Deluxe
Super Meat Boy

LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2 should be included on any such list. Likewise, any such list should include Wario Land: Shake It! (which is the best 2D platformer on the Wii, IMO), Kirby's Epic Yarn, and the New Super Mario Bros. games.

Good additions. I forgot about Wario Land: Shake It! I've played the game but never bought it. I have mixed feelings about the LittleBigPlanet games (I'm in that "controls are too floaty" camp) they do have amazing presentation and creativity though. Kirby's Epic Yarn was way too easy for me but I can definitely see the appeal.

I'm quite partial to Alice: Madness Returns, though it's more of a third-person action game with platformer elements (i.e. a LOT of jumping).

I would disagree with Runner 2 ... don't think it really qualifies as a platformer, though it is a fun game.

I really enjoyed the live arcade game Brothers

Bradtemple87 wrote:I really enjoyed the live arcade game Brothers

I loved it as well, but is it a platformer?

My suggestions would be the Mario Galaxy games if they aren't too old to be considered and Mirror's Edge as a genre hybrid. Otherwise it's a great list.

Retrogamer0001 wrote:I'm quite partial to Alice: Madness Returns, though it's more of a third-person action game with platformer elements (i.e. a LOT of jumping).

This brings up a point that I've been wrestling with in my head; when do you draw the line between a straight up platformer (ie; running and jumping is the focus) vs. and action platformer (defeating enemies with attacks is the focus). Some games straddle the line with a balance of the two (such as the Prince of Persia games), while others have a more obvious focus on action (the Strider or Shinobi series for example). Where this gets sticky is games like Kirby that have lots of combat but are so light hearded it is difficult to categorize it with the likes of Strider and Shinobi. And then there are metroidvania games...

That said, if you all think we should include action platformers in this list I can start adding them. Or maybe I can split the list into two. Either way, adding action platformers will likely balloon this list up pretty quickly. What do you think?

Shouldn't you separate puzzle-platformers from regular platformers?

They're pretty different to me. I also finished Fez the other day and the platforming element was so light, it was mostly focused on bullshit puzzles and button presses.

(Yes, I just used this post to make a valid point about the list of games and then inexplicably shit on Fez. I regret nothing.)

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